locating M51

[ultramol]

On friday night gone I set my alarm for 1.30 am as the forecast was good. I looked out and It was glorious. Stars everywhere. I looked on my list and it was the turn of M51. The whirlpool Galaxy. I checked the FOV with stellarium and proceeded to look, and look and look. I put this on my list as it looked easy to find. I spent 4 hours and found nothing. I used star maps and everything else I could but to no avail. Does anyone have any tips as to finding this galaxy. I used a 25 mm EP with a SW 200p. The seeing was very good and I know what you see is nothing like the photos but I never found a trace of it....

[Mr Q]

   You probably saw it but didn't realize it. In that EP, it would look like a very close fairly faint fuzzy double star. The key to finding similar sized objects is to use a LP EP (like you did) and look for a "star" that's not as clear in focus as the other stars in the area. Then go to a higher power (10 - 15 mm) and, in this case, the object will appear as a fairly faint pair of fuzzy blobs with one slightly brighter than the other. If the conditions are good, go even higher in power (i.e. 6mm) and with averted vision you should just make out the "bridge" of faint luminosity connecting the two EGs.

   For most people, it is a hard to find object due to the lack of any close  bright "pilot stars" to locate the area. Keep trying - it took me several tries before I found it, then it was easy once I (you) knew what to look for.

   Maybe this link may help?

http://www.solarius.net/assets/finder_charts/messier_51.pdf

[NGC 1502]

You did the right thing in waiting for a night with no moon, and attempting when M51 is high up, plus using a low power to try to locate it.

As already said, you may have been looking at it without realising. At low power you can just see two small fuzzy patches, perhaps only marginally brighter than the background sky.  If the sky is not very transparent, the fuzzy patches can be invisible. Did you have exact focus ?  If the focus was a tad off, that would defeat you, best to focus on a star. Of course a light polluted sky doesn't help, so a dark site will increase your chances.

The hardest part is finding a dim object the first time. It really does get easier the more you try.

From my light polluted back garden, I just see two faint fuzzy patches. From my club's dark site, when M51 is well placed in the spring, I've very definitely seen traces of the faint spiral arms using an elderly 8" scope I once had, verified by clubmates.  The 'bridge' eluded me however.

Keep trying, you will succeed, and it will be worth it.

Regards, Ed.

[ultramol]

Thanks for that. I will not give up. Just now more determined.

[Mr Q]

Thanks for that. I will not give up. Just now more determined.

   Especially so since this object is believed to be two galaxies in collision (though some say not), which is the only (?) galaxy collision that can be easily seen visually