Galaxies in full moonlight ...

[kev100]

Hello,

I just thought I'd mention a 'discovery' I made whilst out with the scope last night. Because of the full moon I figured that all I'd get to see would be the moon itself, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Had great views off all of them, though the moon was actually too bright, even with the Celestron moon filter fitted. 

Just before I packed up I thought, 'I know, I'll just have a quick look and see if I can find any DSOs'. First thought was M13, but no luck ... the moon was just too bright. Then I thought I'd have a look in the region of M81/M82 (for no particular reason) ... I have to say I was amazed to find I could actually see something. Not sure which of the galaxies in that area it was, but there was definitely a faint fuzzy with a bright centre there!

Can't wait now for a moonless night to see what else I can pick up that part of the sky. It must have been a pretty bright galaxy to have been visible in full moonlight!

Cheers,

Kev.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Got to give these things a try. Could be M82 maybe? It's a starburst galaxy so has a relatively high surface brightness. The fact it's near the zenith would also have helped. I'm not surprised M13 was washed out.

I had a quick go at widefield imaging last night (fixed tripod, 50mm lens) and just managed to get my target in frame - HD162826. I then had a quick go at comet C2012 K1, I may have got the merest hint of it but I'm not confident. There is something in just the right place but It may well be a faint star.

[kev100]

"Got to give these things a try." Absolutely!

I had a look on Star Walk on my iPad when I got home, but couldn't be sure which of the galaxies it was. Couldn't see any of the others in that area at all.

[acey]

M81/82 are two of the brightest galaxies in the sky, visible even at badly light polluted sites, so they're the kind of objects that could still be visible in strong moonlight. I expect the same would apply to M31. A country sky with a high full moon is comparable with a suburban moonless one.

[kev100]

"A country sky with a high full moon is comparable with a suburban moonless one" ... I do find that proper shocking. It truly is astounding that so many people miss out on the night sky. I'm certainly very lucky to have pretty dark skies here in Dorset. It's also good to know that there are things to look for, even on the brightest of nights.

Cheers,

Kev.

[IanWatkins]

You are lucky Kev. That is a beautiful part of the UK and one I hope to retire to when I finish work. Looking at West Bexington/Abbotsbury area though but not ruled out anywhere west of Dorchester really.

Actually wanted to buy the Old Higher lighthouse on Portland but not sure I could earn enough to do that even if i stopped buying astro gear

Yes, I've always said, even if it's full moon, there is always something to look at even if a little washed out. We don't get many clear nights so make the most of it I say.

Cheers

Ian

[kev100]

Cheers Ian! And good luck with the retirement plans!

I'd totally discounted moonlit nights as opportunities, but definitely won't from now on. Some things may well be washed out, but it's still worth having a go.

[cotterless45]

Agreed. If you look opposite to the Moon, often you'll find dark sky which is good enough for open clusters, bright galaxies and double stars. I looked at the whole Moon at x50 the other night and had half an hour with a big black hole in my right eyesight !

Nick.

[John]

I had a look at the globular clusters M92 and M13 in Hercules last night and the views of those were surprisingly nice considering the moonlit sky 

You can find the brightest galaxies and other deep sky objects when the moon is out but they really must be re-visited under darker skies to really appreciate them.

My bet would be that the one you found in Ursa Major would be M81 as it's more condensed than it's neighbour M82 and stands out that much more. 

[Knight of Clear Skies]

My bet would be that the one you found in Ursa Major would be M81 as it's more condensed than it's neighbour M82 and stands out that much more. 

Could well be the case. M82 has a higher average surface brightness than M81 but in a bright sky the galaxy with the brightest core is probably going to be more visible.

[kev100]

Hey all, thanks for the feedback an input. I've definitely got no excuses now for not going out with the scope when the opportunity presents!

[Sandraj]

Hey all, thanks for the feedback an input. I've definitely got no excuses now for not going out with the scope when the opportunity presents!

I go out at any opportunity, feel like I can't miss any half decent night.

I have a friend living in your village  she says its a lovely place but there isn't a chippy there 

[John]

Could well be the case. M82 has a higher average surface brightness than M81 but in a bright sky the galaxy with the brightest core is probably going to be more visible.

I've found that M82 has a more diffuse structure and tends to get washed by light pollution (moon-made or man-made) out a little more than it's neighbour. When I'm star hopping to find the pair M81 is invariably the one that stands out more clearly. M82 is a more interesting galaxy to observe though, in my opinion, made even more interesting by the recent supernova it hosted.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Very likely to be M81 that the OP saw then.

[JulianFR]

Last night in the moonshine I picked out M13 and M57 using the Mak (I thought given the moon I would concentrate on the planets, so the Mak would be best).

Both were quite faint, especially the Ring Nebula of course... But M13 was also much duller and less defined than I'm used to with the big Dob. I assume that's because of a combination of the strong moonlight and the Mak's much more limited aperture and light gathering power.

[kev100]

Hi Sandraj,

Yep, Cerne Abbas is a nice place, with reasonably decent dark skies, but yes, no chippy.  Three pubs, tho!

Kev.

[IanWatkins]

... And that, er, giant on the hill!

[John]

.....Both were quite faint, especially the Ring Nebula of course... But M13 was also much duller and less defined than I'm used to with the big Dob. I assume that's because of a combination of the strong moonlight and the Mak's much more limited aperture and light gathering power.

Aperture makes a BIG difference with globular clusters. I find them rather less than impressive with my ED120 refractor but wow do they improve with the 12" dob at 200x, even under last nights skies.

[SteveB72]

The globulars areamazing in my 400p

[swamp thing]

The globulars areamazing in my 400p

Not surprising buddy. That's a big lump of glass you've got there.

I think my one of my biggest wow moments was going from a 4.5" tasco reflector to a 10" scope, and pointing it at M13. It went from fuzzy glow to globular cluster and blew my mind.

Globs do have certain appeal when using bigger aperture, they take on a new life.

[WaveSoarer]

That's great work Kev. Despite an on-coming cold, I got my telescope set up last night to view Mars, before it gets so far away that there would be no detail visible. While the scope was cooling I decided to have a look at M64, the black eye galaxy, with more hope than expectation. Leo could be seen naked eye so I lined up on Denebola and I slewed up to Coma Berenices, which was only visible in the finder. I then traced my way down to the triangle formed by 23 Com, 20 Com and 26 Com (HIP 64120 sits nicely in the middle and the group is an easy spot) and followd the line from 20 Com through 26 Com to 35 Com. M26 sits close to 35 Com and its position forms an equalteral triangle with the faint HIP 63330 and HIP 63008. After ligning up, I viewed through my 200p with my 15 mm EP. At first I didn't see anything but after a bit of tweaking around with the slow-motion knobs I could just see a faint fuzzy glow. The motion of the scope helped it to be discernable. The sky was generally fairly bright with the moon in the vicinity so the contrast was really poor. I took a few images with my DSLR but I had to cut the time to 60s per exposure rather than my usual 120 s. The trial 120 s exposure looled a bit like your avatar.

Anyway, later on I go my chance to view Mars and there was some detaill on view. The polar cap looked like a small white pin-[removed word] while there were only the most subtle darker features.  

Now, of course, my cold is much worse and my throat feels like someone has practiced mirror grinding on it.