M31 question.

[seanyc5]

Hi,

So I set my 130SLT Nexstar up for the first time last night as I had a clear sky. After aligning with the SkyAlign my first thing I chose was sky stour then m31 galaxy!

It only worked haha I could see bright stars around it and like a smudged grey disc in the middle! Pretty sure it was the galaxy and im sure someone was looking back at the milky way too.

Anyway whilst looking for a good 10-15mins mainly using the averted technique id read about I saw two objects go across the EP about the same size as the surrounding stars from say the 10oclock to the 2oclock position just above the galaxy about 5mins apart?!?!

I quickly looked with the naked eye but could see nothing.

Any ideas what this could have been? I was using a 25mm EP

Thanks,

Sean

[Stu]

Most likely to be satellites Sean. I saw a couple go through M31 last night so possibly the same ones.

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[Mad Taff]

Yes, most likely satellites. I see a lot of these when i leisurely pan the sky using my 32mm eyepiece.

[Astro Imp]

Yes almost certainly satellites - makes you jump sometimes when they suddenly appear from nowhere. 

[NotSoSuperNova]

Everyone else has answered your question but I wanted to say congrats for your first light. It was a good choice to start with Andromeda, you sound chuffed as well. That's good reaction as most people are left a bit deflated after looking at Hubble images, it shows you have realistic expectation and can enjoy what you're looking at. 

[ronin]

As said satellites, in simple terms there are hundreds, actually thousands, of them up there.

If I recall a couple of years ago a tool bag from the ISS was "dropped" and it drifted off, people spent quite a few nights trying to locate and follow it. It was a challenge to "Spot the toolbag".

[Andrew W]

Nice going, well done!   m31 is going to be one of my first 'challenges' with the scope when it turns up.

[kirkster501]

When very faint like you explain they could also be tiny bits of space junk catching the light.

[callisto]

Its amazing what is "floating" around up there when viewing through an eyepiece

[philhas]

My first scope was an SLT130, great scope and linked up to a laptop and stellarium its a great tool to learn the sky

[seanyc5]

philhas, on 27 Sept 2014 - 10:31 PM, said:

My first scope was an SLT130, great scope and linked up to a laptop and stellarium its a great tool to learn the sky

Cheers guys just took me by surprise. Yeah id already read about what to expect if I hadn't like you say I would of half expected to see something along the lines of the hubbles images haha.

So ive got stellarium, can you explain what hooking it up to a laptop does? I was not aware of this. Cheers