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How Messy are you?


Andrew*

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1. In other words which M objects have you observed?

2. If you can remember, which scope did you use for the more tricky ones?

3. And finally, which ones are high on your wish-list?

1. My list:

8 Galaxies:

- 31/2 and 110 - (Andromeda)

- 51 (Whirlpool)

- 65/6 (Leo Triplet)

- 81/2 (Bodes/Cigar)

12 Clusters:

- 13 (Hercules glob)

- 34/5/6/7/8

- 44 (Beehive)

- 45 (Pleiades)

- 46/7

- 50

- 103

5 Nebulae:

- 1 (Crab)

- 27 (Dumbbell)

- 42/3 (Great Orion)

- 57 (Ring)

2. No particularly tricky ones (as they go) but all observed in 8" newt, except M57 and 27 with ED100, and 46/7 in binos.

3. On my wish list for now:

- at least 5 (10 if pos) spring (these are mostly in the "Virgo Cluster", or?) galaxies (49, 60, 61, 63, 64, 85, 88, 90, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 105, 106)

- still haven't seen the legendary M3, or M5

- probably have to leave M33 for the winter...

- I'll try M78 while it's still up.

- Double star M40

Over to you!

Cheers

Andrew

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Interesting post Andrew,

I have managed to see the ones on your "red list" at some time or other over the years. M81 and M82 were the 1st galaxies I ever found and that was with my old Tasco 60mm refractor - I can only assume that my eyes were more actute then and the skies darker from my parents house !.

With my 8 inch newt I have recently managed to locate a nice but challenging pair of Messiers in Ursa Major; M97 (the owl nebula) and M108 which is an irregular galaxy not unlike a slightly fatter version of M82. These objects are about 1 degree apart so can both appear appear in the same field with a low power eyepiece. They are faint though at around mag 10 so good dark skies are needed. The UHS-C filter helps with M97 and I'm hoping that the OIII filter (when it arrives) will do even better. I can just about find the Owl with my 102mm refractor but M108 has eluded that scope as yet.

As you have said M33, the large face on sprial galaxy in Triangulum (not too far from M31/M32) is also quite challenging as it's extensive but faint. Once you know where it is 10x50 binoculars will detect it.

When Hercules is better positioned don't forget to try for it's "other" gobular cluster, M92. It's a very nice glob in it's own right but often overshadowed by M13 of course.

One of my (many) targets for the spring / summer this year is the North American nebula in Cygnus (not an M object at all of course). It's defied all attempts so far to find it either with low power, wider field scopes or binoculars. I'm thinking of getting a pair of 15 x 70 binocs to try and find it.

Lots to look forward to :wink:

John

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Like John, I think your Red list is my list too Andrew. Although I think I managed a few galaxies in the Virgo bowi last year, plus M3 over the last two weeks, a couple of open clusters in Cygnus (M29?), M92..

I think most of these have been done with my C8N but I'm sure there's some of these that have been observed with one of the others...

I'm always going to have trouble observing anything around the ecliptic during the summer as I have a North facing garden so anything in Scorpio and Sagitarius is always going to be a pain. A real shame as there's so much there too!

Tony..

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Ok here's the Messiers I've seen, all done with my 8" Newt:

Clusters (including Globs)

M15, M44, M67, M35, M37, M36, M38, M103, M34, M45

Galaxies

M101, M51, M94, M106, M109, M108, M81, M82, M31, M32, M110, M33, M74

Nebulae

M57, M42, M43, M78, M1, M97

What I want to see: the rest of the Messiers, NGCs as well and anything else that's up there, all before I return to the southern hemsphere in a couple of years.

cheers

Sam

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I find it fascinating that Messier did not list the famous double cluster in Perseus, NGC 869 and NGC 884. To me this is one of the finest DSO's in the sky and one of the 1st that someone new to the hobby should try for as it looks impressive in practically any scope and is relatively easy to find.

John

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Yeah... I don't think I'll ever get to see the likes of Ophiuchus (lots of nice nebs...) because it is very low, very early in the morning at best :wink:

Andrew

really? where do you live? according to my co-ordinates (wigan) ophiucus is should be readily visible at around 11pm in june

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True, but then in Scotland it never gets dark in the summer. Ophiuchus is either low in the sky or in the twilight, or just before it...

I often wonder why he never listed the double cluster, the xmas tree, and perhaps even the veil...

Andrew

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I find it fascinating that Messier did not list the famous double cluster in Perseus, NGC 869 and NGC 884. To me this is one of the finest DSO's in the sky and one of the 1st that someone new to the hobby should try for as it looks impressive in practically any scope and is relatively easy to find.

John

Good shout John, it is a glorious sight and how he missed it, who knows?

Tony..

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Umm... seen all of them (please don't hate me :)). I live at 45°28'N though, and am out in the country where it's nice and dark. M51 can be seen with the 11x70 binoculars most nights.

I used to wonder how Messier missed some of the most obvious DSOs in the sky too, especialy the Double Cluster. Then I found out he was a comet-hunter and was compiling the list as a means of verifying things he knew NOT to be comets.

Pretty ironic that he's famous for the DSO list and not the comets he found. :wink:

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True, but then in Scotland it never gets dark in the summer. Ophiuchus is either low in the sky or in the twilight, or just before it...

I often wonder why he never listed the double cluster, the xmas tree, and perhaps even the veil...

Andrew

ah now i understand andy, bet your hating how low jupiter is later this year? will you be able to see uranus and neptune too?

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ah now i understand andy, bet your hating how low jupiter is later this year? will you be able to see uranus and neptune too?

Uranus is the only one to see this year, I think. It's at 20+degrees at 2am in August. Jupiter barely rises beyond 11 degrees :)

Back on topic :)

You'll never believe it, but I added another M object to my list already this evening, in a flash session. None other than M78!! The sky was barely dark. I was freezing and only looked at 2 objects. I definitely saw it, but it didn't look like much. Just a very slight brightening, amongst an unremarkable smattering of stars. Still - bagged it! :wink:

Carol - I wouldn't have expected anything less from you! :)

Andrew

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Here's my list. I need to go through and add the names, but haven't had a chance yet.

M1

M31

M34

M35

M36

M37

M38

M41

M42

M43

M44

M45

M47

M48

M50

M52

M67

M81

M82

M93

M103

All through my Konus and some through my 12x50 bins

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might as well post my tiny list lol here goes:

M31 (Barely, Faint Smudge)

M35

M42 & M43 (obviously)

M44 (Beehive)

M45 (Sisters)

how good is that lol

although i was pretty sure i'd seen the crab nebula tiniest of smudges with two bright stars inside but can't be sure.

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I've seen all the Messier's in one night in my C8. I've seen most of them in my 10" F/7, but couldn't tell you which ones I've missed. Thankfully, the Messier Marathon is coming up, and I'll be taking the 10" this year. I've seen most of them also in a 4.5" F/4 Tasco Newt, a 6" F/9.5 Dob and many others in various scopes from 80mm Short tube frac up to a 28" F/2.2 Newt. Not to mention several in the 24" Clark at Lowell, several with a C14 from Mauna Kea, yadda, yadda, yadda.

(Carol, quick! Take cover! I'll draw their fire! Save yourself!) :wink:

Green list is empty.

Yellow list includes all the ones I haven't seen in the 10". I'll let you know how the marathon goes.

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AM

Your're a lucky man :wink:

When I checked whiched ones I have viewed it was more than I realised.

I have managed to view everything above -10 degrees declination and only M41 below (I wasn't in the UK at the time)

Cheers

Ian

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We count Ngc 5866 as M102. As the NGC/IC Project has researched, it's apparently just a notation discrepancy in location.

http://www.ngcic.org

Metric tonnes of good info here. They carefully research all the little "mysteries" in the NGC/Ic, including all those "nonexistant" open clusters etc. Led by Prof. Harold Corwin, and assisted by so many guys I actually know, (one of whom suggested I join SAC, thanks Bob), it's an open ended project to identify and demystify the entire catalog.

Just to be fair though, I observe M101 twice, as well as Ngc 5866. :wink:

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