M31 Observation..

[prassi007]

HI,

I own a 60mm telescope.

Many places i have read that using my telescope, i can watch the andromeda galaxy.

But when i actually point it through my telescope , i can really see nothing.

what is the fault?

Can anybody help me in finding this. i try to focus and unfocus , but no luck.

my area is light polluted but not intensively..

[orion25]

Hello, my friend. A 60mm telescope won't gather enough light for you to see M31 very well. You will need a telescope with more light gathering power. I would suggest a reflector telescope with at least 100mm of aperture for M31 and even larger for fainter deep sky objects (DSOs). 100mm is a good place to start with DSOs, the more aperture the better. Hope this helps.

Astronomical evenings,

Reggie

[jetstream]

Are the constellations visible from your area? M31 shows up in my 10x42 binoculars easily under less than perfect conditions. Can you see the Orion neb in your scope?

[ronin]

M31 is generall better/easier with binoculars. it is actually big, as in too big to fit in the view of most scopes.

What happens is tht you see the central core and none of the arm bits. So you see a faint fuzzy blob and wonder what is wrong.

No idea how dark your sky is but the arms are faint so the darker the better.

M31 is sort of odd in respect of it's size.

[NGC 1502]

Please be encouraged by knowing that a great deal of worthwhile astronomy can be done with a 60mm telescope. But you need to know that what you will see won't usually be anything like the pictures in magazines and online.

M31, the Andromeda galaxy, can be seen as a small fuzzy patch in binoculars or a small telescope, even from a light polluted town, as long as you are looking in the correct place of course. It's easier to find with binoculars, because they show a larger area of sky than most telescopes. If trying with your telescope, use your lowest power eyepiece ( the one with the highest number, like 20 or 25mm ). Focus on a star before you start the search, because if you are not in focus, you won't see the fuzzy patch, even if you are looking in the right place.

Here is a guide to help - http://www.space.com/7426-starhopping-101-find-andromeda-galaxy.html

Good luck ! Ed.

[tarotrocola]

I see it with my 8x50 finder, but as other said, is just a fuzzy patch. Is not a dark sky, but with averted vision I see a very faint fuzzy patch. Can you  try the same to check the quality of your sky?

[prassi007]

Are the constellations visible from your area? M31 shows up in my 10x42 binoculars easily under less than perfect conditions. Can you see the Orion neb in your scope?

Last time I couldn't see it with my scope.,

But this time I will try it and post here.

[jetstream]

Just trying to get a handle on your sky conditions, your 60mm will show a lot, but maybe faint depending on conditions. M31 isn't really that easy to find IMHO, but keep trying and you will find the glow, M42 can benefit from a UHC filter espc from lighter skies. Can you see Mirach (mag 2) and mu Andomedae (mag 3.8) -above Mirach? These will guide you to M31

[John]

When you are trying to see M31 or M42 use your lowest magnification eyepiece. They are large objects. Something like 25x - 40x would be fine.

[swamp thing]

Just thought I'd reinforce the comments that 60mm is ample to see the andromeda galaxy perfectly well.

Andromeda galaxy doesn't need large aperture to be seen well. It needs dark skies. Take your 60mm somewhere dark buddy and you're in for a treat. Use low mag as John has said above.

From urban LP skies M31 appears as a fuzzy elongated blob. From dark skies its a sprawling galaxy and there is no doubts as to what it is. Get out there and enjoy.