A Telescope question

[Ishaha]

A 5.1 inch aperture reflector Telescope, the Orion 130st EQ has a 24" long tube. What can I view with this nice Telescope that would looks nice? I have viewed Jupiter but I heard that July isn't the best time to view Jupiter:) It was a little bit bigger than this O. Any ideas? I wanna find Andromeda Galaxy but no luck yet!

[laudropb]

Jupiter is well passed its best just now. Low in the sky. You have to say what focal length eyepiece you are using. Then we can work out the magnification you are using.

[jabeoo1]

M13, M92, M51, M27, M57, Saturn & the double cluster in Perseus are all in nice position for viewing this time of the year.  

[Gutross]

with a 5 inch reflector you should easily see andromida, but the primary concern would be seeing and LP, if the seeing is bad, and you are hurt with LP you may not even be able to see it. but it will look like a faint smudge through the ep.  best thing i can tell you is make sure your eyes are dark adapted. Look closely for an oval grey spot

[damnut]

Hi There,

Download a planetarium program so that you can check where the scope is pointing available from here (if the website is up!) ;--- http://www.stellarium.org/

There is also a great book called 'turn left at orion', which shows you how to star hop. But there is nothing that beats a bit of practice.

[Ishaha]

10mm Plossl eye peace 65x, and a 2x Barlow lenses, there is also a 25mm lenses

[Gutross]

for "fuzzies" you will want to use the 25mm unbarlowed it will allow for a greater FOV

[Ishaha]

Then it will show a faint glowing ball? With dust around it

[brantuk]

Andromeda can be seen with the naked eye on a clear night. So from a dark site with a low power eyepiece it will be easy to observe. I get a very nice view of it through my 15x70 binoculars so you'll have no trouble if you keep the power down.

[mcinek82]

I agree that low power EPs are usually best to observe the beauty of the universe. In combination with planetarium programs they allow to learn the skymap quickly. Enjoy Your passion.

[Ishaha]

Thanks everyone I was thinking that I needed a huge tele to view the sky nicely

[Mrbloke]

Thanks everyone I was thinking that I needed a huge tele to view the sky nicely

Not at all, I have roughly the same spec scope and my best views come from my 18mm. I was looking at andromeda just the other night. I live in moderate light pollution and use a telrad so you have to 'guess' a bit where it is!

[Ishaha]

Was Andromeda looking like an actual galaxy? Sorry I'm a newbie XD. I know that sounds ridiculous but I have seen photos where it looks like a star

[Thom]

Andromeda can be seen with the naked eye on a clear night. So from a dark site with a low power eyepiece it will be easy to observe. I get a very nice view of it through my 15x70 binoculars so you'll have no trouble if you keep the power down.

I dont want to be seen to be picking on someone or trolling, but viewing Andromeda really does depend on where you are.  brantuk does go on to say under dark skies, but you will need dark skies to see it with the naked eye.  I'm about 16 miles out from London, just inside the M25 and I have never been able to see it with naked eyes as the LP is just too great.  With bins and a scope, yes but never with naked eyes.

Just wanted to clarify that, because I was really disappointed when I started out years ago and couldn't see it at all from my back garden.

[spaceman_spiff]

When I observe Andromeda, I can see its bright core and I can make out its elongated profile. With averted vision in good skies, I can also make out its dust lanes. Even if I stumbled upon it, I would have no doubt that what I was looking at was a galaxy (it's an unmistakable sight).

P.S. Sometimes it helps to gently nudge the telescope when observing, it helps me pick up the subtle shape of fuzzy objects.

Hope that helps!

[Mrbloke]

Was Andromeda looking like an actual galaxy? Sorry I'm a newbie XD. I know that sounds ridiculous but I have seen photos where it looks like a star

Have a look at this

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

It will give some guidance on setting your expectations!

[Ishaha]

Thanks what a good forum

[ollypenrice]

Andromeda should never look like a star in a photo. Here's my attempt. https://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/i-xbvjFDF/0/X3/M31%20Outer%20HaloLHE-X3.jpg

Could you tell us your terrestrial location? This has a huge bearing on what you can see and when.

Olly

[brantuk]

Yup - you're entirely correct Thom. 12 miles from central London I find it hard to pick out many stars at all - except from the top of a hotel above the street lights. From there andromeda is impossible to see. From home 5 miles out of Leicester I can see it from street level "just" - so long as I shield my eyes from street lights and star hop to it's location (I can see the hop stars).

From Kelling however it's very plain to see naked eye and is easily picked out from the myriad of other stars. From there I can even see the hunter's bow and markarian chain naked eye - it's amazing. Just as you say - it's a matter of location and level of light pollution.

[Ishaha]

I live in WESTERN new York not the city:)

[Ishaha]

Its a 9 outta 10 tonight too!

[brantuk]

If you can make out pegasus and cassiopeia then you should find andromeda no problem - here's a star hopping guide:

http://www.space.com/7426-starhopping-101-find-andromeda-galaxy.html

[Ishaha]

Thank you all, very helpful! Trying to get back in the swing of things, I want to major in thisXD

[bingevader]

Here's my attempt. https://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/i-xbvjFDF/0/X3/M31%20Outer%20HaloLHE-X3.jpg

feeble      

[Ishaha]

Ollypenrice that is a beautiful pic. Its my screen saverXD