WANTED-Nebulae and Galaxies

[Dom1961]

Please can I have recommendations for nebulae and galaxies (I love them) that would be visible with an 8" scope from a observing site where the milky way is only just visible. I've seen Dumbell, Ring, Veil, Owl, Andromeda and it'd companions, M81,M82,M94

Thanks!

[Paul2015]

M17, M18

[ronin]

Wiki M List

Click on the column marked Type and it regroups by whatever the type is, so you get galaxies and nebula in their own chunk.

Also dig out the Caldwell List.

Wiki Caldwell

You have to find these yourself as the regrouping is not present on the table.

Not going to delve into the NGC catalogue, too many.

The Astronomy League has observation programs I suspect there are Galaxy and Nebula lists there.

Now if you meant you wanted to buy one I could probably arrange a good deal on a a galaxy or even two. :eek:

Lets say the knock down price of 1p per star.       

Cash in advance, of course. :rolleyes:

[Dom1961]

What apparent magnitude would I be able to see? Is there a way of working that out to filter out the ones I can't see

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's a copy of The Caldwell Observer's Log by David Green:

http://www.davidpaulgreen.com/tcol/TCOL.pdf

This can help you find a great many things that are within the reach of a 200mm Newtonian. Actually, a 200mm scope can keep a person entertained with new objects for a lifetime. I can't speak for your situation regarding light-pollution and it's limiting seeing conditions. That's something you'll need to figure out as you go along. But there are other considerations you can take into account to increase your success. One such thing is the use of filters - both to tease-out finer details in nebulae and galaxies, as well as blocking the bandwidth of light from common sources of light-pollution. Here's an excellent resource for this:

http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/resources/by-dave-knisely/filter-performance-comparisons-for-some-common-nebulae/

I'm sure others will chime in with more info. I'll just ask - do you have good star-charting available to you? If you are unfamiliar with Stellarium, I suggest you give it a go to help you find your way (and so much more!). It's a massive planetarium/star-charting software-program - and easily one of the best. And it's totally free. Download from here:

http://www.stellarium.org/

Enjoy!

Dave

[acey]

What apparent magnitude would I be able to see? Is there a way of working that out to filter out the ones I can't see

To assess the visibility of a nebula or galaxy you need at least two pieces of data: apparent magnitude and surface brightness. You have a limiting magnitude and a limiting surface brightness. As you increase magnification you improve magnitude limit and worsen surface brightness limit (compared with naked eye). So the situation with extended deep-sky objects (galaxies, nebulae) is much more complicated than with stars.

For example, a very large object with apparent magnitude 9 and surface brightness 24 mag/arcsec^2 would be invisible at your site, while one with magnitude 12 and surface brightness 20 mag/arcsec^2 may be easily visible. A further complication is inhomogeneity: a galaxy and nebula might be listed as having the same apparent magnitude and surface brightness, but the galaxy has a bright central core surrounded by a faint halo while the nebula is completely uniform (let's say). You might find you can see the central core of the galaxy, but none of the nebula - until you use a nebula filter. And don't forget that airmass makes a difference: an object that would be easy overhead can be impossible nearer the horizon.

What this is all saying is that in the end you've just got to try objects for yourself and see how you get on. Start with the Messier list, restricted to galaxies and nebulae if you find clusters uninteresting. You'll find some very easy, some difficult, and most somewhere in between. If you can just see the Milky Way then you should certainly manage most, though you'll find some are too low in the sky for you, and some of the galaxies (e.g. M74) may be too tough.

Use a planisphere to determine which constellations are high in the sky at the time of observation. Use a list of Messiers by constellation to determine which targets to go for. Use a decent map (e.g. S&T Pocket Atlas) to find them. Objects are at their highest in the sky when they lie on the meridian, the line from Polaris to your southern horizon. Concentrate on that line if you can, and you'll see objects at their best. If your southern horizon is obstructed or light polluted, take your scope to a better site.

If you want to try non-Messier targets then you could try Caldwell objects, but a better list is the RASC "best NGC" list, which overlaps with much the same showpiece objects but doesn't have the insanely obscure ones that made it into Caldwell.

http://messier.seds.org/xtra/similar/rasc-ngc.html