Please help

[Katash707]

I'm new and I'm getting very frustrated to what I will see can any tell me what galaxies I will see and what's the best eyepiece to use for them I av 70/900 refractor I know it's not the best but just need advice on what I can expect to see thanks

[jambouk]

Galaxies are hard to observe in smaller telescopes, and a lot will depend upon your light pollution, and making sure your eyes are thoroughly dark adapted, and the phase of the moon. With no moon, very well dark adapted eyes and absolutely no light pollution you'll see a smudge of grey; at the other end of the spectrum where there is a full moon or light pollution or you've just stepped outside from an illuminated house you won't see a thing.

Good luck.

James

[dick_dangerous]

Use a wider field eyepiece (25mm up) and look for:

• M31, the Andromeda Galaxy
• M33 in Triangulum
• M81 & M82 in Ursa Major

Those are all within reach of my 80mm refractor, and I can see all but M33 from London's light polluted skies - M33 requires pristine dark skies.

Paul

[Gazabone]

Hi,

Previous posters have got it spot on. I would just add a couple of things;

Don't expect to see objects through a telescope that look like the images in books, a well taken photo through a scope will always beat the view you see looking through that scope.

Secondly, I would thoroughly recommend visiting a local astronomy club/society; that helps me considerably.

Good luck and clear skies

[Katash707]

Thanks everyone for your help

[theghettostylus]

Last night I took out the 150p (not a massive scope in any sense) I saw M31 as a little grey smudge I have a bit of light pollution and the moon was out. So far I've only seen 1 galaxy and one cluster and both were little smudges although the cluster had a lot more detail so all I will say is you may see these things with very little detail but it's a very nice feeling when you find that little smudge in the dark sky! I always try and think 'although the detail is lacking I have actually just found a deep sky object!'

[CSM]

Download the free program  Stellarium (see the software forum) and set it up for your location and scope.  Use the Ocular plugin and that will give you some idea of what you can see with that particular scope.  Doubt if you will really be able to see much more than M31 and maybe M81/82  to start with.  Once you practise then you may be able to see more.

[BritAngler]

Hello Katash, and welcome to SGL

As others have said, you will not be able to see galaxies or nebula like the pictures you get in books or even on the box a telescope comes in. With most galaxies you will see a faint smudge. Orion will be prominent shortly, and there lies one of the best views you can get in my opinion, the Orion Nebula in the sword, which is a knackered-eye object but is one of those WOW moments when you first view it through a 'scope.

I'd suggest buying a copy of Turn Left at Orion, and downloading a copy of Stellarium (freeware), and see if there's any nearby astro-groups you could join.

Be warned however, astronomy is a nice cheap hobby that will eventually take over your life and bank-balance....

[rockystar]

I'm going to stay up all night now, make sure I'm nice and tired for that knackered eye object Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

In all seriousness, I think Turn Left At Orion is a great book, you may still need some finder charts, but I've managed to navigate to a few objects following their directions. 

Nebulae may be a better starting point that galaxies, some are pretty easy to find from light polluted skies and be quite impressive.

[BritAngler]

@ Rockystar

+1 for finder charts, I seriously suggest Norton's Star Atlas by Ian Ridpath, lots of technical stuff but also contains the best star-charts in any book I've seen. You could also invest in the Cambridge Star Atlas by Wil Tirion (I still think Wil Tirion is a place in Middle-Earth....). Also, a Philips planisphere for quickly finding your way around the major constellations. If you don't know how to use one, just point it at the sky and twiddle it for a few minutes, people around you will think you are a genius

[Dazzyt66]

Skymaps http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html is very useful for giving you a month by month view of what you can see, where, by what (eyes, bins, scope). Good times ahead...! [emoji3]

Clear skies!

Dazzyt

Skywatcher 150P

[theghettostylus]

I will second getting a copy of 'turn left at orion' I put it off getting it but I'm so glad I did and wish I had got my copy sooner.

[nameunknown]

I don't know which scope you have, but other than with a ££££..££££ instrument, you will not see many "galaxies"in any kind of detail with the unassisted human eyeball version 1.0 - at least not at "Hubble" resolution (Hubble, after all, cost zillions back in the 80's and probably a total of well over $10Billion over its life). That being said, amateurs today can take images way better than the pro's could take a few more decades ago (although not with bargain-budget kit).

P

[bluenotetim]

I will second getting a copy of 'turn left at orion' I put it off getting it but I'm so glad I did and wish I had got my copy sooner.

And here's another vote for "Turn Left At Orion"

Tim

[Megaman250]

I have seen Mars a tiny red dot then I was looking at Jupiter but no real detail and a bright Venus you can also make out what phase it is at and all of this was with my Celestron 70/900 telescope with no filters and light pollution from street lights Ii also used a 2x Barlow lense, I am pretty sure you can still see all of these at the moment early in the morning.   

[RobertI]

You may also find the following topic very informative:

What can I expect to see