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M31 or...??


Major

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Major.........when using binoculars from my garden I track from the 'W' of Cassiopeia   to Mirach, then back a notch, Like you say, it gets easier once you know.

With scope, using the 9x50 (both eyes open ) I aim centre on Mirach, then fov dependent, nudge a little until on target.

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7 minutes ago, Aaron F Johnson said:

shocking and sad to me that so many of you aren't achieving the level of observation I have known and enjoyed for half a century and for this reason I sadly must depart. Clear/Sky's to all and best of luck and good fortune in this hobby, Indeed.

I think I would prefer to believe these are good people trying hard to achieve a goal, rather than seemingly underachieving and then being judged and told so.

Sad to see people leave good forums, particularly for reasons like this.

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26 minutes ago, Aaron F Johnson said:

kind of shocking and sad to me that so many of you aren't achieving the level of observation I have known and enjoyed for half a century and for this reason I sadly must depart

Strange announcement. I've been here on SGL nearly 8yrs and have seen several rotations of beginners of all ages going on to be great observers and imagers. Aaron's been here little more than 6 months?? In my experience it takes the average newbie from scratch at least a year to become proficient - usually more like two.

It's not really the kind of announcement that's even needed - everyone's welcome and folks can come and go as frequently as they please - you'll always get a good reception here at SGL. :)

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17 minutes ago, Aaron F Johnson said:

I have decided to leave SGL and this is my last post, after 50 years in amateur astronomy I came here with the intent to learn AP and have gathered enough information now to succeed. I enjoyed my time here but kind of shocking and sad to me that so many of you aren't achieving the level of observation I have known and enjoyed for half a century and for this reason I sadly must depart. Clear/Sky's to all and best of luck and good fortune in this hobby, Indeed.

Not  too sure if it was aimed in some way at me, but kind of feels like it. What can I say, time in the hobby surely matters. You are in it over 50 years, me - maybe few weeks. It seems obvious that even the easiest things can cause problems to some newcomers and astronomy is not exactly that easy to catch up within few days. Add to the whole picture few factors like free time to spare, weather conditions, any kind of commitments and I'm sure many folks would struggle even with one proper, long session.  Of course once you reach some certain level it is hard to believe how many people might struggle with achieving this, as it is all so simple...

I ride bikes for just over 2 years now, but done over 60k miles in all weather conditions including snow, ice and winds so strong that lorries were being thrown on their sides, done long distance riding, done charity runs and big group rideouts - including two abreast wheel to wheel, but at the same time have mates with full licences that do 1k, maybe 1.5k miles per year and some that just started. Their skills are not on very high level, especially in difficult conditions. I am able to drag my knee when they are affraid to lean cause it could make them lose grip and lowside. They tend to ask many questions like 'when should I brake?' (it's not as silly as it sounds!) etc, but I never thought it gives me right to judge them, or to ditch biking as skills of others (what???) are not on same level as mine and it is sad and shocking.

I always thought that any kind of hobby is nice if it can be shared, but looking at this part

I came here with the intent to learn AP and have gathered enough information now to succeed.


I am a bit puzzled.

Anyway, just looking at this thread, which of course is not one of the most interesting/clever ones, or any other thread that I posted - anyone can easily see how many experienced and helpful folks are sticking around. Thanks to them forum and hobby can thrive and get newbies interested, for they have one thing in common. Sharing knowledge and experience with others instead of looking up own arses. 

 
40 minutes ago, Charic said:

Major.........when using binoculars from my garden I track from the 'W' of Cassiopeia   to Mirach, then back a notch, Like you say, it gets easier once you know.

With scope, using the 9x50 (both eyes open ) I aim centre on Mirach, then fov dependent, nudge a little until on target.


I looked for it in similar way with 25mm EP. Took me ages first time :)

 

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6 minutes ago, Major said:

looked for it in similar way with 25mm EP. Took me ages first time :)

I'm not sure that it was directed specifically at you Major, but even aimed at beginners in general it was in poor taste so best ignored.

You are doing exactly the right thing in asking questions. It's the best way to learn, and there are some great people here with the patience and willingness to answer any amount of questions.

Glad you found M31, it's a lovely thing :happy11:

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6 minutes ago, brantuk said:

Hope it's not put you off Major - keep plugging away at astronomy mate and you'll soon be as good as you are at bikes. The beauty is it's only a hobby and you can take as much time as you like. :)

Of course it didn't mate ;).  And by no means I wanted to show I am Alpha and Omega when it comes to riding, just thought of the closest analogy to me, but am learning every day, so please don't get that bit wrong.

 

6 minutes ago, Charic said:

Major, you have nothing to apologize for. Just carry on what your doing and ignore the  resignation, which could have been better placed in its own thread, So what if your still learning, were learning too.
 


Every day is a school day after all ;).
 

9 minutes ago, RayD said:

I'm not sure that it was directed specifically at you Major, but even aimed at beginners in general it was in poor taste so best ignored.

You are doing exactly the right thing in asking questions. It's the best way to learn, and there are some great people here with the patience and willingness to answer any amount of questions.

Glad you found M31, it's a lovely thing :happy11:

 
It sure is ;).

Folks that I just quoted are very good example of what I was talking about in previous post. Hats off to you all (not mentioned too!)  gents!

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OK. My hands are up. I am an underachiever in astronomy. For the last 37 yrs i have been wandering around the universe aimlessly (well, not completely aimlessly) like a headless chicken.I have never been one to plan a session with specific targets in mind. I prefer to just rotate/slew the scope or bins in every direction and see what i stumble upon. Ive seen many astounding sights and ive lots more to see. Its just the way i do things and i am happy plodding along at my own pace.

Astronomy for me is not a hobby where there is an end goal/level to achieve. Its a way of life,its always been a part of the person i am. Its partly made me who i am today and the way i think about things.

 

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4 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

OK. My hands are up. I am an underachiever in astronomy. For the last 37 yrs i have been wandering around the universe aimlessly like a headless chicken.I have never been one to plan a session with specific targets in mind. I prefer to just rotate/slew the scope or bins in every direction and see what i stumble upon. Ive seen many astounding sights and ive lots more to see. Its just the way i do things and i am happy plodding along at my own pace.

 

:thumbright:

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As others have said it would be a faint smudge in light polluted skies but with some detail possible under dark skies.

I spent a long time searching for M31 when I started and when I finally saw it I realised I had been looking at exactly the right spot repeatedly but not realising that I could see it. As soon as my eyes/brain clocked it, it has been easy to find and see ever since, even though it is just a faint oval smudge of the core from my home.

M31 is distinctively bracketed by a couple of magnitude 5ish stars that also help to pin it down, in the same way that M13 is bracketed by a pair of magnitude 7ish stars.

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Star hopping take some time to get used to and many sessions. Tools such as a Stellarium and SkySafari are brilliant as you can input the scope and eyepiece to have the eyepiece FOV circle and flip the view to that of through your scope (in the newts case both directions.  I was star hopping the other night with the 100p Heritage with my 24mm EP or my 19mm EP as it shows a massive field there's certainly no need for a finderscope!  Using SkySafari and the flipped view you're just then following the best line using various stars and patterns to get you to the target. A good target for practice is M57 starting from Vega.

Keep at it and it will come naturally.  M31 was not my first DSO but it was hit during my first session out with my C8 and I remember a very frustrating time to star hop my way to it using an EQ mount but I got there in the end.  Of course once I got there it was a small smudge.  Many sessions and a couple of years later M31 is to me a bright massive object with structure on most nights (this was with my 8") but then I've dedicated my time to faint DSOs primarily galaxies.

At a sufficiently dark site Your scope has enough aperture to cover the entire Messier list although some of the tiny clusters may be difficult to resolve.

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