How to chase a DSO

[LukeSkywatcher]

My favourite object in the night sky is the Rosette Nebula. The very first time i went hunting it down was with a 130mm scope. I knew exactly where to look. All i saw was a large area of black empty sky which looked weird as if there was/should be something there. I knew i was in the right place. It was only later when i read about it that i knew my only chance of seeing it visually was with an OIII filter. I bought one, and the exact same area of black sky showed me the Rosette.

No glorious colours as in the images you see posted. It was more like: If even this good.

 

[JOC]

10 minutes ago, Astro Imp said:

FYI I took the trouble to align the starting position as accurately as possible by finding north by pointing at Polaris and then bringing the optical tube down to the zero index mark.

I must admit I hadn't discovered the significance of a starting position - the manual mentioned something about it, but when you go for a 2 star align the computer doesn't say to start of by pointing it North - it just says align on the first star and goes from there.  I assumed that because it knew what time and day it was that when you told it that it was pointing at Castor for example that the system would take it from there.  Maybe I should try swinging it to find the first of the two stars from a North Position as you suggest - I'll give it a go next time.

[JOC]

Hi Paul, that is quite an image - I find it hard to imagine that I could see that sort of colour change (even though its grey) and definition in a 'grey wispy DSO' - It takes all my imagination to see the shape of M42 - that said I am filtered up these days, and once I know where I am if a filter would help, I can at least try them (though I understand that some filters are better for specific nebulas than others and some only work on some nebulas).  I've even got them in a cassette system and can just swing them into place without moving the EP so I don't lose anything I think I've found!!  LOL

[LukeSkywatcher]

The above image is not mine.

[JOC]

Hi Paul, a shame, but I hadn't 100% assumed it was, it didn't sound as though you had claimed it in your posting, but wouldn't it be great if we could see something with just something like that definition in our EPs?

[rockystar]

Just watched this video, might help:

 

[SilverAstro]

2 hours ago, JOC said:

 I've just spotted why I won't get far with Hercules at the moment.  According to Stellarium it's almost crashed on the Northern horizon, which is non-achievable for me at my location.

Errr ? !  I think your Stellarium needs aligning, not just your GoTo ! When you posted that Hercules should have been on the horizon in the NE (but too low to be  of any use ! )

Now (23:00) it is beginning to rise to a usable altitude in the East about 25 to 30deg up. By 1am it should be a good height in the East and then high in the SE before dawn.

So, if domestic duties and the cloudGods allow, , , ,

But it will be much better placed come May onwards !

 

[kilix]

JOC, you have a synscan keypad on that dob, right?
Well, there is a function "Guided tour" which I used about 5x, but it's nice nevertheless. It shows you the best objects that can be seen from your location at the time/date of your observation. It shows doubles, nebulae, clusters, galaxies, no discrimination on object type. It's a nice function if you don't have an observing plan prepared. Ofc it helps, if you at least know what to expect.

I remember the night I set it to Beehive cluster and had 150x mag in my MAK, I've seen nothing, 3 stars maybe, I was disappointed - "it doesn't work". Well it turns out, that Beehive needs about 1.2° of TFOV to view.

But first you need to align the GoTo properly, ofc.

[Astro Imp]

10 hours ago, JOC said:

I must admit I hadn't discovered the significance of a starting position - the manual mentioned something about it, but when you go for a 2 star align the computer doesn't say to start of by pointing it North - it just says align on the first star and goes from there.  I assumed that because it knew what time and day it was that when you told it that it was pointing at Castor for example that the system would take it from there.  Maybe I should try swinging it to find the first of the two stars from a North Position as you suggest - I'll give it a go next time.

If you look on page 7 the section headed Part II Initialization  of the Synscan manual the last paragraph of section 2.1 explains the home position.

[ollypenrice]

I don't know about Stellarium (perhaps someone will come in on this?) but my own planetarium software, SkyMap Pro, allows you to plug in the details of your telescope and eyepiece so that it then gives you the field of view in a circle which you can move around over the chart.

When I began I had exactly the problem you describe. I had no notion of object scale. A virtual eyepiece in a planetarium is a great way to get your eye in.

Olly

[SilverAstro]

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

I don't know about Stellarium (perhaps someone will come in on this?) but my own planetarium software, SkyMap Pro, allows you to plug in the details of your telescope and eyepiece

Yes, it is called "oculars"
Go to Configuration (a spanner and star)  in the left-hand menu bar

then go > Plug-ins > down to Oculars > Configure (different one !) and in that page can be set General functions, Eyepieces, Barlows, Telescopes  etc.

Edit to add pics :-

 

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

JOC - I see that you have Goto on your 8" telescope, so you should  be able to find a number of galaxies with it easily. I have low expectations of being able to find galaxies from my urban backyard, but on the 20th March I tried my 8" SCT + Starsense on Starsense's galaxy list, which lists galaxies in order of brightness. Some (like M31) are in bad positions, but it revealed one galaxy after another as a faint but unmistakable grey smudge, and revealed seventeen by my logbook before I froze and called it a night.  Faintest was M105, listed as mag 9.3, IIRC. It was (for here) an unusually clear night.

So I suggest you make sure your GoTo is aligned right and find the most helpful menu for finding galaxies or Messier objects in a section of sky. Try M81, M82 first, for if you can't find or see them, you won't see any others. I never found them with my manual 8" Newtonian. GoTo rules OK. 

[Moonshane]

Key thing to remember is that your skies and your experience might not allow you to see objects even if it's in the field.

[Astro Imp]

I don't know what your skies have been like recently but here even when fairly cloudless the transparency has been awful, under these conditions you will struggle to see faint fuzzies.

[JOC]

At the moment I'm still a bit fuzzy on describing 'seeing' and 'transparency' for my own situation.  I've read up on them, but without more experience to see the effect of both changing it's difficult to know whether those things have been good or bad around here.  B.T.W.  Noting that all stars etc. are probably DSO's I'm going to coin the term FGF's - Faint grey fuzzies.  As noted above to see FGF's the conditions will have to right, but at the moment I don't know how to tell whether things are good or bad!

[cloudsweeper]

For faint objects, transparency needs to be good - basically a lack of those thin, wispy clouds.  If you look at the sky and can't even see that many stars, transparency is bad.  Poor seeing shouldn't stop you observing faint objects too much, but they will look very fuzzy indeed.  It's due to atmospheric turbulence, and makes detail deteriorate at higher mag.  Jupiter looks less sharp; lunar detail likewise, and it might seem to shimmer somewhat.

Doug.

PS: Looking lower in the sky also makes transparency worse.

[Timebandit]

1 hour ago, JOC said:

At the moment I'm still a bit fuzzy on describing 'seeing' and 'transparency' for my own situation.  I've read up on them, but without more experience to see the effect of both changing it's difficult to know whether those things have been good or bad around here.  B.T.W.  Noting that all stars etc. are probably DSO's I'm going to coin the term FGF's - Faint grey fuzzies.  As noted above to see FGF's the conditions will have to right, but at the moment I don't know how to tell whether things are good or bad!

 

Hello. Don't give up buddy. It will come with perseverance . When I first started on the faint fuzzy trial. I would look at the star maps and get into what I thought was the correct location, but nothing???.  But I remember the first time I came across a DSO proper(faint fuzzy)  I had spent hours looking for anything remotely faint and fuzzy, but nothing and I was really getting down about it. Was it my scope, was it my eyepiece, was it the atmosphere, was it the darkness of the sky's, was it that these things even existed, or was I just totally rubbish at this hobby?. I was looking at some open star clusters as I had given up on DSO that evening as I was not locating faint fuzzys. I was moving the scope up alone a line to another open star clusters (something I did manage to know the location). Then as I was moving the scope as well as looking through the eyepiece occasionally i suddenly noticed a very faint small ball of grey in the corner of the eyepiece. I moved this faint ball of grey into the centre of the eyepiece?????, Was this really a faint fuzzy?? I moved my eye in and out of the eyepiece as I thought i was just imagining this object as it was so faint. Then a big smile and a yes came out of my mouth. At last a proper faint fuzzy and they do exist. I upped the magnificent and there were just a mass of small grain like stars. Just an amazing discovery, for me anyway. I still don't know what exactly this object was called, but at the time it did not matter. I had found my first faint fuzzy,and they do exist?

Sky condition/atmosphere and dark skys really do help with faint fuzzy spotting. As some you may see in semi light polluted areas. But there are many that will be more or less impossible to spot unless the atmosphere and dark site conditions are available to assist you.

As I said do not give up , they are there keep trying on cloudless nights. And if still no luck ,then get into the car , get some petrol and travel to  a truly dark site area and they will be there waiting for you. ☺

[Astro Imp]

2 hours ago, JOC said:

As noted above to see FGF's the conditions will have to right, but at the moment I don't know how to tell whether things are good or bad!

I presume you can find M45 as a naked eye object. When the transparency is good this will be easily visible, when conditions are poor you may only see a faint smudge perhaps needing averted vision to pick it out.

Don't worry this hobby is a steep learning curving but gradually things seem to make sense. 

It has been unfortunate you have had a rubbish spell of weather when starting out getting to grips with all this new stuff, seems to take forever but you'll get there eventually, we all do.

I don't know how people got on before the days of the internet and forums like SGL, that must have been really hard.

[cloudsweeper]

34 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

At last a proper faint fuzzy and they do exist. I upped the mag and there were just a mass of small grain like stars. Just an amazing discovery, for me anyway. I still don't know what exactly this object was called, but at the time it did not matter. I had found my first faint fuzzy,and they do exist?

 

Impossible of course to say which one, but it sounds very much like a globular cluster.  (Open clusters are more like groups of stars even at low mag.)  Great progress indeed!

Doug.