Nebula

[Comet71210]

Hi, I know this might be abit of a long shot but is it possible to see galaxies and nebula through a celestron astromaster 130eq? Thankyou

[John]

Yes you can see quite a few of each type of object with a 130mm scope. The darker the skies, the more you will see.

So not a long shot at all. I found my 1st galaxies (Messier 81 and 82 in Ursa Major) with a 60mm refractor and the 130mm Celestron has more than 4x as much light gathering power. Those 2 might be good ones to try for - they are in a good position currently. Use your lowest magnification eyepiece. Here is a finder chart:

 

[John]

I ought to have added that Messier 42 in Orion is about the best nebula to observe at the moment. It is in the "sword" of Orion that is just below the 3 stars that form his "belt". Again low magnification is the way to go, initially at least.

[Littleguy80]

Hi, I have a SkyWatcher Explorer 130, same size as your telescope. I got my first look at the Orion Nebula (M42) and the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) on Friday night. I used my the stock 25mm eyepiece that came with my scope to find both. Having a star chart like the one John provided will be a big help in finding what you're looking for.

[swamp thing]

You might wanna get yourself out of Manchester to observe them buddy, light pollution won't help when trying to observe the faint stuff  

I leave the city well behind when hunting for galaxies and nebulae  

[newbie alert]

M42 is prob the brightest nebula.. for galaxies yes if you can get away from the l.p..and you will see more without any moon glow..

[timwetherell]

A narrow band filter such as a UHC or OIII can often help a lot with nebulae especially when observing in slightly light polluted skies. Some are expensive but it's possible to get a generic one on ebay for about £29 which would do the trick. Under perfect skies, you're probably better off without one, but when I lived on the outskirts of a big city in Oz, I used one all the time and it helped a lot. Even where I live here (which is pretty dark), large faint diffuse nebulae like NGC 7000 are invisible without a UHC

[MarsG76]

Most definitely... as long as you have dark adapted eyes and a nice dark sky.