My telescope

[Pro2001]

I have got 60mm aperture celestron powerseeker (refractive). I have seen good views of moon and average view of Jupiter . I wanted to know that can I see deep sky objects like Andromeda galaxy or nebula with it or I need a good reflector. Average view would also do . Any suggestions would be helpful

[Guest]

Hello and welcome to SGL Forum !

You could check it here http://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ if you could.. guess in INDIA where the sky is darker and clearer than here in Europe should be theoretically possible.. but check the LINK above, you can add / change your equipment details and see what is possible and what not..

 

Cheers 

Martin 

[Pro2001]

Dude helpful links but i face similar problem any suggestions from your experience

[timwetherell]

You can definitely see the Andromeda galaxy with a 60mm but it will look rather different to how one might expect - just a little fussy ball which is actually the nucleus of the galaxy. the larger arms giving it the oval shape in photos are dimmer and require dark skies and a wide field of view to see well. You'll be able to see M13 (globular cluster in Hercules) and M57 (ring nebula) too. Probably the best targets for a 60mm refractor are the moon and double stars, it should give great views of many brighter doubles

[Pro2001]

Thanks for your advice

[Alien_Photons]

Look for planetary nebula and Bright nebula. Much depends on you skies.

[Starlight 1]

I use a 1970 60x700 as a finder with a 20mm ep  m42 show well  and as said m13 so brighter the better.

[billyharris72]

Agree with the above. Lots of DSOs will show reasonably well in a 60mm refractor. They wont be as bright or as clearly resolved as in a Dob, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to see them or get decent views. Good targets might be:

Orion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda (M31), M33 (if you have a very low power eyepiece and a dark sky), M13 in Hercules, M81, M82 and M51 in Ursa Major, M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga and a whole bunch more. Being quite far South you should be able to see Omega Centauri and maybe the Magellanic clouds as well.

So plenty to do with a 60mm scope.

Billy.

[Pro2001]

Billy would 35x magnification would be good or 105x

 

[laudropb]

The main thing when searching for DSOs is the sky conditions. You have to go to a dark sky site well away from light pollution. The Moon has to be new or a very small crescent if visible. As for magnification, it depends on the size and brightness of the object, but do not expect to see much detail. Most will be grey fuzzy blobs.

[billyharris72]

1 hour ago, Pro2001 said:

Billy would 35x magnification would be good or 105x

 

For all of those objects I would go with x35. 105 is a lot for a 60mm refractor, and the objects will be very dim (and many will not fit in the field of view). You should be fine with 5 though.

[Rusted]

Download a free night sky [planetarium] program like Stellarium. It will provide you with lots of interesting target objects.

More importantly it shows nearby "guide" stars and patterns of stars to look for. These will help you to "home in" on the things which interest you.

Practice will increase your observational skills and teach you the night sky. There are some very serious amateur astronomers who make a lifetime hobby of finding all the Messier objects [and many others] in smaller telescopes. Most of these objects were discovered with remarkably small and poor telescopes [by today's standards] by highly skilled and patient observers.

A steady view is important to seeing the barely visible so mount your telescope as steadily as possible. Make yourself as comfortable as possible at the telescope. A warm and relaxed observer will see more. Make notes of your observations and keep trying to improve your skills to add to your list of confirmed sightings.

Avoid all stray light for at least 20 minutes so your eye can properly adapt to the dark. Don't stare at the Moon just before trying for something much dimmer. Some observers even use black eye patches to adapt their favoured observing eye before seeking the more difficult objects.

[Nyctimene]

A 60 mm refractor is a very capable scope; have a look at this:

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/articles/the-year-long-60mm-telescope-challenge-r2784

A German amateur astronomer, Rudolf Brandt, many decades ago, said:"Each scope has got it's sky" ("Jedes Fernrohr hat seinen Himmel"). Every user of a small travelscope under dark skies will confirm that. So, enjoy your scope, get to a dark sky area and try to push it to it's limits.

Stephan

[spaceboy]

There's quite a few things you can see in a 60mm scope including the complete Messier catalogue and quite a few in the NGC also. BUT....... whether you would consider them worth looking at is a different story. Even under dark skies with an average armature scope of say 150-200mm most galaxies are nothing more than faint smudges of light, often unidentifiable from one galaxy to the next. What these scope will do though over a 60mm scope is reveal detail on other DSO like open clusters, globular clusters, nebula and planetary nebulas. Almost all of these objects will appear as nothing more than fuzzy balls of light in a 60mm scope with the exception of the larger and brighter clusters and nebula. You will see them none the less but just not with the same resolution as you would in a larger instrument.