Galaxy hunting

[BeerMe]

Took the opportunity during the clear spell last night to try out my new (to me) 24mm Maxvision.  Like everyone else, chances to observe have been few and far between these past few months, so I've hardly even had a chance to use my 250px since I got it.

Galaxies are always a favourite of mine, even though the 'best' - and only - one I'd seen up til now was M31 from a dark site with my old Heritage 130p.  With the small aperture, M31 was still great to see even though it was never more than a faint fuzzy.  My back garden is badly affected by LP, so I'm restricted to a tiny spot in the shadow of a shed - certainly not ideal for hunting galaxies but I was hopeful that the bigger aperture and better EP would negate the LP a little. 

I tried starting out with M51 and M101, as I knew the plough handle would be dipping under my roof before long.  Despite spending 15-20 minutes on each target, they were to prove as elusive as ever.  I wasn't too surprised or disappointed, they were directly over my roof and I was pointing in to an area with high LP so they'll have to wait for a night at a dark site.  Whilst I waited for the Great Square to rise over the rooftops to the SE,  I had a nice long look at Albireo and spent some time just scanning up and down the Milky Way, enjoying the vast array of twinkling lights in my view.  I wish I had took the time to note the position of some of the nebulae in the region, but since I was working solely off of the Autumn entries in TLAO I didn't have the info to hand.  Still, I saw some breathtaking views during my travels, and several doubles that I'd never seen before. 

Pegasus and Andromeda were now riding high in the SE, and by scooting down in the darkest area of the garden, I was just about able to make out the faint star 2 to the North of Mirach (Nu And.?) and got it centred in the Rigel.  Switching to the 9x50, I moved just slightly N and a small haze appeared at the bottom of the finderscope.  Centring it in the finderscope, I switched to the 24mm and was immediately greeted with a wonderful sight.  The centre of the haze was a blob of light, surrounded by what looked like nebulosity.  Although there was no definition to the dust lanes, I could envisage it simply because of the level of haze. 

And then, what was that up on the top left?  A definite small blob of light that could only be one thing - M32!  And down to the bottom right of the view, there was a fleeting glimpse of another area of haze which I'm almost positive was the ever elusive M110!  It was certainly in the right area, but despite M32 being ever present in the view and easy to distinguish, I was never quite able to discern the haze that denoted M110 again.

Somewhat elated, I chanced my luck with M33 (Triangulum) which I knew would be tough given my LP issues.  After much searching in the general area, I had a similar experience to that with M110 earlier in that I was sure I detected a haze on the right hand side of the EP view however, despite my best efforts using AV and staying in that general area, I wasn't able to see anything like it again so, like M110, I don't think I can quite tick this off my list just yet.

To finish off the night, I returned to Cassiopeiae to try to spot the triple star, Iota Cass.  I had already tried earlier in the night and, despite being sure that I could see it naked eye and I was lining it up as best as I could in the finder, I just couldn't see it with either the 24mm or my 15mm - maybe more magnification is needed for it?  Unperturbed, I made a try for Struve 163.  I must admit, it gave me immense satisfaction when I did manage to track it down as I actually used star jumps from Epsilon Cass. as described in the book, which is the first time I've actually been able to successfully do this at the eyepiece. 

All in all, it was a very enjoyable night mixed with a little frustration at not planning my session better to allow me to look for more, new, targets.  We live and learn :-)

[Whistlin Bob]

This sounds familiar. Desperate to see galaxies. Big aperture to capture them with. Too much flipping LP to see them! I use a Rigel as well (but my Dob isn't as big!) and a nice one that might work for you: use a wide EP (25mm?), take Phad (bottom left of the pan part of the plough) and go to Dubhe (top right of the plough) and then go exactly the same distance and direction again and you've a good chance of seeing M81 and M82 in the same view.  They're quite bright so I can see them even in my light polluted back garden.

 

[domstar]

Great report. I love I Cass but I look at it at 150x. I like it so much because for my eyes it's a challenge but doable. Every session should have at least one success and at least one failure. That means I'm doing it right.

[BeerMe]

9 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

This sounds familiar. Desperate to see galaxies. Big aperture to capture them with. Too much flipping LP to see them! I use a Rigel as well (but my Dob isn't as big!) and a nice one that might work for you: use a wide EP (25mm?), take Phad (bottom left of the pan part of the plough) and go to Dubhe (top right of the plough) and then go exactly the same distance and direction again and you've a good chance of seeing M81 and M82 in the same view.  They're quite bright so I can see them even in my light polluted back garden.

 

I'm embarrassed to say that M81/M82 went right out of my head (there's that lack of planning again!).  I bet I'd have been able to see them too as they'd have been a fair bit higher in the sky.  When I realised this yesterday morning it was a real doh! moment.  Definitely one for the next time :-)

 

9 hours ago, domstar said:

Great report. I love I Cass but I look at it at 150x. I like it so much because for my eyes it's a challenge but doable. Every session should have at least one success and at least one failure. That means I'm doing it right.

I had a feeling that I wasn't using enough magnification for I Cass, I should have tried the Barlow on my 15mm.  Are you able to see the 3rd star at 150x?  This'll be another that's high on my list for the next session :-)

Nice sentiment re success and failure also.  It's good to push the boundaries, otherwise we may never learn the limits of our equipment (or eyes for that matter!)

[alan potts]

Very nice report, I would be happy the swap my night after night and day after day of clear sky, for some rain, the taps are almost dry. On M31 I personally like with my 10.5 X70 binos more so than with some of my larger scopes. It is also very nice with the 190mm M/N as I can view it at x23, so get it all in.

Alan

[Astro Imp]

I enjoyed the read Paul, I found when I was having a tough time it boosted the confidence to finish the night with an easier object. ATM, although not galaxies the double cluster is a great view.

Good luck.

[domstar]

On 23/09/2017 at 10:19, BeerMe said:

 Are you able to see the 3rd star at 150x?

Yes but it takes me a bit of time. It's easier than Izar, which sometimes I can't split. The beauty of triple stars like I Cass and Beta Monocerotis (the literal TLAO object) is that I can enjoy the double and wait for the third one to reveal itself. I find it satisfying to see something that I couldn't see at first.

[BeerMe]

@Astro Imp thanks mate, I enjoy writing my good night's up for something to look back on, and a bit of reference.  I also enjoy reading others so it's only fair to give back some :-)  And thanks for that little nugget of advice, I hadn't really thought of that before but it definitely makes sense to end the night on a high note.

Thanks @domstar I'll try a bit of higher power next time I get the chance.  I should probably know about Beta Monocerotis, but now that I do I have something else to look forward to when Orion reveals himself once more :-)

That's if I can pull myself away from its obvious delights...I've had significant upgrades since my last look at Orion, and I'm counting the days til it comes back ;-)

[mapstar]

Nice report in what sounds to be highly light polluted skies.

Andromeda is a different experience away from the urban sprawl. The distance to M110 from the core of M31 always amazes me.

M51, M101 and M33 are very hard and elusive targets from urban skies due to their low surface brightness. Out of the 3 only M51 will be visible and that will be just the cores. To put it into perspective I can see M51 in the 2" finder when LP is at a minimum.

If you can see Pegasus then a nice bright galaxy to track down is NGC7331 above the top right stars of Scheat and Matar. That is if this weather ever gives us a break.

Happy hunting and keep up the reports as we do like to see people getting out doing traditional astronomy. 

 

[wookie1965]

I have only ever seen M51 in Damian`s Beast at a fairly dark site, i have never seen M32 or M33 from home. I generally go for clusters and doubles and the brighter nebulae after a good friend said forget the galaxies from home, at least when out now I`m seeing stuff.  

[John]

Nice report Paul

My back yard skies have quite a bit of LP around the horizons and up to around 45 degrees but above that it can get quite dark.

I've had a couple of galaxy hunting sessions with my 12" dob and armed with the Sky & Telescope Pocket Star Atlas where I've managed to see 40-50 galaxies down to around magnitude 13.5 or so. The S&T Atlas shows 13 galaxies in or close to the "bowl" of Ursa Major for example and it's fun to move from one to another over a period of a couple of hours when that constellation is reasonably high in the sky.

In Virgo, the Markarian's Chain of galaxies can put 10+ galaxies in a single field of view. A wonderful sight on a dark night

[Swithin StCleeve]

I enjoyed reading that report, thanks. I do think it's important to post these light-polluted backyard sessions. Lots of people don't bother with deep sky objects in the city, thinking 'I won't see much'. So they end up seeing nothing, while you're out there checking out galaxies!

 Talking of M81 & M82, I saw them a few times over the summer, in 10X8 bins, and through my 8" mirror. Really nice.

 I think, as well as backyard telescopes, when it comes to galaxies, there's a lot to be said for taking a trip out to the darker skies of the countryside with some nice bins or a spotting scope. Park up somewhere, flask of coffee... be interesting to see how such a trip compares to a backyard session.

[Paz]

Nice report. I sometimes go for galaxies at home but not that often. My skies are nelm 4.5ish, maybe closer to 4.8 or so at the very best. I can see shapes of the brighter galaxies but no structure in any.

 

[BeerMe]

On 22/09/2017 at 23:55, Whistlin Bob said:

This sounds familiar. Desperate to see galaxies. Big aperture to capture them with. Too much flipping LP to see them! I use a Rigel as well (but my Dob isn't as big!) and a nice one that might work for you: use a wide EP (25mm?), take Phad (bottom left of the pan part of the plough) and go to Dubhe (top right of the plough) and then go exactly the same distance and direction again and you've a good chance of seeing M81 and M82 in the same view.  They're quite bright so I can see them even in my light polluted back garden.

 

Last night was supposed to be clear, so I set up around 11pm and the sky was quite stunning at that time.  Came indoors for a bit to let the scope cool and went back out at half past.  A few wisps of cloud visible but nothing that looked interfering.

Straight away, I pointed towards the North where Ursa Major was just slipping over the tops of neighbouring homes.  The LP was pretty horrendous - every single neighbour seemed to have left their security lighting on in the past half hour...maybe they seen me creeping about with my big scope lol - but I had to make do as it was far too late to go asking people to turn off lights so I could enjoy some observing!  Anyway, from Phad to Dubhe and on the same distance again..

Setting it up in the Rigel is a cinch, so within a few seconds I had skipped the 9x50 and went straight to my 24mm.  I came in to focus on a bright star and there was nothing in the FOV that looked like a galaxy.  Aware that I had over compensated my jump probably, I began making small movements down and to the left, in the general direction of Dubhe.  After perhaps 3 or 4 of these 1° movements, I detected a wisp on the RH side of the view.  Over to the left just a tad and there was the unmistakable fuzzy halo that could only be a galaxy!!  Feeling pretty elated, I quickly realised that if this is what it should be, there should be another detectable wisp of fuzziness fairly close by.  With M81 in the centre of the view there was nothing obvious so, knowing that M82 should be down and to the right slightly in my EP, I pulled M81 over to the left and there it was, a small faint streak in the lower right!  Hurrah!  

I spent the next few minutes centring each in the EP in turn, trying to eke out some more details and then keeping both in the view and enjoying the majesty of what I was seeing, even if the details were scant.  Remembering that the Astronomical Wonders book suggested 90x as a good magnification for M81, I fumbled in my bag for a bit for my 15mm gold-line (66° AFOV).  I checked in the 24mm again to make sure it was still centred and it was just a haze.  Huh?!  Instantly I thought of dewing but tried changing the EP to check.  Another look and nope, still a haze.  It was only then I decided to actually look UP, to notice that practically the whole sky was now covered in a blanket of cloud!  Damn, where did that come from?!

I had a scan around the sky and waited a little as the clouds were moving fairly quickly, but they were just followed by more and more so I packed up and was tucked up in bed for half 12ish. 

I'm a bit disappointed that I waited so late to go out but the Moon would have interfered too much earlier in the night, and the CO app promised only a little cloud all night so I thought I'd have got a good session in.  As it was, I was able to tick 2 objects off of my list, and viewed only my 2nd and 3rd galaxies so that has to be viewed as a successful half hours observing :-)

I'll definitely be returning to these 2 in the future, even in my back garden.  

[Stu]

Well done on getting these two. A great sight on a dark transparent night but a bit washed out by LP. Having said that they are two of the brighter galaxy targets available so worth revisiting many times I find.

There is an easier star hop which gets you there more reliably I find, see image.

[BeerMe]

Thanks @Stu I'll remember that for next time rather than guesstimating and hoping I'm in the ballpark :-)

[Stu]

1 minute ago, BeerMe said:

Thanks @Stu I'll remember that for next time rather than guesstimating and hoping I'm in the ballpark :-)

That's the benefit of it, it takes you right there, no guessing  

[Whistlin Bob]

Great to hear you found them @BeerMe and thanks for the star hop tip @Stu. They have been a favourite target for me for a while, but I'm not so great at the star hopping (my lefts and rights get very muddled in the reflector view!). Perhaps trying to do it on a target I already know will help me. Around the same time you were out I was looking at M110- only a bit of fuzz for me, but delighted to find it all the same.

[Stu]

11 minutes ago, Whistlin Bob said:

my lefts and rights get very muddled in the reflector view!

Have you tried a TelRad and/or RACI Finder? They allow you to star hop more easily, the TelRad by projecting rings of known size against the background sky so you know which way and how far to move. The RACI (Right-Angled, Correct Image) Finder shows things the right way round and again helps with positioning the scope.

[Whistlin Bob]

@Stu- I have a Rigel which is pretty good, although I often seem to fog it up- but a RACI sounds like a good plan. Another one for the equipment wish list! ?

[Stu]

This sort of thing works well as a starter. You can go more expensive and with illuminated reticle which is possibly necessary under very dark conditions, but these are good can can also be picked up used.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/skywatcher-9x50-right-angled-erecting-finderscope.html

Try making a dew shield for the Rigel out of thin hobby foam, should help reduce the fogging up (unless it is you breathing onnit  )

Example here for a TelRad but you get the idea

 

[BeerMe]

14 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

@Stu- I have a Rigel which is pretty good, although I often seem to fog it up- but a RACI sounds like a good plan. Another one for the equipment wish list! ?

I love my Rigel :-) 

That said, I really want to invest in a 9x50 RACI and I think it'd make a BIG difference to the regular 9x50.  So much stuff (maps, charts, photos, etc) is oriented as we view the sky with our eyes.  We need uniformity! ;-)

 

[John]

8 hours ago, BeerMe said:

I love my Rigel :-) 

That said, I really want to invest in a 9x50 RACI and I think it'd make a BIG difference to the regular 9x50.  So much stuff (maps, charts, photos, etc) is oriented as we view the sky with our eyes.  We need uniformity! ;-)

 

A Rigel plus a RACI 9x50 is the combination that I use on my 12" dob and I find it really does a great job for me. I also found that getting the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas made a significanf difference to my success rate at finding fainter DSO's. I've had nights armed with these finders and the Sky Atlas at the 12" dob where I've been able to find literally dozens of DSO's that were new to me

[BeerMe]

On 02/10/2017 at 09:55, John said:

A Rigel plus a RACI 9x50 is the combination that I use on my 12" dob and I find it really does a great job for me. I also found that getting the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas made a significanf difference to my success rate at finding fainter DSO's. I've had nights armed with these finders and the Sky Atlas at the 12" dob where I've been able to find literally dozens of DSO's that were new to me

I should be receiving a copy of Nortons sky atlas within a few days from another member on here, which I think will complete my book collection...for now :-)

Between that, TLAO and my Astronomical Wonders book, I should have enough to keep me occupied and going in the right direction this Winter. 

[mapstar]

On 02/10/2017 at 09:55, John said:

A Rigel plus a RACI 9x50 is the combination that I use on my 12" dob and I find it really does a great job for me. I also found that getting the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas made a significanf difference to my success rate at finding fainter DSO's. I've had nights armed with these finders and the Sky Atlas at the 12" dob where I've been able to find literally dozens of DSO's that were new to me

I use the same although initially finding the rigel circles is sometimes difficult as I like them turned down to a minimum. 

 Nothing like a good efficient combination John.