Nemisis!

[TheThing]

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!

M31!

I'm jiggered if I can find it. The light pollution from London to my north and east doesn't help, I know. I should probably wait until later in the year when it'll be higher up, but I just cant! I'm like a small child at Xmas.

Just spent an age trying to track it down with both scopes and 20x50 bins, but nothing! At least Jupiter was there to calm my nerves.

Even the trusty 'Turn Left...' wasn't very helpful - square of Pegasus - check! Top left star - check! Two stars out towards Cassiopiea - erm, nope, can't see them for the orage glow!

Any tips (apart from learn to be patieint!) gratefully received!

[GazOC]

Light pollution and the Moon really kill this object. Wait for a moonless night when the object is higher up.

[Talitha]

If you can see Alpheratz (alpha AND, mag 2.1) and Scheat (beta PEG, mag 2.4) naked eye, use them as two points in a triangle with M31 as the other point (see attached Sky Tools screen capture).

Might be a bit hard with LP and the current moonwash, but M31's got a pretty bright core and you might be able to detect it.

Good luck!

[barkis]

I hate to be a kiljoy, but even if you find it, you will not be all that impressed. It is but a smudge.

Sweep the area with low power binoculars, you should see it, but if your skies are as bad as you infer, then sweep slowly, as it is probably the movement of the binos. that will reveal it.

Dust lanes are visible in M31, In a good scope, but you need a good dark sky too, and dark adapted vision. Perhaps you are on a Messier marathon, and M31 is still on you list.

You probably have seen some very fine images of the big spiral on SGL's Deep Sky Images board,

Please don't expect anything like that though. Sorry :crybaby:

Ron.

PS. Carol and I have posted almost simultaneously. It would appear I am at odds with her description. She is perfectly right in what she has said, but I am basing my assessment for your light polluted sky.

[asteria]

Hi - it's worth persisting, especially if you can get to a dark site. I've seen this from our back yard in Devon through the ST120 and it was beautiful. Even in binos it should be good, but the darker your sky the better the view. I had a look tonight, but with the Moon and the LP it was really just down to the core, even through the big refractor.

Good luck.

Ed

[canuck]

Hi Thing,

I live on the outskirts of London too. While at a truly dark site, I've seen M33 through a finder, I have never been able to see it in London (I may have seen bits of it through a 12" LX200), but I'm not sure.

Chances are good that you've been looking straight at it...unfortunately, unless you get an exceptional night, London will keep M33 from getting through to you. Best to save this one for a dark sky.

With enough aperture, you can still see galaxies from London, although large wispy ones are a struggle and tend to stay hidden. Planetary nebulas break through the London haze pretty well, and make a good visual deep sky target. Try the Blue Snowball (NGC 7662), & the Cat's eye Nebula (NGC 6543).

Sorry to bear bad news...