Orion nebula through the scope!

[Cyclops]

Saw the Orion nebula through the scope at 44x. When I saw it I had to go get the kids. They couldn't get down quick enough and were suitably impressed!  Grey fuzzy patch, like cotton wool with stars in the middle. Nice. This photo, taken with my phone to the eyepiece, shows a little colour!

I then decided if I could find M32, the Andromeda spiral, using the SkyView free app on my phone. Yep, saw it. Like an old friend...

[Stu]

Nice one, it's a lovely target. Just had a quick look at it myself, sky is nice and transparent tonight.

Did you see the four stars together in the middle of the Orion Nebula? They form what is called the Trapezium. This is a phone shot from a while back showing the Nebula and those four stars.

The Andromeda Galaxy is M31. M32 is an almost stellar looking galaxy nearby and M110 is a more diffuse one further away which needs a dark sky to see it.

Have fun!

[Cyclops]

On 07/03/2018 at 20:57, Stu said:

Nice one, it's a lovely target. Just had a quick look at it myself, sky is nice and transparent tonight.

Did you see the four stars together in the middle of the Orion Nebula? They form what is called the Trapezium. This is a phone shot from a while back showing the Nebula and those four stars.

The Andromeda Galaxy is M31. M32 is an almost stellar looking galaxy nearby and M110 is a more diffuse one further away which needs a dark sky to see it.

Have fun!

Ah yes I've seen the Trapezium in the past, but not tonight, probably need a higher mag. Cracking shot there. Lots of green! I got purple here.

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, Cyclops said:

Ah yes I've seen the Trapezium in the past, but not tonight, probably need a higher mag. Cracking shot there. Lots of green! I got purple here.

Visually it normally appears greenish, unless you have a mega dobsonian!!

[Cyclops]

Here's another, wider photo, taken with the camera on the tripod instead of the scope. There's a bit of movement due to the 2 second exposure, the camera on 19x zoom!

[russ]

50 minutes ago, Cyclops said:

Saw the Orion nebula through the scope at 44x. When I saw it I had to go get the kids. They couldn't get down quick enough and were suitably impressed!  Grey fuzzy patch, like cotton wool with stars in the middle. Nice. This photo, taken with my phone to the eyepiece, shows a little colour!

I then decided if I could find M32, the Andromeda spiral, using the SkyView free app on my phone. Yep, saw it. Like an old friend...

It’s such a thrill seeing M42, especially when the kids get a buzz as well. My two used to like seeing it and the Andromeda Galaxy. They couldn’t believe we were looking at another galaxy. It’s all great stuff. And well done getting a phone shot too.

[Mr_42tr0nomy]

Welcome sir, to the rabbit hole. (:

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

Congrats. M42 is indeed an old friend to many. I was going to joke about only seeing 4 stars in the Trapezium because there are 6 or them (maybe 7). Most people, if lucky, can resolve the image to see 4.