Finally found m81/m82

[Olli]

After a long think if I should go  out or not today as it was about -5 degrees tonight I didn’t think it would be worth it and didn’t feel like freezing my fingers off. However after sunset about 7pm there were no clouds in sight and Facing west I could see the moon,was nice to see it as haven’t seen it for a while  but unfortunately it was quite low near the horizon and the view was blocked so could not see it with my scope.

As it was so cold out I didn’t feel like staying out long even though I had three t shirts on and two pairs of socks! But I did have three targets that I would like to try and find and they were m81/m82 and also m110. M110 was really just an excuse to see if I could find m31 again. I did manage to find it and was quicker than the last sessions I was a bit worried that might have been a fluke last time. My scope unfortunately was not properly cooled down and I could tell as the viewing was not great.

However after looking at m31 for about half an hour the viewing started to get better by that time my eyes were fully adapted to the dark.  It was also the first time using averted vision and it did feel abit strange at first but When using it I could clearly see more detail which was a surprise. After having spent enough time at m31 I suddenly saw a very small faint and fuzzy patch close by which I gathered was M110. I was quite surprised I managed to spot it there wasn’t much detail but it was still nice to look at.

Now then, my other main targets apart from m110 tonight were m81/m812 before I went out ( at this time I didn’t know if it was going to be clear so was just doing reaserch) I was having a look at  Ursa Major to know how to star hop to m81/m82 as in a previous report I was extremely confused about this constellation for some reason. By doing this it helped a lot, I could easily recognise where I needed to go and could even remember the names of each star ( which surprised me). Once again I followed the tail from Alkaid to Dubhe ( which I didn’t I know was the Big Dipper thought that was a separate constellation D’oh!) then when  I was at Dubhe I turned diagonally left.

i then saw the best sight I’ve seen with this scope so far. Two fuzzies next to each other  both of them nearly  the same amount of  bightness however I could clearly tell which one was which. M81 was a much bigger and was slightly oval shaped with a nice glow. M82 was  smaller and was facing vertical and was thinner. By that shape I now know why it’s called the cigar galaxy. 

I don’t know what it is but with galaxies I get a funny feeling while looking at them ( a good feeling ) than I do looking at other objects like Nebulae and clusters. I can’t see any detail while looking at them but I guess it’s knowing what they might contain and the  scale of them.

a very short ( and cold ) session today yet still a long report ! However  I managed to find the targets I was looking for and am extremely happy once again from another session.

once again many thanks for reading  

clear skies !

[Knighty2112]

Excellent! Well done on nabbing M81 & M82!   I always use them as good indicators of what the conditions are like for the night when I observe and they are in view in the sky. No chance of seeing any thing over there though as wall to wall cloud cover alas here! 

[Charic]

3 minutes ago, Dinoco said:

As it was so cold out I didn’t feel like staying out long even though I had three t shirts on and two pairs of socks!

Don't forget Jeans, coat and gloves, makes a huge difference to your comfort level 

I find it hard to locate M81/M82 from my garden due to direct street lighting, but on good seeing nights, I can see them with averted vision though binoculars not 500 feet away  from the garden inside the wooded area of the footy pitch!

M31 is easier, but not worth the expense of this scope to see such a mediocre target from my garden?  its just a measly wispy bit of not much.....................................................................but away at the dark site, I need/use my Panaview to get the image in, its so large!!

[Olli]

3 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Excellent! Well done on nabbing M81 & M82!   I always use them as good indicators of what the conditions are like for the night when I observe and they are in view in the sky. No chance of seeing any thing over there though as wall to wall cloud cover alas here! 

Thanks Gus, I was quite lucky tonight had a look at the forcast and was surrounded by cloud but was a nice clear patch over  me but looks like it’s cloudy for the rest of the week  

[Hayduke27]

Great report!  I LOVE observing galaxies.  They really are amazing, especially considering every one of them is so full of stars.  I think they are one of the most amazing things we can view in the night sky.  M81 and 82 are two of my favorites.  I love that one is face on while the other is on edge, it gives a really nice contrast.

If you don't have too much light pollution, I would suggest looking for the Leo Triplet and Markarian's Chain.  Both are great places to see multiple galaxies in the eyepiece at once, and I think you'd enjoy them!

[Olli]

6 minutes ago, Hayduke27 said:

Great report!  I LOVE observing galaxies.  They really are amazing, especially considering every one of them is so full of stars.  I think they are one of the most amazing things we can view in the night sky.  M81 and 82 are two of my favorites.  I love that one is face on while the other is on edge, it gives a really nice contrast.

If you don't have too much light pollution, I would suggest looking for the Leo Triplet and Markarian's Chain.  Both are great places to see multiple galaxies in the eyepiece at once, and I think you'd enjoy them!

Thanks Alex, In my previous report I had found Leo triplet and really enjoyed looking at it I would love to see Makarian’s chain. I don’t have much light pollution but not sure if my scope can pull it off but worth having a try. Thanks  

[Red Dwarfer]

Great report , Ollie - and well done on M81 and M82 

Took me ages to find M110 because I was looking for it while Andromeda was quite low 

I know what you mean about Galaxies , they are pretty phenomenal - I googled a question the other day about how long does it take for the light from M42 to reach us and with that answer ( about 1300 Light Years ) I also got this screen cap about our own Galaxy ...

[Demonperformer]

Great report. You seem to have found your "hot button" that fires you up for going out and observing when the world would tell you it's crazy. As we are moving into galaxy season, some suggestions for relatively easy galaxies to see: M51, M104, M84, M87, and the Leo galaxies (M65, M66, M95, M96). Good luck with your galaxy-hunting!

[Stu]

Great stuff Olli! Glad you got them finally. A lovely sight. M82 should show a little detail at higher powers, some darker structure near the middle so look out for that. Those two are 12 million light years away, quite amazing that we can see them.

[Olli]

6 hours ago, Red Dwarfer said:

Great report , Ollie - and well done on M81 and M82 

Took me ages to find M110 because I was looking for it while Andromeda was quite low 

I know what you mean about Galaxies , they are pretty phenomenal - I googled a question the other day about how long does it take for the light from M42 to reach us and with that answer ( about 1300 Light Years ) I also got this screen cap about our own Galaxy ...

That’s incredibly depressing but amazing at the same time. Thanks for sharing.

[Olli]

3 hours ago, Demonperformer said:

Great report. You seem to have found your "hot button" that fires you up for going out and observing when the world would tell you it's crazy. As we are moving into galaxy season, some suggestions for relatively easy galaxies to see: M51, M104, M84, M87, and the Leo galaxies (M65, M66, M95, M96). Good luck with your galaxy-hunting!

Thanks, I think I have and probably won’t be long till aperture fever kicks in...  thanks for the suggestions  

[domstar]

An excellent report. I feel the same way about galaxies. Short sessions are great too. 

[Eastman]

Great Olli, you have  become a real galaxy hunter.

M31 has two sidekicks M110 and M32.

Maybe one for next time!

[Olli]

26 minutes ago, Eastman said:

Great Olli, you have  become a real galaxy hunter.

M31 has two sidekicks M110 and M32.

Maybe one for next time!

I keep forgetting about that one.I’ll have to try and find that next time I go out