Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

What DSO’s to view in July 2019


Recommended Posts

Hi,

just tried looking for DSO’s today. 10 inch F4.7 dob. 30mm ES 82 degrees eyepiece. Tried looking for ring nebula, dumbbell nebula and some of the globs. Couldn’t find them. Using the skyview app on my phone. I am in north west uk so the skies weren’t very dark and it’s a Bortle 6.

the only DSO I have seen so far is Orions Nebula in March. Are the DSO’s this time of year as bright and easy to find as that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is your location? You latitude will determine what DSOs will be available to you. But if you see orion nebula than I assume that sagittarius and Scorpius will be available to you. Try M20 (the trifid), m8 swan, m17 lagoon, m16 eagle, m4 & m80 globulars and m6 & m7 open clusters. Those objects are in Sagittarius and Scorpius and near each other in the sky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I reckon the globs are as easy as anything, along with M27/57.

How are you trying to find things? Do you have a Telrad and a RACI finder fitted? Get these sorted and aligned well and you will do much better. I am able to find the globs quite easily in a 4" scope, so your problem is accuracy of pointing I am sure.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, MSammon said:

I have a Telrad but prefer the standard finder scope. I have never heard of a RACI finder?

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

It is a Right Angled finder which is easier to look into and it gives a corrected image ie not upside down or reversed which is easier to relate to the Telrad view.

If you have an accurately aligned Telrad finder you should be able to find M13 for instance, very easy given its position 1/3 of the way along a line between Eta and Zeta Herculis.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With your 30mm eyepiece you might be seeing M57 but be mistaking it for a slightly bloated star - it's not very big at all. M27 is also a planetary nebula but much larger and obvious even at low power.

Thats one of the challenges with DSO's, getting an idea of what to actually look for. Their sizes are all over the place and the photos don't help assess how they will actually look with your scope and eyepieces.

I've found that the key things are:

- Good finder options, aligned accurately with the scope optics and that you have confidence in using. I use a Rigel Quickfinder and a 9x50 RACI optical finder.

- A low power / wide angle eyepiece as a 3rd line of finder.

- A good star chart that presents roughly the amount of stars that your optical finder will show - I use the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas

- Pick some easy finds to get going then move onto more challenging stuff.

- End the session on an easy object so you end on a positive note.

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I have a good star chart too. I didnt realise my finder scope was giving an inverted image to my scope lol. Learn something new every day. I have the Turn left at Orion book that helped me find Orion’s nebula. Will read it again tonight whilst it’s cloudy. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, MSammon said:

Yes I have a good star chart too. I didnt realise my finder scope was giving an inverted image to my scope lol. Learn something new every day. I have the Turn left at Orion book that helped me find Orion’s nebula. Will read it again tonight whilst it’s cloudy. 

Ricochet is right in that the views through a straight finder and the dob will be the same. It depends on preference, the Telrad and RACI will both be correct image which some find easier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found my second ever DSO tonight! (First was Orions Nebula in March). M13. Followed instructions online with how to find it. It was smaller than I thought! Made up though. Now I want a bigger scope to resolve more stars in it haha. What’s the next easiest to find? It takes me about two hours to find one for the first time. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, MSammon said:

Found my second ever DSO tonight! (First was Orions Nebula in March). M13. Followed instructions online with how to find it. It was smaller than I thought! Made up though. Now I want a bigger scope to resolve more stars in it haha. What’s the next easiest to find? It takes me about two hours to find one for the first time. 

Good stuff Mike. Did you stick some power on on it? A 10" should be able to resolve stars a long way into the core, and show you the Propeller shape within it. Take some time observing and using averted vision to see what you can see.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Good stuff Mike. Did you stick some power on on it? A 10" should be able to resolve stars a long way into the core, and show you the Propeller shape within it. Take some time observing and using averted vision to see what you can see.

I just went to X 133. It was a quite faint and felt if I zoomed more it would go too dark to see. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, MSammon said:

I just went to X 133. It was a quite faint and felt if I zoomed more it would go too dark to see. 

That should be enough. I guess it is not that dark at the moment so it will show up more when we get back to astro darkness. Can you get your scope somewhere darker?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Stu said:

That should be enough. I guess it is not that dark at the moment so it will show up more when we get back to astro darkness. Can you get your scope somewhere darker?

Yes my wife is going away tomorrow so i have a week on my own and can disappear during the weekend if I like. I don’t fancy driving for hours but maybe an hour or so further out. I’m on the edge of a bortle 6 so can get to a bortle 5 in 10 minutes and perhaps a 4 in half an hour. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The planetary nebulae M57 and M27 (the Ring and the Dumbell nebulae) are well placed at around midnight, vary in appearance (one small and one extended) and both reasonably bright. Good targets for a 10 inch scope at the moment and have plenty of star patterns around them for star hopping.

Congratulations on M13 - when the sky is dark and the eye adapted, it can start to look like it's photos at around 100x with a 10 inch scope - wonderful target !

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very surprised that you couldn't locate the ring nebula. I'm in Biggin hill, with plenty of light pollution from London and could see and find it very easily with my XT8 and 25mm plossi. Even on other less clear nights it was pretty clear. 

The only thing I have to suggest, as I am very new to this hobby, is to get a 9x50 right angle finder. With regards to my astronomy sessions, it's changed the entire game since I got it two weeks ago.  Best 60 quid I've ever spent. 

Entire nights of frustration have given way to hopping from one DSO to another.

One piece of advice though. You still need the red dot finder to get you to the rough location. It's very difficult with the RA finder. After that it's astounding how easy it is to find a target with it. 

 

Good luck. Keep persevering mate.

 

Cheers

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

just found M27 dumbbell nebula as well but it was very faint. Nothing like Orions nebula.  Bortle class 6. Is it normally difficult with this amount of light pollution?

Edited by MSammon
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing nebula-wise really is as bright and extensive as the Orion Nebula. M27 is usually good from my skies which are around Bortle 5 I think. A UHC filter makes it "pop" a bit more especially in the smaller apertures and shows more structure.

When you start looking for M57, bear in mind that while it's brighter than M27, it's a lot smaller.

The best Summer nebula and probably my favourite Summer DSO is the Veil Nebula. It's faint without a filter, even with a 12 inch scope but, wow, with an O-III filter it's a wonderful, complex and many faceted object. Very big as well !

(sorry thats another expense - an O-III filter !)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep just found the ring nebula! It was more distinct than the dumbbell nebula to me. At the moment I am stuck on high power. Need that longer focus tube for my two inch eyepieces. Will have a look for the veil nebula another night. Thanks. I have a UHC filter but it’s 2”. Will have to get more. 

Edited by MSammon
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, MSammon said:

Yep just found the ring nebula! It was more distinct than the dumbbell nebula to me. At the moment I am stuck on high power. Need that longer focus tube for my two inch eyepieces. Will have a look for the veil nebula. Thanks. I have a UHC filter but it’s 2”. Will have to get more. 

You can use a 2 inch filter with 1.25 inch eyepieces - it should screw onto the 2 inch eyepiece adapter. Just be careful that the 1.25" eyepiece barrel does not extend down so far that it touches the filter.

A UHC filter does help with the Veil and quite a lot of other nebulae. An O-III is the Veil filter though, IMHO.

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.