Galaxy searching fruitless ??

[Leigh J K]

Hey guys 

so glad to finally be a part of this forum 

I’m completely new to searching the skies for new things and in particular the galaxies 

I recently purchased some Helios fieldmaster 10x50 which I were told were a pretty decent value for money first set of bins . 
its incredible the amount of stars they bring into view but I think I may be being optimistic of ever seeing any of the galaxies (In particular m81/82 )I see you guys talk about , with this set .

i have a scope but am struggling to see much even with that and the light pollution we have round my location  . I’ll be honest setting it up has proved difficult with barely any online content worth its weight . Do you think Taking these binoculars out to a darker area would be a start and if not could you recommend my next step in the Binocular purchase . I’ve heard that any better magnification would hinder me being able to keep them still so a tripod may be the way to go but in that case wouldn’t a better scope be the way forward if I’m substituting the ease of use factor 

 I’m familiar with the area of sky I need to be looking at for m81/m82 but so far I can’t see how these bins would ever pick them out amongst the many stars in the fov although I’ve heard I should be able to see them with bins - bit confused . 

any help much appreciated  

 

[Doc]

You can see M81/82 with 10x50 bins I have seen them on numerous times, you can also see M101, M33 and heaps more. As you say take them to darker skies and you will see so much more.

[Dr Strange]

Galaxies are low surface brightness objects so they are not bright or very easily found by star hopping unless you are experienced at doing so. At best from light polluted skies they are going to look like a faint puff of smoke or a smudge. In your bino's a very small puff of smoke or smudge. Still fun to get since you are looking at another galaxy that is anywhere from 2 million to, in the case of M81/82, about 11 million light years away. A good book to get for star hopping in general would by Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas. It has deep space objects (DSO) broken out by season and shows the star patterns around it for star hopping.

If you want to look into a telescope to supplement your bino's a good one is the Skywatcher 203mm Dobsonian. That is a huge aperture increase and galaxies will still be a smudge or puff of smoke but will be brighter and subjectively bigger. It is also relatively affordable and paired with a Telrad and the Pocket Sky Atlas a good setup to learn to star hop and to see things. 

[Leigh J K]

Thanks so much for this guys really appreciate your time 

[miguel87]

Personally I have never had success with bins, I cant hold them steady enough haha!

Do you know what number on the bortle scale your home skies are?

Galaxies usually stand out because of their size. Like one of the stars in your field of view has been smudged by something. The light isnt a precise point, it's a diffuse, very faint puff of smoke. You might be suprised how big the faint area is that you are looking for.

I also am a fan of the telrad finder on any scope. Its the only finder I ever use. 

[Timebandit]

 

Hi . In light polluted Sky's you are going to struggle with binos.

With the fainter fuzzies you need Dark Sky's and as much aperture as possible.

In my light polluted Sky's you can be looking straight at them, and not be visible to the eye due to the light pollution washing these faint fuzzies out of view. Dark Sky's are where its at. I would keep a look out in the SGL sales section and get yourself a SW 200mm reflector, maybe on a dob mount, they come up at very sensible money used. And then make the effort and travel to a "Dark Site" the faint fuzzies that have been near impossible to find in light polluted areas ,will start to pop to the eyes.

It really is worth the effort to travel to a Dark site for that Woow experience.

 

 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Yes, moving from a light polluted area to a rural area takes binocular viewing to a whole new level, but there are plenty of objects within their reach from a light polluted garden. 

10x50s are more than adequate to get started. Mine are a recent purchase and they've had more use than the telescopes lately.

If you haven't already, try a phone app like Sky Safari or Stellarium to help you navigate the sky.

Look what's up at the time you have available and at least loosely plan a session. Find a dark corner, a fence to hide behind, sit almost prone in a garden chair/sun lounger and balance the binoculars on your face.

A few days ago my binoculars beat my 120mm refractor when I spotted the Needle Galaxy.

Open clusters are a good starting point. They're quite spectacular in the wide field binoculars provide.

 

 

[Dr Strange]

I should add that I am in a Bortle 7/8 aka Red/While light polluted sky in Los Angeles. I can see galaxies with my 120-130mm APO and 203mm Mewlon 210 (better in the 210) but they are very very faint and as I noted before puffs of smoke or smudges. So with a 120mm refractor (the Skywatcher Evostar from FLO for £269 is a great all around refractor for planetary, moon, and many many DSO from a city sky) it is entirely possible to bag galaxies from the city. And when you start pushing into the 200mm reflector range things tend to open up. Thus why I recommended the Skywatcher Dob. 

However to give you an idea of how much things improve even going from a Bortle 7 to a Bortle 5/6, one of the best views of M81 and M51 respectively I have ever had was from the aforementioned. For 81 I was at a park about an hour from my house. I was at 263 meters above sea level. It looked like one of the AP photos people take! Stunning! I saw M51 with my 120mm APO from Big Bear lake which was just over 90 minutes from my house. Elevation here was 2 km above sea level. Again it looked like a photo! Dust lanes and all!

[Leigh J K]

Guys this is amazing knowledge and help thank you so much

I was doing exactly as scouse space cadet was suggesting last night and laying on the ground looking straight up . I again searched for m81/82 as they are pretty much directly above me in the sky right now but again not much luck 

being in lockdown means I can’t travel to darker skies just yet but will do as soon as the opportunity arises 

I have starwalk which has really helped me and can do basic navigation pretty well from what I’ve learnt from this - Orion has been a great starting point for me 

Venus travelling across the seven sisters was an amazing sight recently . 

I’m not sure where I am in terms of the bortle scale -!how do I know this ??I’m in Lincolnshire in England but we have plenty of open rural spaces around these parts 

 

[Dr Strange]

This will help you determine what your light pollution is. Just zoom in on Lincolnshire.

 

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4&lat=5759860&lon=1619364&layers=B0FFFFFTFFFFFFFF

[Leigh J K]

Thank you 

so I’m 5 on the scale but don’t have to travel far to get down to a 4 

[Carbon Brush]

Of course, the nice thing about binos is that they are easy to transport to a dark site and there is zero setup time.😁

[Karen Bexley]

On 19/04/2020 at 21:45, Dr Strange said:

This will help you determine what your light pollution is. Just zoom in on Lincolnshire.

 

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4&lat=5759860&lon=1619364&layers=B0FFFFFTFFFFFFFF

That's a brilliant link.  I've just checked my location and I'm a Class 4.

Just need to dust off my binoculars and field scope and have a look about now .

[miguel87]

I am in 4 skies too, although I think it is generous when I compare other places that are bortle 4. I think very local light makes a difference e.g neighbours and streetlights. Luck to have bortle 3 less than an hour away on the brecon beacons. I only tend to go a couple of times a year but always amazing.

4 is great for a back yard 😁

Edited April 26, 2020 by miguel87