My First DSO's!

[coolhandluke]

My wife was very kind to me and let me have my skywatcher 8" dob (my first ever telescope to have ever used let alone owned) 2 weeks early for Christmas, as I had a nice view of Jupiter from the front of my house. Anyway since then all I have had a chance to see has been very high magnification views of cloud bottoms!

Tonight I thought was going to be the same but to my supprise clear skies!!! I thought I would try to track down the Orion Nebula that I have been reading up on. First I got the finder scope lined up and shot to the eyepiece only to see black, tried refocusing, realigning etc but all i got was black, something wasn't right. Moved the main scope and centred on Sirius, looked through the finder scope and saw black, with a few faint starts - the dam finder scope was miles out, i must have knocked it. Anyway got ready to line up to Orion's sword again (about 45mins after starting this) and took a look through my 20mm EP - wow!!! I didn't expect to see it so clearly. I have to say that I'm glad to have chosen this as the first DSO to look at, what an increadable sight, a bright blue glowing 'W' shaped could with a black centre and its little sibling M43 just next to it - I am now totally hooked!! To top of the night, I went for a browse around the sky surrounding Orion and accidentally bumped into what I think was M78 just before the clouds came over.

Can anyone tell me if life gets better than this? I should have taken up astronomy years ago, still at 28 I should have enough time in me to catch up!

[Sam]

It's certainly a brilliant first DSO to see. You've been bitten by the bug now!

[Doc]

M42 is certainly the best DSO out there for the visual user.

Then there's M31 and the Bodes galaxies M81 & 82. Then of course an unlimited number of clusters.

With your scope and semi dark skies I would say almost all main objects will be visible.

[mdstuart]

Try looking for the three bright clusters in Auriga M36/37 & 38 they are beatifull. Try counting the stars in each!

Mark

[ZOG]

Nice report, now the bug has bitten you'll enjoy many new views every time you take the scope out.

[kniclander]

Can anyone tell me if life gets better than this?

...when you get a new shinier bigger and better scope

seriously, it is great, innit?

[coolhandluke]

Right - plan for tonight: Check out M31 as I have been waiting to see this for ages then try and find M81/82 as recommended by Mick, while I'm in that area I might try M51 as well. I will also try and get to M36/37/38 that you mentioned Mark as I haven't seen any clusters yet either. If I have time I might have a scout around Canes Venatici as there seems to be a lot of Messier objects in that region.

So all I have to do now is pop down the parish church and spend the rest of the day praying that the BBC weather forcast is correct

[mdstuart]

http://www.xcweather.co.uk/

Have a look at this, weather is my hobby as well as M36 37 & 38...It looks like some clear spots but then haze and fog decents great!! Well my wife says four nights in a row is a bit addicted..

[coolhandluke]

Well got out last night after waiting ages for the dam clouds to clear, drove to a remote spot clear of lights and had an amazing view of the night sky with the milky way shining bright right through the middle. I do have to say it was blumming freezing though!!! :mrgreen: Got to see Andromeda for first time, oh my god! Everyone should be forced to look at this, its such an incredible sight! Also saw orion nebula again and whirlpool galaxy, tried to look at 81/82 but couldn't find it. Unfortunatly had to retire before I got a chance to look at the clusters I had planned viewing due to my body core temp reaching -273C. I can't wait to get out again in 2009!!!

[Albireo380]

Now you really have been bitten by the bug. Three things will happen:

1. Your general happiness quotient will rise (if weather is good)

2. Your bank balance will diminish as you buy "new toys"

3. Your frustration levels will increase (if weather is bad)

Good to read your first DSO reports.

Tom

[Talitha]

Thank you, these are absolutely delightful reports!

You're bringing back a lot of pleasant memories.

May I suggest something... next time you're out at the remote spot, try M81/M82 and M51 with the binos. It's often easier to locate a target with a scope after having done so with a wider, correct-image view.

Btw, is your finder a regular one, or a red-dot? IMO the red-dots are the only way to go. Very intuitive to use, and extremely accurate when properly aligned with the eyepiece.

Thanks again.

[vemarstar]

Yes a red dot finder , is a must for finding all the deep sky objects you can pick them up for £ 20-00 another nice object is the double cluster in Perseus in either bino's or scope.

[phil_the_bassist]

I just wanted to say that last night was my first ever proper DSO hunt, and I managed to find and identify Andromeda, the Orion Nebula and NGC2244 It was stunningly clear, and it gave me the final push to save up for a higher-spec setup!

Sorry it's slightly off-topic, but I had to tell someone...and my better half doesn't quite share my enthusiasm!

[Planet Guy]

Reading this thread has made me go hunting for DSO's. I saw the Orion Nebula and what I believe is M41 (just next to sirius). Deeps Sky Stuff is certainly very awesome!