DSO and Messier list

[Apprentice]

Hello all, I am a total rookie to astronomy, only so far caught glimpse of the moon, venus and a couple of bright stars.

I am now modifying my scope to allow for better observation and collimating it to the best of my knowledge and skill.

I am eager to view the planets for starters (Saturn and Jupiter) and hoping to move on to some DSOs in the same session.

Could anybody point me in the right direction, I really want to create a list of Messiers objects and I want to start with the "easiest" and proceed down the list. I know that I might not be able to view the entire Messier catalog with my scope (check my signature). So I want to prepare a comprehensive list I can actually observe.

 

Thank you all for suggestions and clear skies.

[Waddensky]

Not sure what your light pollution levels are, but from a reasonably dark site you'll be able to detect most if not all Messier objects with your gear (remember that Charles Messier used a 100 mm scope with optics way inferior to what we use today).

I'd suggest to find a Messier list that includes surface brightness, because that value will give you a rough idea of the easy objects and the harder ones. Remember, it's a magnitude value, so smaller numbers are brighter objects.

Edit: here's one listing surface brightness (SBRT).

Edited May 14, 2020 by Waddensky

[Apprentice]

Right forgot to mention that I live in a Bortle- Class 5 area. My observation will be done from a field but not too dark I guess.

[Waddensky]

49 minutes ago, Apprentice said:

Right forgot to mention that I live in a Bortle- Class 5 area. My observation will be done from a field but not too dark I guess.

Hm Bortle 5. Well, the link to the list I posted contains some good info. The current season has some bright globulars (M13, M3, M5, M92) that should all be well within reach of your scope. Lots of bright Messiers more south (M4, M6, M7, M8) but they may be more difficult than their brightness suggests due to the low altitude above the horizon. Later this summer: M57 is bright and easy, M27 can be tough under light pollution but worth a try, M29, M39, M11 and well, maybe M16 and M17. Good luck and have fun! Let us know how things work out.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Waddensky

[Apprentice]

Thank you very much @Waddensky!

This is pretty much what I needed, some sounds advice as to what might be easiest for me to find So I am guessing that spoting the gas giants might be problematic in the beginning of June for me at 46deg location.

[Louis D]

There's also the Caldwell catalog which was compiled by Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore for amateur astronomers to highlight many showpiece objects not listed in the Messier catalog.

[Waddensky]

3 hours ago, Apprentice said:

So I am guessing that spoting the gas giants might be problematic in the beginning of June for me at 46deg location.

The position of Jupiter and Saturn is not favourable this year unfortunately. But you can always try to take a peek: they are late night/early morning objects in early June.

[bomberbaz]

Always worthwhile using stellarium assuming you are familiar with this program to build your current and future list of objects to view.

There are quite a few nebula on the messier list and a good nebula filter would be a sound investment to help you view these objects.

The kind of filter I am referring to is a UHC (ultra high contrast) which removes most of the light you don't want from light polution and makes the nebula easier to see with more detail. 

This filter by ES is very well priced and has very good reviews from some very reputable sources on this forum. filter (other filter manufacturers are available)

There are other filters types but the UHC is something of a catch all and covers circa 90% of all nebula with varying levels of results.

Steve

Edited May 16, 2020 by bomberbaz

[Shaun VS]

Quote

Some of the easiest DSO for you to pick up at the moment would be globular clusters. There is M13 and M92 in Hercules, M3 in Canes Venatici and M5 in Serpens Caput. They are all bright and you may start to resolve some stars. There are others in near by Ophiuchus, but start with the four mentioned.

 

[Apprentice]

Thank you all for your suggestions, as a total novice in the field I am struggling to find a good DSO which I can actually observe in my scope. I have tried finding the M13, but the other night, had a 2 hour clear window, and the some clouds to spoil the view, but no luck. I will have to study star hopping, as I tried to find it from Vega, but got lost midway 😛

 

Thanks @Louis D I took a look at the Caldwell catalog, and it might be more interesting for me, due to its systematic approach. I was familiar with it, but some how the Messier is thrown around so much, that it grabs ones attention easily. 

And @bomberbaz thanks for the tip, this filter is quite affordable, hope it does the trick. I bought the Baader Neodyimum, since I understood it is one of the more used all rounders by many amateur astronomers, and was really weighing between a good nebulae filter. This will most likely be in my next purchase. Do you have any experience in stacking filters, I heard some doing it, but I am guessing the filter needs to have a thread on both sides, which judging by the images this one doesn't (and neither does the Baader). If that would be possible, it would be interesting to see what would be the result.

 

Clear skies to you all (since I picked up astronomy, we had the worst May and beginning of June since I can remember, so hoping for a first real clear night of observing for me)

 

[Demonperformer]

One thing to bear in mind, it isn't solely the surface brightness, but also the altitude that will make a lot of difference. The faintest SB-wise is M101, but for me, the most difficult object has always been M83 - brighter in the catalogue, but a lot lower down in the sky. The easiest to observe are the open clusters, but we don't have a lot of them around at the moment. But there are lots of these that aren't in the messier catalogue you could track down.

[Pixies]

15 hours ago, Apprentice said:

I will have to study star hopping, as I tried to find it from Vega, but got lost midway

Hi,

What are you using in the way of finders?

[Apprentice]

16 minutes ago, Pixies said:

Hi,

What are you using in the way of finders?

Hello, so far I only use the red dot finder, which came with the scope. It's useful for pinpointing in the eyepiece, but doesn't help much in finding stuff. Heard that a Telrad would be of tremendous help, so I might purchase one soon.