finderscope compatible with skywatcher heritage

[Owen_pryce9317]

Hi all,

Last night was my first time attempting to view deep sky objects, and if I'm honest I couldn't get anything. In particular I attempted to view the pinwheel and whirlpool galaxys. Now although I am new to DSO viewing I do know that they are both close to Alkaid in ursa major. I was looking for about 2 hours but couldn't find anything. First of all I was using a 25mm eyepiece which gives me 26x. Now the reason I want to buy a finderscope is because I am really not a fan of the RDF on the scope. Its not too bad for trying to find a bright planet (although I don't really use it for this anyway) but I find it pretty useless for trying to find an object which isn't visible to the naked eye. So I was wondering before I go and pull the trigger on one would the extra magnification in a finderscope be worth it, or is my scope simply not big enough to view these galaxys with its 5" aperture? As i've had my scope for quite a while now I know that you get what you pay for with equipment but what would be the lowest I could get away with spending to get a decent quality finder. Finally are there any finders that you know of that fit on the RDF mount on this scope or will I have to get an adaptor of some sort?

PS: sorry to blast you all with so many questions🤣

 

 

 

 

 

[Ruud]

Hi,

Extra magnifications means a smaller field of view and an extra big chance that you're pointing next to your target so that you can't see it in your finder.
I use the finder to find the area where the target is, not the target itself. That I see in the main scope once the finder points to the right area. The best finder for me is the SkyWatcher 6x30 RACI with a view of 7.5°.

 

Here's how you find the Ring Nebula with an 8x50 finder. The start is at Vega.
These circles are 5.4° wide. I get quicker results with my new 6x30 7.5° finder

[Waddensky]

Hi! Your success in finding deep-sky objects depends on many factors. One is, as you've tried, finding the correct location. Another is knowing what to expect. Most galaxies in small scopes are very, very faint patches of light. Nothing compared to planets.

If you live in a reasonably light polluted area, forget about M101 for now (I suspect this is the 'pinwheel galaxy' you mention), as its surface brightness is very low. It's best to try the brighter galaxies first: M81 and M82 would be obvious choices as they are well-placed right now, but the star hop to them can be a bit difficult. M51 (the 'whirlpool') is also relatively bright and the hop from Alkaid is easy.

Make sure you have an app or a finder chart available to make sure you point your scope at the right location (your RDF will do, just match the view through the scope with the finder chart - remember that the image in your scope is mirrored!). If you know the exact location of the galaxy, see if you can detect a dim patch of light, don't expect to see the spirals you see on photographs, it's just a really faint fuzz. It's easy to overlook if you're just scanning the area, you need to know exactly where to look for it.

Maybe even better is to try some deep-sky objects that are easier to find and much brighter: M13, M3 and M92 are well-placed this season and are fairly obvious. This will give you an idea of what to expect from observing deep-sky objects. Then, continue to find dimmer objects.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Waddensky

[Owen_pryce9317]

Thank you for your replies, I do live in a yellow/ orange light pollution zone so that won’t help. Maybe I was throwing myself in the deep end a bit looking for galaxys millions of light years away. Another clear night tonight so I will try again on some brighter DSO’s.

[Cosmic Geoff]

Your Heritage will show you some of the brighter galaxies under the right conditions.  I have seen some with my 127mm Mak and 102mm Startravel.

A red dot finder is actually better for finding faint objects than an optical finder, as you can aim it at the area where the object is. With an optical finder you will not be seeing anything and so will find it hard to tell where the scope is aimed unless some stars show.  The optical finder is only useful when you can see somethng in it.  Both types have their uses.  If you really want to swap the finder, this should be easy if your scope has the wedge-shaped 'Synta' mount point. If so, a Skywatcher 6x30 finder will slot straight in.

[John]

M 51 can be quite challenging to find with a small aperture scope in other than dark skies. M 101 even more so.

M 81 and M82 in Ursa Major are easier to find and will appear a little brighter. I found those with my old 60mm refractor - the first galaxies that I ever observed with a scope.

Under dark skies and when you have experience of finding and observing these faint targets, your scope will show 100's of them and some at mind boggling distances.

I was using my 130mm refractor (same galaxy capabilities as your scope) last night and managed to see a galaxy called NGC 5846 which is 90 million light years away. It was just a very faint and small patch of light which is how practically all galaxies look through smaller scopes, even the famous ones like the Whirlpool (M 51) and the Pinwheel (M 101).

You scope is actually ideal for galaxy spotting because it is so portable so transporting it to dark skies is (normally) somewhat easier. Dark skies are what helps more than anything when observing galaxies.

 

 

[Waddensky]

11 minutes ago, Owen_pryce9317 said:

Thank you for your replies, I do live in a yellow/ orange light pollution zone so that won’t help. Maybe I was throwing myself in the deep end a bit looking for galaxys millions of light years away. Another clear night tonight so I will try again on some brighter DSO’s.

Great, good luck and have fun. Even with some light pollution, it's entirely possible to view galaxies with your scope. Just make sure you know what to expect and practice on the brighter objects first. Let us know how it goes!

[Owen_pryce9317]

24 minutes ago, Waddensky said:

Great, good luck and have fun. Even with some light pollution, it's entirely possible to view galaxies with your scope. Just make sure you know what to expect and practice on the brighter objects first. Let us know how it goes!

Will do!👍🏼

[Mark at Beaufort]

Owen I use my Heritage 130P for quite grab and go and viewed a number of DSOs last night. The RDF is very useful but I have added a right angle correct image 9x50 finderscopes. The attached photo show the Heritage on an alt/az mount although I have now upgraded this mount  to a Skywatcher Pronto.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

13 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Owen I use my Heritage 130P for quite grab and go and viewed a number of DSOs last night. The RDF is very useful but I have added a right angle correct image 9x50 finderscopes. The attached photo show the Heritage on an alt/az mount although I have now upgraded this mount  to a Skywatcher Pronto.

Nice setup Mark. What focuser are you using?

[Mark at Beaufort]

12 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Nice setup Mark. What focuser are you using?

The focuser is the standard helical focuser that came with the scope. I have added PTFE seal tape to improve the movement. I have done quite a lot of modifications to this scope to improve it use. Here is my modifications - 

 

[Louis D]

I would concentrate on star clusters, both open and globular, before heading off to hunt down galaxies in light polluted skies.  The only "easy" galaxy in my experience is M31, Andromeda.  Even then, it just looks like a fuzzy cigar with a couple of fuzzy companions nearby because all you can see are the bright cores under light polluted skies.

I detect most galaxies by putting the scope on them with DSCs and then sweeping the area trying to detect a slight brightening of the background glow at higher powers.  It's much the same with comets.  To be honest, there's not much satisfaction in it except to say I "saw" it.

I enjoy sweeping star fields at lower powers now to see what shows up randomly.  It's sort of like getting in your car and going for drive with no particular destination in mind just for the joy of exploration.