First Galaxies M81 & M82

[PeterStudz]

Using a small telescope - a Sky-Watcher Skyhawk 1145p, EQ1 plus small cheap & bodged motor drive in Bortle 8-ish sky’s. Or so the data says but I’m becoming convinced it’s more like a 7.

I haven’t been a member long and I’m new to all of this but thought I’d share this. It’s also the first object I’ve found that I couldn’t see with the naked eye and I spent around 40 mins searching before I found anything.  

Should have looked at Andromeda too when we had the chance but it’s now gone over the back of our house. For my daughter, it’s was after midnight and she was long in bed, I even managed to get a final picture or two at 42x with my phone camera. Just using the standard camera app (still working out the likes of NightCap). OK, you could say it’s a grainy picture of some dots and a couple of small fuzzy blobs. And I’m sure I can do better next time. But I’m chuffed and over the moon.

Interestingly I could not see M82 (only a very fuzzy and dim M81) in the eyepiece with just my eye. The phone camera was picking things out that I could not see or maybe just missed. Should have played with other eyepieces to get a better view but it was getting late, rather chilly at around -2C and by that time the tube was starting to bang up against the tripod, the galaxies being almost directly overhead. Next time!

It also makes me realise how lucky people in this hobby are. Sure, everyone has seen galaxies in books, TV and the internet, but how many have seen one with their eyes? Not many I bet. Even something like the Milky Way which of course can be visible with the naked eye. My daughter has told me that at 9 she’s never seen it. We’ll have to change that!

[John]

That's a good image for a mobile phone !

M82 has a couple of dust lanes across it which you can see with a larger scope at higher magnification and your image shows those.

They were the 1st galaxies I ever spotted with a scope - my old 60mm Tasco refractor !

M82 might have been outside the field of view with your scope - you need a reasonably wide field and low magnification to get them both in.

Good that your daughter is showing an interest as well

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

That's a great mobile phone photo.. please, post it in mobile phone imaging section and tell us your method... 

[Orange Smartie]

Really cool that you managed that pic with your phone!

Yes we are lucky.  I showed my wife a few objects the other week including the Leo Triplet of galaxies.  The conversation went a bit like this:

Me: "Can you see those three faint smudges".  Mrs S: "Yes".  Me: "Those are galaxies".  Mrs S: "Like our galaxy?".  Me: "Yes".  Mrs S: "What, whole other galaxies?".  Me: "Yes".  Mrs S: "Wow!".

Wow indeed!

[PeterStudz]

My daughter is astronomy mad at the moment. The telescope is technically hers. I wanted to get her something a little larger - say around 130mm and a Dob - but at the time there was nothing decent available. But I thought that if I could keep her interest up with this then we could always upgrade. 

So far we’ve got good views of the Orion Nebula, the Seven Sisters and of course lots and lots of the moon. She’s also into the moon landings and it’s fun showing her the sites. The next up is the Beehive Cluster when conditions allow. She wanted to see a galaxy but I did tell her that it might not be possible with what we have. Will also try to visit a friend who lives in a darker sky area when the pandemic situation eases.

Her school have been good with space stuff too. They got an astronomer to do a Zoom talk about a month ago. These days children are very media driven hence the phone pictures. I wouldn’t have bothered otherwise. She wants to do a short video of what we’ve seen for school.

[PeterStudz]

I’ll post something in the mobile phone section later. I’m going to be busy for a while.

[scotty38]

That's a great image, nice one!

[scotty38]

17 minutes ago, Orange Smartie said:

Really cool that you managed that pic with your phone!

Yes we are lucky.  I showed my wife a few objects the other week including the Leo Triplet of galaxies.  The conversation went a bit like this:

Me: "Can you see those three faint smudges".  Mrs S: "Yes".  Me: "Those are galaxies".  Mrs S: "Like our galaxy?".  Me: "Yes".  Mrs S: "What, whole other galaxies?".  Me: "Yes".  Mrs S: "Wow!".

Wow indeed!

I know I'm going slightly OT but in a similar vein, I had Mars in my scope last week and it was particularly round and visible so I went in the house to fetch my wife. She came out and her only comment was "Oh it's smaller than I thought it was going to be based on your excitement". I sent her back inside 🤣

[Kon]

Some of the clusters might be observable from your bortle 8 skies that might get your daughter excited since they are full of stars and colours: M35 with the NGC 2158 just below it, M44, around Cygnus the field of view is full of stars and clusters. They should be observable at early night so not too late. I have a 6 and 3 year old and they are also get excited with nebulas and clusters. Turn Left at Orion is good purchase for you but also for your daughter since you can go back and read what you have seen or plan together what to see. Enjoy!

[PeterStudz]

We did have a look at Mars. Couldn’t not do as she recognised it by eye when looking at the sky. I explained to her why it would be so small by drawing a diagram on a bit of paper. But at least her comment when she saw it in the telescope was “you can now see it’s a planet and definitely not a star”. So kind of a win there.

[Orange Smartie]

You should be able to separate some double or multiple stars.  They may not seem the most dramatic target, but fascinating if you get a pair with different colours - you could look into why they are different.  Also the fact that the stars are orbiting each other (and that many stars are binaries, unlike our own) may be of interest if your daughter has an enquiring mind.  One of my personal favourites is Almach, which has a very distinctive colour difference between the primary and secondary component.  Start with some easier ones - some multiple stars are really close and require very good seeing conditions and a big scope.

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Orange Smartie

[Marvin Jenkins]

Every now and again a post by a member like yourself really takes me back, just a few years, but the first time effect makes me write this.

That whole hunt for the target in your post is almost the most important thing, just behind the capture.

You are so right about how valuable the experience of seeing a galaxy, whether it is for the first time or the 100th. If an observer really understands what they are looking at it is a humbling experience. To try and explain that view to the ‘non astro’ is a very hard road. I have worn out shoes.

Great photo by the way. You have captured some core on M82 Cigar. You are dead right, we are all very lucky to have the night sky and have the tools to one degree or another to look at it.

Great start. I look forward to reading many more posts in the years to come.

Marvin

[Sunshine]

That's a wonderful capture for a phone shot, first time I've seen these targets imaged with a phone, good on you!.

[SuburbanMak]

What a great picture!  The scale is humbling & to think you’re also at that point looking 11 Million years back in time too...

[Stargazer33]

Well done! That's a great first galaxy picture. 

You've started on a very slippery slope though!  🥴🤑😉

[PeterStudz]

Thanks, some really good suggestions here. Eg I hadn’t thought of Almach at all and looking it up that’s a must see. I can also understand the “slippery slope” suggestion. Although I prefer visual I’m already looking at possible upgrade paths.  Have already invested in a couple of StarGuiders - decent eyepieces are very nice to handle. Or perhaps that’s just me and a bit weird!