Dew!! And Andromeda Q..

[Venster]

Never realised what PITA dew is. Was only outside for an hour last night and everything was getting damp. Is it a seasonal thing- I know it’s to do dew point and saturation- but is it less prevalent in the warmer seasons? 
 

And on that note, rather than looking for anything, I made my mission to find M31. I eventually found it- my dewy telrad didn’t help!

I must admit I was expecting a little more from it - it was just a faint smudge - maybe it was dew in the lens but going back to the Orion Nebula that was clear as I would expect    .

Am I being unreasonable with what to expect with my Skywatcher 150p with 12mm EP(BST)?

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Venster
Correction

[Cosmic Geoff]

The heaviness of dew does vary a lot, partly with the seasons.

Where are you located? Under dark skies or in an urban area?  Looking for galaxies can be disappointing under urban light pollution - all you see is the bright nucleus as a grey smudge. Even under dark rural skies they look nothing like the photographs.

If you look online you will be able to find a guide to the FOV of your telescope with that 12mm eyepiece - I'm guessing about half a degree.  You may be surprised to learn that the full (photographic) extent of M31 is two or three degrees, so what can be seen telescopically in a bright sky is only a small fraction of it..

 

[woldsman]

With a Dobsonian 200P, I was able to view M31 for the first time on March 13th from my backyard, just using the supplied 25mm eyepiece which gives a magnification of x48.  I had failed previously to find it because at my observation times M31 is fairly low on the horizon and appears in the direction of Driffield, so urban light pollution is an issue. March 13th was a new Moon and this made all the difference.  M31 was more than just a faint smudge in these conditions - you could make out the spirals.  

[dannybgoode]

The trick in my mind when looking at DSO's is to think about what you are looking at.  That faint smudge is a whole other galaxy.  Literally a whole galaxy; billions of stars light years across and you are seeing it with your own eye(s) from your back garden.  That is pretty cool by any standards.  Most DSO's are just smudges of varying shapes and sizes but, when at the eyepiece looking at them, just ponder about what they actually are and how far the photons hitting your retina have travelled, their age and their origins.

To me that makes the whole thing magically :) 

[John]

M31 is not that impressive even with my 12 inch scope. Under a really good sky here I can just about make out traces of two dust lanes but normally it is a brightish oval patch of light condensed towards the centre and with an extended halo which goes beyond the edges of the field of view.

M32 is like a fuzzy star on one side of M31 and further off on the other side is the fainter oval of M110.

Personally I prefer the views of the M81 / M82 pair in Ursa Major.

 

 

[Spile]

On 17/03/2021 at 11:16, Venster said:

my dewy telrad didn’t help!

The dew shield is easy to make and has improved things considerably for me.

[Kon]

I have 200p, the bigger brother/siste, of your telescope and I have seen M31 several times from dark location and it is a smudge gf light. Different seeing conditions (high cloud, moon light, dew.....and the list can go on) will have an effect in viewing.  I have not managed to see many features to it yet. But as other have said it is amazing that I can observe it. Don't expect to see much colour or many fine details on most DSOs as the APs do; I love their images but I am way more excited seeing things with my own eyes especially DSOs. Have a look at this thread on how things will appear as a visual observer. It is pretty spot on! (M42 is a spoiler if you expect everything else to look like it).

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Kon

[Venster]

Hi. 
 

I think I just need to appreciate  what I’m seeing as Dannyb suggested. To think it’s taken 2.5m LY to get here and I can see it. 
 

I’ll take a look with my 25mm next time and try and see a bit more- I was just keen to use my new 12mm EP!
 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Venster
Correction

[vlaiv]

Most people report best experience of M31 with binoculars.

I suspect that this is due to exit pupil size. With 750mm F/5 scope - I would try 32mm Plossl or if you have it - 35mm AeroED for widest view. Both will give very large exit pupils so you need to be dark adapted and your pupils dilated to the max.

I've managed to see the hint of first dust lane once from my SQM 18.5 back yard with 8" Dob and 32mm Plossl. M31 was very high in the sky - very close to zenith and transparency was exceptional.

[faulksy]

even im my 20" dob m31 can be a bit poor. yes dustlanes are visible. but m51 is amazing arms everywere and the centre as bright as you like, also m101 pinwheel 2 of my favourites there. like john says m81/82 are better, 1 edge on and 1 face on. brilliant

Edited March 20, 2021 by faulksy

[Dark Vader]

4 hours ago, Venster said:

Hi. 
 

I think I just need to appreciate  what I’m seeing as Dannyb suggested. To think it’s taken 2.5m LY to get here and I can see it. 

 

 

I think that's the best way to look at it. I was out briefly last Wednesday night when the forecast cloud hadn't materialised. Spent an hour trying to get the Leo trio for the first time. Right at the very edge of visibility I could just make out slightly lighter patches that were M65 & M66, but no sign of NGC 3628. 2 out of 3 ain't bad, now I know where to look for 'em I'll get 'em next time, and at 37 and 42 million light years away respectively - unbelievable!!