First time under dark skies! What to look at?

[Dario]

Hi everyone! 

I will be travelling to Cornwall this coming week and have the opportunity to be under recognized dark skies sites. I'll bring my equipment with me hoping in clear sky (that is uncertain 😢)

I have:

- skywatcher mak 127 (with basic eyepicies coming with scope) with Az gti mount

- celestron skymaster 15x70 binoculars

Which sky objects would you suggest to get the best from the location as I am  not so fortunate to being often under dark skies?

For planetary I believe can spot mainly Mercury and Venus, not sure of Mars right now. What about deep sky objects? Any suggestion of the objects from which I can get a good reward with my equipments and tips of which of my instrumentation will perform better on such objects?

Thank you

[Pixies]

I wouldn't worry about the planets. They won't really benefit from a dark sky, However, if the site allows for a low horizon, you might take the opportunity for Mercury (carefully in binoculars). Of course - if you are out all night, you won't want miss the gas giants in the early morning, but planets really benefit from good seeing, not dark skies. Mars is pretty tiny and featureless just now.

What you will be able to see with a dark sky that you wouldn't normally, are faint things. Galaxies and nebulae. I've not used a 127 Mak and it won't be able to pick up very faint stuff. But there are some prime targets.

M81 and M82 can be seen with some light pollution, but these galaxies will be unmissable in a dark sky. You will be able to find them easily with those bins, too.

M51 (the Whirlpool). 

Globular clusters. M13 (oh yes), M3, M5, M92

Nebulae: M57(the Ring Nebula), NGC 6543 (Cat's eye nebula)he

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions from those with the same scope as yours.

 

[Pixies]

You'll find this of interest: 

 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

All of the above... and loads more.. while having a peek at m51, galaxies m101, m106 and m63 will be at zenith around midnight. Worth a try. Under dark skies with 127mm aperture, just about all the seasonal messiers should be within reach. Use the Synscan tour function.

Again very late around midnight, the binoculars will be great for sweeping the Milky Way.  The constellations Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cygnus and Sagitta will all be sitting on the Milky Way arch, albeit quite low but worth a go without light pollution.

You're going to be up late to make the most of the last of the season's darkness, so have an early cat nap. 😉