Easiest DSO to locate?

[Jayla]

Luckily last night was clear enough to be worthy of setting the scope up, I had a fantastic view of the moon through a 3x barlow and plossl, I had a stunning view of some mountain ranges on the south west rim of the "disc"

I was able to split a double in ursa major, either mizor or alcor (havent had time to double check with stellarium) that was quite stunning!

I tried going lower from ursa major to find m51 but I didnt have a hope in hell of finding it, I set up a wide angle lens to sweep the area in the hope of finding some faint smudge to lock onto, but I couldnt see anything

What would you advise to try looking for?

[Doc]

If you have views to your west I would say M13 in Hercules.

South maybe M57 and M27 but these are a bit hard.

To the East it's got to be M31 but leave it till after midnight.

Download Stellarium and then have a look at my list of objects here

http://stargazerslounge.com/primers-tutorials/81493-object-list-indexed-constellation.html

[barkis]

Try for M31, the great Galaxy in Andromeda. It is actually a naked eye object, but only as a smudge of light.

Look in the East tonight, and try to find the Square of Pegasus.

These are four bright stars in the form of a large square one star at each corner. Look at the top left star, and including that one, count three stars left, then from the third one, count three up. From the third one up, pan to the right, and you should see the galaxy. Try with your naked eye first. Moonlight is a pest though.

Ron.

[crovax]

Yes, M31 and M13 are great targets. They are impossible to miss even if you don't know what they are going to look like (which was my biggest concern when I was after them around a month ago).

Regarding M51. We have a similar 'scope so I believe we see a very similar image. You should go for it only on a dark night and if you are sure how it looks like. I saw it last weekend and it looked like a little less dark area of sky on a dark sky. So it is almost impossible to find. When I saw it on a dark night whithout Moon, it was easier to notice and after looking some time at it I even noticed that these are two galaxies. But it still is a very faint smudge so you should keep that in mind because otherwise you'll just miss it. Actually to get an idea of how faint the smudge is, go for M31 and try to see it's satellite galaxy M110.

[ashenlight]

Hi Jayla

Mizar and Alcor is a lovely split through a scope, but Mizar is actually a double in itself - components Mizar A and B. This is probably what you saw

The first DSO I saw was M81 and M82. Use this map or your own star atlas to get your bearings. I just lined up my RDF in roughly the right position using the eyepiece that gives me the widest FOV possible - my 25mm EP. Had a bit of a pan around in RA and DEC and within a couple of minutes there they were, in all their glory. You will know you've got them because of their distinctive appearance, the fainter elliptical galaxy and the brighter smudge of light indicatin the other of the pair. It is such a beautiful sight. I'd try that one if you get a chance

M13 has been mentioned and is another easy target. Use the keystone in Hercules to find your way there. It is really obvious when you get it in the FOV. A smudgey ball of light and at higher mag I could start to resolve the core in my 5" newt with around 210x mag.

Mick mentions M27 and M57 and rightly he mentions that they are a bit hard. I struggled with these two for a few sessions before I got them. M57 is faint, M27 is a little brighter but I would say if there is a hint of a growing Moon in the sky you might find it just a bit too hard. My advice would be to start with the 'easier' DSOs, get a feel for how faint they are, get used to using averted vision and don't forget to spend as long as you can at the EP. The longer you look at something the more details will 'pop' and become more apparent to your eyes :)Once you feel confident, then try hunting down M57 and M27 - it is harder, but oh so rewarding.

I also use a light pollution reduction filter (the Skywatcher one on FLOs website). It has really enhanced my views of DSOs and just creates that extra contrast boost between the smudge of light I am looking at and the night sky. You might find it helpful to try out one of these, if you can in the future.

Just make sure you use the highest number EP (and so the widest FOV) when you are searching. I made the mistake of thinking mag is king when I started looking for DSOs. The search should be made with a wide FOV, then you can step up the mag once you know you've got the object in sight

Hope you manage to bag some DSOs, you could write up a report for us to let us know how you get on, if you like

[TheThing]

Jayla, you don't say where you're based and this can make a big difference to which DSO to look for. If you are anywhere near light pollution than M31 is not a naked eye object and can, if fact, be pretty hard to track down in a scope. People lucky enough to have dark skies will be able to see it naked eye.