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Messier objects - What to see?

Kain

By Kain
in Imaging - Deep Sky

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Kain

Kain

Posted
Posted

Ok, so I have bought the June edition of S@N mag and was looking at the sky map centre page.

I notice some of the more well known constellations (Ursa Major, Cassiopeia and Hercules) have Messier objects in or around them..

I know M13 is easily visible through a small scope, but how about M81/2  M52, M103, M108/9 M101 and M51.. (sorry for the long list..

Just wondered if I would see anything of these? I I roughly know where they are and are easily recognisable constellations..

I'm just abit overwhelmed with all these charts and things..

Kain

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Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

Posted
Posted

If it's any CONSOLATION,

The constellations you are familiar with do have several Messier objects in them, but they vary in visibility for two reasons. Firstly the size of them and secondly their magnitude. The magnitude is the killer for your 'scope as many of them will be too faint to see. Certainly M51 and M101 will as they are not visible in an 8" 'scope where I live.

http://www.seds.org/messier/data2.html

will give you details of the magnitude thing. Anything below about 6 should be doable for most equipment.

The size issue is a different kettle of fish though, M31 is lots bigger than the moon and has a magnitude of 3.4 which should make it stand out. The light is however spread out over the huge area of the thing making it appear less bright. If you stick to star clusters (both open and globular) you should do OK, stay away from anything with a magnitude of more than 8 as these will not easily be visible for you.

M3, M13 and M92 should get you going.

HTH

Captain Chaos

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geppetto

geppetto

Posted
Posted
Thats a shame, Still my 8" Dob wont be too far away

Assuming that your light pollution is no worse than mine (mine is fairly bad),

then you will see loads of stuff when the DOB arrives.

M81/82 look very distinct through mine.

So, start getting excited waiting for your DOB and in the meantime, get some

practice in on the moon and planets :D

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Astroman

Astroman

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Posted

For a size comparison, I've set up a page on my web site that shows relative sizes of all the Messier objects as compared to the full Moon through my C8. Similar comparisons can be made by extrapolation.

http://www.stargazing.net/astroman

Click on Sir Charles Messier's Catalog on the index at left. It can take some time to load, but it may be helpful. :D

There are also links to individual SEDS pages on each object.

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Andrew

Andrew

Posted
Posted

Hi Kain,

I’m also using a 4.5” reflector (an Orion Starblast) and have been working my way through the Messiers since I got it last Christmas. I’m observing in a suburban location with some light pollution – i.e. by no means ideal conditions. Anyway, here are my thoughts on finding the Messiers in a small scope. Hope this helps:

All the Messier globular clusters are relatively easy to see, but tend to be little more than hazy circular patches. M22 is better than most (i.e. a hint of stars being resolved) but it’s in Sagittarius, low on the horizon from the UK.

Many galaxies can be seen in a small reflector, but the majority are extremely faint (i.e. often only visible in averted vision as a small grey patch). I’ve found that M101, M108 and M109 are some of the more difficult of the Messier galaxies. You may already know this, but the magnitude of a galaxy (or object in general) is a poor guide to how visible it will be, because its size and orientation are also important (light from big, face on galaxies is spread over a larger area and they are hard to find). The key is to look for those that are high in the sky and avoid times when the moon is up. Of those that you mention M81/M82 are probably the easiest to see. You might also try M51, M63 or M106 (all in roughly the same area and visible at the moment). I found when getting started it was best to go for objects close to stars that could be seen with the naked eye so that I could star hop to them using a start chart. Pointing the scope in the right general area is hopeless with small reflectors where your target is hard to see. Knowing that you are looking in the right place is critical! From this you can probably tell not to expect much from galaxies with a small scope – the enjoyment is in the finding rather than in the view at the end! Having said this, if that’s not what you’re looking for you might want to wait for the Autumn to look at M31. Finding that is a piece of cake (its visible to the naked eye) and nearby M32 should also be visible.

Planetary nebulas can be surprisingly easy to find (being small they are often bright). M27 and M57 are good targets at the moment, although as with galaxies, don’t expect to see much in the way of structure. Various other types of nebula can be found in a small reflector, but it’s best to focus on just the brightest objects. M42 is the obvious target in the winter (it looks amazing even in a tiny scope). At the moment, there are several targets in Sagittarius that show clear nebulosity in a small reflector, even though they are low on the horizon. If you can see them from your site, have a look at M8 (Lagoon nebula) and M17 (Swan nebula). Both look excellent.

The best targets for small reflectors have to be open clusters. There are plenty of these around, although the best of the Messier clusters are Winter objects. At the moment, M23, M24 and M25 are visible and are all impressive (again low on the horizon in Sagittarius). M29 and M39 in Cygnus are better placed (high in sky) but are smaller (especially M29). However, there is plenty to see star-wise other than the Messiers. For example, the Milky Way in the Cygnus region is awesome in wide field scopes like ours (hundreds of stars visible in many areas). Also, there are plenty of good open clusters that make excellent targets for a small scope, but which aren’t Messier objects. For example, Cassiopeia is full of NGC clusters that are as attractive as M52. Also, the double cluster in Perseus is low on the horizon at the moment, but if you can stay up late it’s a gem. There are plenty of databases and web sites on open clusters that are worth a look – e.g. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/openclus.html

Anyway, this post is already far too long! Hope this helps

Andrew

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Naz

Naz

Posted
Posted

Andrew, what an excellent post, bit short in my opion, quite a few more Messier and NGC objects for us to be guided on, shall keep the link as a reference. Thanks.

naz :D

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