M42?? Help.

[theengel]

I was trying to locate M42 last night. I looked in the middle star of Orion's sword, but what I saw just looked like two stars. I went to a more powerful lens, but it didn't really look like anything different. By the time I got to the 4mm lens, I had lost most of it--it almost fades when I use a smaller lens.

At the 12mm lens, this is what I saw. The circled section is the middle of the sword.

[theengel]

oh--the stars on the side are not the other stars in the sword, they're just dimmer stars that don't show up unless I'm looking through the telescope.

[acey]

Are you sure you were looking in the sword, not the belt? If the sky is reasonably dark then M42 is visible with the naked eye, and should certainly be visible through binoculars or a telescope finder, as a large hazy patch. So you want to start by viewing it with the lowest possible magnification rather than highest.

[theengel]

Yeah, I was looking at the sword. I had started off with a 25mm eye piece. I guess I'm missing something. Maybe I had it pointed wrong, and was looking at some completely different stars. Or maybe there's just too much light pollution for me to see it.

[John]

You only really need the 25mm eyepiece - M42 is a really large object.

[pvaz]

That doesn't seam at all like what I see, not even the way the stars are aligned.

With the 12.5mm you should see the trapezium pretty well and some nebulousness around it.

Finder chart:

Messier Telrad Finder Charts

Sketch at low mag (25mm):

http://www.asod.info/wordpress/wp-content/2010/01/m42r.JPG (under light pollution)

http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/images/2010/img2010011401_M42lg.jpg (under dark skies)

Higher mag, with the trapezium 4 main stars in the middle:

http://www.asod.info/wordpress/wp-content/2010/01/m42_1.jpg

[Chris H]

theengel what is your location and what time you were looking at Orion & M42? And what scope are you using?

[Talitha]

It's big, and i think it's best seen using an eyepiece that'll give you at least a one degree fov (field of view). Here's what it looks like in a 65' fov, which is a bit wider than two Full Moon widths: M 42.

[theengel]

theengel what is your location and what time you were looking at Orion & M42? And what scope are you using?

lat 39, long -84 at about 21:00 ET (US). I'm using a Celestron 21066.

I think my problem is lighting, because I can barely see the sword at all without the scope.

[hemihaggis]

i take it you are in kentuky ?? M 42 should be well visible .. its just about the most easy DSO to spot ..start afresh ..review what you are looking at .. 3 vertical ish stars ..the bright patch in the middle is what your looking for ...

[LukeSkywatcher]

Not sure i have understood this correctly but if you are looking for M42 within Orions belt then you are a long way off. It is quite a bit further south then the belt. You really cant miss it. It lies in the middle of Orions sword.

I have to say that i dont recognise your diagram as any part of Orion.

[theengel]

But all I see are 3 feint stars in Orion's sword. And when I view them through the telescope, I see a few more stars. But none of them look at all like a blur. There's no bright patch. I wish I could take a picture of it.

I'm right across the river from Kentucky, on the Ohio side. I'm going to have to look for a group of stargazers around my area.

[pvaz]

It's around the middle star in orion's sword.

Download stellarium, turn off all lines and legends, and try star hopping to it as if you ware outside. Just to confirm you're looking in the right spot.

[hemihaggis]

okay orions belt is kinda horizontal... the sword is kinda vertical ....

it is in the vertical sword .middilish hazy bit lol try again dude !!!

[theengel]

Sigh... I still don't see what everyone says it should look like.

Tomorrow, I'm trading one of my black powder rifles for a goto telescope--Meade EXT60. It might take me a night or two to make sure I'm using it right, but then I should at least know if I'm looking at the right thing.

[pvaz]

Well M42 is really low now so it may be hard.

The trick I use to confirm my star hoping skills is to open stellarium, turn off all lines and text so it simulates a clear starry sky, then I star hop in it. I also do this when I have time before my sessions to make sure I memorize the star hoping plan which makes the sessions much faster. Maybe you should give it a try, that way there will be no doubt whether you're looking in the right place or not.