telescope rating?

[bigg2006]

Hi all, I posted a question about this in equiptment section but had no luck so thought i would try it here. I have been given a skywatcher heritage telescope and was hoping someone could tell me what to expect to see with it, I know its a cheap one so not expecting crystal clear detailed views but as an example Orions belt is directly in front of my balcony at night at the moment so want to spot M42 and would like to know how good a view i'll have. thanks in advance for any replies. For info sake i got 2 lenses with it, a "super 25 wide angle long eye relief" and a "super 10mm" lense.

[russ]

You should get a nice widefield view of M42 with the 25mm. The aperture is limited but it will show M42 nicely. My first view of M42 was with a 50mm refractor and i was suitably impressed to see it.

[E621Keith]

You can easily see the core of M42 with a 130mm. Andromeda galaxy M31 and Pleiades Cluster M45 will also be easy target.

[bombassa]

You can easily see the core of M42 with a 130mm. Andromeda galaxy M31 and Pleiades Cluster M45 will also be easy target.

To clarify (I hope) I think bigg2006's scope is the 76 mm heritage. Unfortunately I have no experience with this model.

[bigg2006]

Sorry i left that out,yes it is the 76 model. If you can see the core of m42 with the 130 model i am guessing you will just be able to distinguish the shape of it with the 76 but with no real detail? I will be happy with just being able to see the noticeable shapes of any galaxy/nebula instead of just a point of light as I am new to this so it will all be interesting!

[John]

Sorry i left that out,yes it is the 76 model. If you can see the core of m42 with the 130 model i am guessing you will just be able to distinguish the shape of it with the 76 but with no real detail? I will be happy with just being able to see the noticeable shapes of any galaxy/nebula instead of just a point of light as I am new to this so it will all be interesting!

On M42 you should see the general shape of the nebula - I could see that with a 60mm refractor when I started out. Best wait for a moonless night and get as far away from light pollution as you can - nebulae and galaxies, even the brightest ones, are easily drowned out by other light in the sky.

[E621Keith]

Sorry, I forgot there were two Heritage models. Nevertheless you should be able to see M31, M42, M45 without much problem with your 76p, as these DSOs can be seen with a pair of binoculars, or naked eyes if your site is dark enough. A dark site and a moon less night will help on details, as would dark adaptation.

[bigg2006]

Ok thanks for the input,just need a clear night to try it!I was going to look last night but it was completely overcast and looks like it might be the same next for the few days unfortunately so have to wait! Light pollution I cant avoid at the moment,live in SW london and dont drive but hopefully it wont shut out too much.Thanks again for replies.