Suggestions for easy galaxies for beginner scope

[dag123]

Hi,

I have had my Celestron Astromaster 130EQ for a couple of months now and am quite happy with how it all works.

So far I have been targeting M42 in Orion and more recently Saturn as Orion is too far west by the time it gets dark.

I did get a look at the Andromedia galaxy a month or so ago, but again this is now too low in the sky.

So what I am after is a list of targets that should be observable by my scope.

I have tried the Leo triplet and am pretty sure I have been looking in the right area of the sky, but so far I have not seen anything galaxy-like (grey smudges!).

Living 20 miles-or-so north of London could the light polution be the problem or are galaxies, other than Andromeda, perhaps a little to much to expect from my scope?

Any advice would be appreciated.

dag123

[bish]

Try M51, M81 and M82. They are all relatively bright and well placed at the moment.

[Hobbes]

Have a look ath this website Tonight's Sky . It has been suggested by another SGL member and is really good for generating a list of targets which can be arranged by difficulty, rise time or constellation. Excellent resource.

[onesmallstep]

M31 is a good target and looks good in bins or a scope. M81/M82 also good.

[onesmallstep]

Oops, didn't read your post thoroughly! Scrub M31.

[West End Wendy]

Galaxies are mostly invisible if you have bad light pollution. M81 and M82 are probably the brightest after Andromeda (particularly M82 as it's edge-on). The light pollution also makes them more difficult to find though.

I can't see M51 at all through an eyepiece under any conditions from my location, but I'm right in North London, if you're 20 miles north you might have more luck.

In all honesty Galaxies are not great targets for visual astronomers in urban locations. Plenty of other beautiful objects to look at though (Auriga clusters still looking good, for instance)

Tim.

[dag123]

Thanks for your replies,

I've just printed off a list from the "Tonight's Sky" website Hobbes suggested.

They are listed in magniture (brightness) so subject to clear skies, I'll see how many I can tick off the list, starting at the top!

dag123

[Vega]

I was going to add the obvious 3 that have been mentioned already on here enough lol. I will add that you only ever see 'smudges' to be honest. The glorious photo's you see of galaxies give a false impression of what the human eye and scope can show. Camera's are much better at 'seeing' such low light levels (most especially bringing out the colours which the human eye cannot see). You have to use your imagination and appreciate what your seeing rather than appreciate the view. ;-)

Matt

[Revs]

It ain't a galaxy, but the globular cluster M3 is nice and high at the moment and at mag 6.4 it should be nicely visible. At midnight it's south east at about 55* altitude, rising to 65* alt by 2am. Globular clusters are an awesome sight

[m_j_lyons]

To backup what Vega said - you won't get detail unless you have a huge scope and perfect conditions and only then on some of the closest...best aligned galaxies. There's a reason that most people call them faint fuzzies or dim smudges. If you've already seen the smudges of the Leo Triplet you're well on your way.

[waccoo]

Go to this website

Urban Observing Club Introduction | The Astronomical League

Scroll down to the Deep Sky list at the bottom of the page.

There are a number of galaxies listed that you should be able to see in almost any clear sky condition. Unless you are IN the city, you should be able to see them.

Short of going there, you should be able to find:

M31, 32, 77, 81, 82, 86, 87,104,64, and 94. You MIGHT be able to see the center of 51, but, it will be tough. Other MIGHTS are: M63, NGC 404 (behind the sun right now), NGC 4565, and maybe a few others.

I use a 32mm Plossl. You get a wide view, but, it helps with the contrast, so, you can see the difference in the items.

One thing to remember is that Messier best equipment was the equivalent of a 2.4 inch scope. Anything we have now will give a better view.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

There are tons of galaxies well within range of even a small scope in Virgo and Coma. M49, M64, M84, M85, M86, M87 etc spring to mind, but there are many more. I got M104 (the sombrero) with a 6 inch Newtonian from a dark site. M65 and M66 in Leo are also possible, NGC 2903 (also in Leo) is also quite easy.

As others have said, galaxies require dark skies, but as your scope travels well, you should be able to travel to a suitable spot with the scope.

Clear skies,

Michael

[dag123]

Thanks for all the advice and ideas about where to look in the sky.

I'm still waiting for a clear night to try some of these suggestions, guess you can't help with that!

dag123

[West End Wendy]

I'm still waiting for a clear night to try some of these suggestions, guess you can't help with that!

dag123

Actually I can. Next few nights looking remarkably promising...

(runs away...)

[Revs]

Yeah the forecast is looking great for the next few night.

dag, I suggest you download yourself Stellarium. Most of the good stuff is currently about 20 degrees above Saturn at the mo

[dag123]

Thanks Paul, I already have Stellarium and the similar application I got with the scope. My issue seems to be translating what I see on the PC to where I point the scope.

Wendy, you were correct for one night at least, the one before last!

I went out and was able to have a good look at Saturn and two moons, I found the Beehive cluster and the double cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus.

Again I failed to locate the Leo Triplet, I scanned the whole area where I thought it should be, according to the software, but not even a smudge!

I then turned my attention to M13 in Hercules as this was just above the tree tops. That too proved elusive.

My scope does have the DEC/RA rings although I have not really used them. I normally only do a rough polar alignment. Perhaps if I set things up properly I will at least be able to be sure the scope is pointing in the right general direction???

dag123

[Orion_the_Hunter]

I have Stellarium also but it doesn't show galaxies unless I do a search for them. Is there a way to change the settings so that I can look at an area of the sky and it shows me the visible galaxies?

[Revs]

Stellarium shows Messier objects as little orange circles. If you want more to be visible, go in to the 'sky and viewing options' (press F4). Under the 'sky' tab, make sure the 'nebular' tick box is ticked, then move the slider to the right to increase the number of visible markers to your liking.

[Porl]

Good suggestions guys! Im going to get that list of targets for my 130EQ too

dag123, I managed to see 2 of the Leo triplets last night and man its hard to see them. They are tiny! and very easy to miss for sure. I was scanning around the area and saw them out of the corner of my eye just and managed to check it was them. I couldnt see anything other than the slight shape to the smudge in my 32mm and 15mm.

I think the plough galaxies will be good to spot as they are straight up. Ive seen M51 with the 130EQ but it was in darker skies than my normal. I dont think i have as much LP as you though being so close to london.

Good hunting dude

Paul''

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If you go for the plough, you could also try NGC 2841, it is not very well known, but at mag 10.1 it is quite easy compared to some others, as I found out yesterday. M81 and M82 are a must, of course, but you already know that.

[Nibor]

Have a look ath this website Tonight's Sky . It has been suggested by another SGL member and is really good for generating a list of targets which can be arranged by difficulty, rise time or constellation. Excellent resource.

Many, many thanks for this link - it looks a very promising tool especially for beginners. I have been planning my observing but this system makes it neat, tidy and easily fileable.

The link to the Telrad maps looks particularly interesting and helpful!!

All that remains is to track them down and enjoy!!

[dag123]

A quick update following a few clear nights. It was great to be able to stay out for longer than an hour without freezing!

So using the planner from Tonights Sky I started to look for things.

The Beehive cluster (M44) was quite an easy spot and I didd not really need anything more than the 32mm EP.

I failed to find, or more likely did not recognise, the Christmas Tree Cluster, Cone Nebula(NGC2264). The colour images from my web searches, which I knew were not what I would see, still probably confused me.

I then moved on to the Hercules Globular Cluster (M13) and managed to spot it for the first time. This did look more like the images from the web, albeit in a slightly more blurred form in my scope. Certainly I could not pick out individuals stars.

Failed on the Leo triplet yet again! I star hopped and should have been looking in the right place. I almost convinced myself I saw something.

While pointing at leo I had a look at Regulus and am pretty sure I managed to pick out a secondary spot of light from the double star. It was with the 6mm EP and so at the hight magnification the image was starting to blur quite badly in my scope.

My greatest find was M81 and M82 which I really was not expecting. Perhaps it was because they were basically straight up? But there they were both clearly visible in the 32mm and 17mm EP, mag 7 and 8.6 according to the website, so I hope this is an indication of the magnitudes of what I should be able to see with my scope.

However my test of this failed when I tried to find M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy) I was expecting to see this as it is supposed to be mag 7.9. But again, even after careful star hopping to where I thought it should be, it was not to be seen.

So all in all it has been good fun. Looking straight up and northerly from where I am seems to be a lot more productive than south due to light pollution. Although my views of Saturn do not seem to be hampered too much.

dag123

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Well done getting M81 and M82. Some people have great difficulty finding them. M101 is very hard, especially when the sky is not fully dark. Remember that magnitudes of galaxies are integrated magnitudes. This means they add up all the light. A mag 10 galaxy spread out over a large area (like M101) may be harder than a far more compact galaxy at mag 12. M101 really needs very dark and transparent skies.

[Porl]

nice report Dag123 its ace when you find a pesky target thats elluded you for a few nights isnt it? Its annoying not being able to spot something but when you finally do you've really found it, i love that sense of discovery haha.

I've definetly got to try to spot the Globular clusters you've mentioned, next time im out with the scope im aiming for those suckers!

Spotting the Leo triplet is really tough and I think i found it more luck than targetting skills and with the 130EQ you can only see 2 out of the 3 galaxies. Well I only saw the 2. The main problem is that 2 of them are fairly face on where 1 is edge on and that one I couldnt see at all. The 2 face on you see as a small star with a slight circular smudge around them.

I found them in the 32mm but it was luck i think from spiralling the scope about.

Have you had another go at M51 which is at the bottom of The Plough and to the right slightly as its pretty straight up in the sky too?

good hunting dude

Paul''

[dag123]

Good explanation Michael, it is very useful to know that I should not rely to much on magnitudes, especially for galaxies.

Last night I just managed to spot M81 and M82 again, but it was much harder with the moonlight and being hampered by clouds drifting across the sky. Staring up at other areas of the sky while I waited for the clouds to pass I am pretty sure I saw 3 or 4 satellites moving accross the sky. They were not fast and short-lived like a shooting star, but seemed to move steadly in a north-south or south-north direction.

When I looked for M101 I was trying to convince myself that I could see it, but from the explanation of magnitudes I think I will have to wait for a darker night.

Porl, I will replace m101 with m51 on my TODO list, along with M3 which also seems to be nearby, hopefully both should be bright-enough to spot with my scope.

dag123