[mic_m (Michael)]

I can certainly empathise with the difficulty that beginners have in searching for their first deep sky objects (DSOs); like most amateur astronomers when I was starting out I had some difficulty in finding my first DSOs.

So, here is some advice to supplement what has already been given.

What a galaxy looks like through a telescope
I think that a large part of the problem for beginners in finding galaxies is that they don’t know what to expect from galaxies (or rather their expectations are too high).

Often, if a beginner has never had someone show them what they should be looking for and all they have seen to that point are Hubble images, it is no wonder that a galaxy might not jump out at them, even if they have in fact seen it!

To get a real understanding of what one can expect from galaxies in a modest size telescope it is useful to provide a visual representation of how a galaxy appears through eyepiece of such a telescope. This will help to accurately readjust ones expectations of what will be seen which will ultimately help in finding the object.

I have provided a link to a sketch by Jeremy Perez that provides a visual representation of the Sombrero galaxy (M104) in an 8 inch telescope: http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/images/2008/img2008062101_M104_120Xlg.jpg.

In my opinion this is a close representation of how the Sombrero galaxy looks through an 8 inch dobsonain at a rural site. Decrease your computer screen contrast and brightness to get more of a feel for how the galaxy will appear a form suburbia. For me the most accurate representation is achieved by decreasing both brightness and contrast to their lowest level, but each computer screen will vary.

Magnification
Another key issue is to use the “right” level of magnification for viewing a galaxy. For finding an object low power often helps with searching the sky in the process of star hopping because the wide field makes it easier accurately match up your view with your sky charts. The chances are if you are just starting out with star hopping you may not be right on the object with the star hop but you will likely be close, so circle outward from that point with the main scope to find the object. This can take some getting used to in a reflecting telescope because the image is upside down and reversed, but if you make concentric outward circles you will not miss any space around the target area and your chances of finding that elusive galaxy increases.

If using a 25mm eyepiece with a 1200mm focal length telescope the resultant magnification will be 48x (1200mm/25mm), at this magnification the sombrero will look quite small, like a fuzzy elongated star. Once you find the object that you are looking for you can increase the magnification by inserting a shorter focal length eyepiece. Increasing the magnification increases the detail visible in an object and darkens the sky background (which provides more contrast in the image), so your view of it will improve with higher magnification. But this is only to a point. Eventually, when you magnify an object too much it becomes dim (the light from the object becomes spread out too much) and it will lose contrast. For an 8” dob a magnification of ~120x (a 10mm eyepiece for a 1200mm focal length telescope) will provide a good view of a galaxy like M104; similar to the sketch by Jeremy Perez above. However, as noted in other posts you will likely need to use averted vision to bring out the details (i.e. the dark dust band).

Observing time
With the moon becoming increasingly bright (it is now in the waxing gibbous phase heading towards the full moon on the 30th) you will have to wait until next month for a dark sky to make any serious observations of galaxies.

The best time to observe M104 will be next month during the new moon at around 11.30pm to 12am when it apaches culmination (crosses the meridian). Here it should be in clear steady air well out of any haze on the horizon and clear of much of the light pollution (the same goes for M83 and NGC5128).

There has been a lot of good advice on this thread about star hopping effectively and using a good star chart so the only other advice I would give is to reiterate those points that have been made.

Other interesting galaxies
In addition to the galaxies mentioned in the other posts M31 (the Andromeda galaxy) and M33 (the Triangulum galaxy) are quite easy to spot despite their low altitude. But you will have to wait for the early mornings (5am) of July to get your first view of these.

Good luck to all the beginners searching for galaxies. Let us know your impressions when you find something...

Michael.