[GUS.K (Ivan)]

After seeing a thread over on CN regarding amateur observations of SN1987A, and with a predicted clear sky last night ( clear, but humidity was hovering in the high 90's), I decided to give it a go, and see if I can spot it through my 18 inch scope. Made a couple of finder charts at different scales and then set up around 9pm ( it was still raining an hour previous). I let the scope acclimatise for a half hour with fans running before starting the observation. Locating the area and the actual location of the SN remnant was easier than expected, and using a 12mm WF eyepiece was able to identify the location within minutes. Seeing was okay up to 250x, but pushing the mag to 550x didn't make seeing it any easier, so backed off to 350x.
The SNR is flanked by two stars and at the magnification I was using, I could only make out an elongated smudge of light and with averted vision, a starlike point source on one end of the smudge. There is a roughly V shaped collection of stars near the SNR ( slightly nebulous in appearance) and slightly brighter, which could be mistaken for it. I'll try again with this one, hopefully in better conditions. I'll post the finder charts later when I get a chance.
Thanks for reading.