Help finding M104

[laika]

Hi all,
I have recently just returned to the wonderful hobby of Astronomy.
I have a rather old 6" Schmitt Newtonian on a recently purchased EQ6, future scope upgrade pending but have not decided on what to purchase to stick on the new mount.
Anyway enough waffle. I was hoping to view M104 through this scope but I am having difficulty finding it. I drift align the scope before each veiwing session thanks to the great advise on this site, and its not that difficult after reading and then re-reading the info on how to do it. Then I check that I can locate some of the easier object to find by setting there correct DEC and moving the scope in RA. eg set DEC for Omega Cent then moving the scope in RA while looking thru the 8 x 50 finder scope until it appears.
That works fine but when I now try it with something like M104 I just dont apper to be able to locate it. Is the faint glow visible thru an 8 x 50 finder scope or will I have to pear thru the main tube.
The sky I observe under is dark, no street lights and I can see the Milky Way very well. The EQ6 is not a goto.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[DobDobDob]

:welcome: Laika, someone will help you very soon, you can bet on that :whistle:

[ving]

theres this site: http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/m104.htm

the picture below... look for teh triangle of stars at "1" as they point roughly towards m104, then look for the little cluster circled at "2".
I dont think kyou will see it in your finder scope. start with a wide field EP then once you have it up the magnification :)

[ving]

oh, and a hearty welcoming to you! :)

[laika]

Thanks Ving.
I have printed out the map and will check out the web sight later. Hopefully I will now get closer to seeing M104.:)

[ving]

no problems :)

if you have no joy, come back and i'll try something else :)

let us know how you go regardless.

[laika]

Ving,
I had a quick look last night using my binoculars 7 x 50 to see if I could find the triangle as shown on the map, I had no problem finding that then moving in the direction of the pointer star I located the Stargate and just below that
Jaws as described in Astronomy 2007.:eyepop:. I believe that M104 is just next door to Jaws.
I think my initial search was to far from the double stars in Corvus, and I am suprised how close every thing is. Much to re-learn.:doh:
I hope to get the scope out tonight but have had heavy dew last couple of nights which almost ruined my image session of Saturn. Anyway thanks again, I now feel I am on the right track.

[Popeye]

Sounds like you're there now, Laika! I used to drop down from the bottom star of Corvus, find the three stars, down a bit further to Jaws or 'three in three,' and there it was! Very satisfying exercise.
Now with goto I have lost that touch but I don't care! :)
Cheers!
Popeye

[ving]

yup, sounds like you have the spot! :D

congrats, let me know after you get it in the scope :D

[jjjnettie]

Good luck with your search.
You probably already know this, but, Use a low powered ep to find it before slipping in a high powered one to observe.
I was looking at it tonight inbetween the clouds. It's a beautiful thing to behold. That dust lane!!

[laika]

Thanks,I will use the low power eyepeice, The problem I have now is thatFriday when I returned home our good friends from DSE decided to do a burn off thus much smoke haze. Tonight it is overcastand trying to rain so I will just have to wait.

[ballaratdragons]

:lol: Don't ya just love Astronomy!!! Burn-offs, clouds, fog, Dew, Light Pollution, Moonlight, etc.

Good luck finding Sombrero. Once you've found it, you won't have trouble finding it again. It's quite easy once you know where it is :thumbsup:

[laika]

Hi all,Just had the first chance to look for M104, Its taken a while due to cloud then DSE burn offs and the greatest tragedy of all my great mate of 13 years Laika a wonderful Weimaraner had to be put to sleep on the 19th april after becoming very sick in the early hours of the morning. On Friday the 20th clear skys greated me early evening so I decided to set the telescope up to see if I could spot the galaxy. After veiwing Saturn for a while it was finaly dark enough and Corvus was high enough to have a go, and wow there it was what a great sight. How lucky could I get so I tried for M83 and wow there it was. So the I turned to NGC5128 (Centaurus A) and oh what a wonderful sight. To cap the evening of I waited for Jupiter to rise above the tree line and even though it was still quite low in the sky and the atmospher was quite unsteady the view was still quite fantastic. All this and my great mate was not by my side RIP Laika.Thanks all.

[laika]

Hi all,Just had the first chance to look for M104, Its taken a while due to cloud then DSE burn offs and the greatest tragedy of all my great mate of 13 years Laika a wonderful Weimaraner had to be put to sleep on the 19th april after becoming very sick in the early hours of the morning. On Friday the 20th clear skys greated me early evening so I decided to set the telescope up to see if I could spot the galaxy. After veiwing Saturn for a while it was finaly dark enough and Corvus was high enough to have a go, and wow there it was what a great sight. How lucky could I get so I tried for M83 and wow there it was. So the I turned to NGC5128 (Centaurus A) and oh what a wonderful sight. To cap the evening of I waited for Jupiter to rise above the tree line and even though it was still quite low in the sky and the atmosphere was quite unsteady the view was still quite fantastic. All this and my great mate was not by my side RIP Laika.Thanks all.</p>

[DobDobDob]

I guess by now you realise you posted the same message twice :P

Sorry to hear about your best mate, dogs are more human than homo sapiens sometimes if you ask me :whistle:

[jjjnettie]

I'm really sorry to hear about Laika. Such a tragedy for you.

[erick]

Super instructions, Ving. I perfected the location technique last week and saw M104 for the first time. From those two stars of Corvus --> find the triangle --> follow the arrowhead to Stargate --> keep going to find Jaws --> there's M104, just beside jaws! :)

[ballaratdragons]

Or do as I did last Friday night when I was with Eric. No finderscope, so I pointed the scope where Sombrero is supposed to be and there it was :lol:

[erick]

Something to behold - Ken sighting a 12" dob by naked eye! Pretty impressive!