M104

[Craig.a.c]

I just spent a few hours outside trying to locate M104 without any luck. It was frustrating and started to give me a headache trying to find it so I gave up. Instead I spent the rest of the time gazing upon Saturn in all of its beauty. Does anyone here have an image of M104 through a 4.5" telescope? I would like to know what I would be looking for.

Cheers - Craig.

[desler]

Hey Craig.

Check this link :
http://www.backyard-astro.com/deepsky/top100/15.html

I think I orignally found the lonk in a post from Jeanette.

Have fun.

Darren

[Craig.a.c]

Thanks for that Darren. I must not have been to far from it as I saw those star formations while I was looking for M104. I even started on the double star at the bottom of Corvus and went in that direction towards Virgo. I will have to give it another go when I get a night off.

[Rob_K]

Craig, this is roughly what the field of view looks like in my small scope at x43 (using 21mm eyepiece, focal length 900mm). This is in dark skies - it's pretty small and faint but you can crank up the magnification. I've inverted for reflector view, based on how it is in the sky tonight. Good luck!

Cheers -

[Craig.a.c]

Hey Rob.
Looking at that pic I am starting to think that I was right on it. I could see a small smudge and thought that it may have been it. I should have gone out to the golf club, much darker out there then in my backyard.

[erick]

Hi Craig

Sounds like you are almost on it!

Yes, head a bit out of town - towards the North East/East so Corvus/Virgo are over dark country.

My skymap to M104 is post #11 in this thread:-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=28880

I was looking at M104 last night from my Melbourne backyard. Visible in direct vision, averted vision picked up more including the dust lane. (But I was using 12" of mirror!)

Eric