Andromeda M31

[Lyinxz]

Hi Guys,

Ive set my self a Goal - To see M31.:D

I was hoping to get some hints and tips from any one who has had good views of the galaxy.

When is the best time this year to catch it? from Sydney Location.
I use a 10" SW-C* Dob.

Which EP is best? I would think prob a 18mm?

Do filters help? if so which one?

Ive noticed in Stellarium that it never comed up high, and mainly stays low to the horizion. So I suspect il need to be at a high observation point?

Whats the best way to find it with a Dob? Would it be visible in my finderscope?

Look forward to your tips and hints! :)

Cheers,:thumbsup:
Ash

*Skywatcher Collapisable

[lesbehrens]

hi. i think u mite be a bit late to see it. not sure but it can be seen naked eye. your finder will see it. a 32 mm eyepiece is prob the max magnification u want. it is big. a pair of binoculars can see it good to. i hope this helped.
les

[Quark]

Hi Ash,

As Les says, from a dark site M31 is naked eye, looks good in binoculars, try your longest FL eyepiece in your scope. M31 is a bit of a disappointment from oz, one of the few things the Northern Hemisphere has going for it.

It will be at its highest above your Northern horizon at about 10pm in late Oct. This time of the year it has set before it gets dark and doesn't rise until after the Sun in the morning.

Put it on your list for later in the year.

Regards
Trevor

[renormalised]

Might be for you guys down south, Trevor, but I see it quite well from where I am, up north here:)

[gary]

Hi Ash,

From your location in Sydney, it rises to only about 15 degrees above your northern
horizon at midnight in early October, as also reported by Trevor.

That means you require an unobstructed view of the northern horizon. Since
the light pollution in Sydney is very bad at these large zenith distances, your
best bet is to get out of town.

For example, I have observed M31 from the ASNSW dark sky site near Ilford, NSW.

Is is readily viewable in the finder or naked eye.

Don't use a filter to observe galaxies.

Though it has an integrated magnitude of about 4.4, it is over 3 degrees across,
so the surface brightness is low. However, make no mistake, from a dark sky
site, this is a bright and obvious galaxy.

The best eyepiece to use is the one that frames the object you are looking at.
Higher magnifications are generally best for galaxies as they provide greater
contrast.

A Local Group member, rather than red-shifting, it is coming towards us!

Happy hunting!

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai

[gary]

Not if all those showers and thunderstorms you guys are having keep it up indefinitely!!!:rain:

Hope some clear skies and dry grounds come your way soon! :thumbsup:

Best Regards

Gary

[renormalised]

That's not going to happen anytime soon, Gary:o

[gary]

How is it on the ground there as far as any flooding goes? I gather it is not as bad as what
it was up in Ingham with the river flooding?

Best Regards

Gary

P.S.

Take pity for people like Trevor (aka Quark) where it is predicted to reach 45C
tomorrow out at Broken Hill.

Meantime, here on the North Shore of Sydney, we have smoke from a fire apparently in the
Lane Cover River Park.

[RB]

Ash, I remember a few years ago when I first got seriously interested in astronomy, my top of the list things to do was to see the Andromeda Galaxy.
I live on the Central Coast and back then I was able to view it naked eye and through a pair of 12x50 bino's.
The best times to see it are from early mornings in August through to early evenings in November.

I recently was able to image M31, see links below:

http://www.astro-image.org/page/ds/m31.htm

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=36459&highlight=andromeda&page=2

Good luck in hunting down this wonderful galaxy, which is surprisingly big btw.


:)

[gary]

Absolutely spectacular image Andrew! :thumbsup:

Best Regards

Gary

[renormalised]

Well, we're cutoff from everyone else. Flooding in town hasn't been as bad as up in Ingham, but then we have a much better drainage system, for the most part. Some parts of town have copped a fair bit of flooding, though....close to the river and in the lower lying areas.

45C is pretty hot but I've been through worse....at least in BH it's dry heat. If it was humid like it gets up here it'd be like a sauna!!!. Still, it's not nice having to endure that sort of heat....should send some rain down to Trevor and the rest of you guys:D

Then you can grow gills and webbed feet/hands like we do up here in the wet:P:D

[renormalised]

Years ago, now, I had the chance to show a few 3rd year geology students I was tutoring, M31 from out near Mt Isa. Should have seen their faces when I pointed out to them this elongated "cloud" they could see out in the NE, at the time, was the galaxy. They didn't believe me at first because it was so large, but I convinced them by showing them a star chart.

[Lyinxz]

Stunning pictures RB!

Thumbs on the input from all of you! :thumbsup:
I appricate the advise! :)

I really really want to see this majestic object this year so will do whatever to prepare!

Ive seen the pictures of it in on the internet of what it looks like through a telescope and its just unbelievable.
To think you can see another galaxy (and knowing exactly how big a galaxy is) is just mind blowing! :eyepop:

Thanks for the detailed info gary, Il make sure i find a obs spot far from the city and with good view of the northen horizion!

Thanks,
Ash

[renormalised]

The trick to seeing it, if you're finding it difficult to spot first up is not to look directly at it. Use averted vision and it'll standout like a sore thumb. You'll also see more of it that way, too.

[Quark]

What a stunning image Andrew, great work considering it is so low, so much detail.

Regards
Trevor:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup :

[Solanum]

Well, the Magellenic Clouds are both other galaxies, they are a lot brighter to the naked eye, bigger (visually - not in absolute terms!), and higher in the sky for most of the year.

Admittedly, they are dwarf galaxies gravitationally linked to our own, but then M31 and our galaxy are gravitationally linked too and it is thought they will collide eventually.

Incidentally, through the eyepiece/binocular lenses M31 won't look like the pics, it's pretty much just a grey fuzz with no detail except a brightening in the middle.

[Lyinxz]

Solanum, interesting knowledge about the collision of the two galaxies. I didnt know Galaxys could collide into each other..

fingers crossed our Galaxy stays put for a while! :lol:

Sadly too, I have come to experience that amature telescope viewing is not like the pretty hubble pictures. But all in awe to see even the faintest light of M31 is mind blowing... Only if you know what it is your looking at. :thumbsup:

Otherwise yes its just a faint fuzzy smudge.

[Solanum]

NGC4038, the antenna galaxy should be visible in your scope and is an example of two galaxies that have collided. In my scope it usually looks pretty much like a kidney bean which is the two cores together I think. In a larger scope (maybe just visible in our 10" scopes at a good dark site with good conditions), you can see the 'antenna' which are spiral arms of stars thrown out by the collision.

[toryglen-boy]

coming from Scotland, i am lucky enough to have seen M31 high in the sky, and it can be quite a sight. although i prefer the spiral just below it (sorry, i keep forgetting, its above it down here!) as its face on, and more of the structure can be seen, although the surface brightness is lower

:)