First Galaxy! M104

[orestis]

On tuesday morning this week it was o.k seeing and hadn't seen a galaxy live before .While searching the internet found a way to starhop to M104.

Star hoping to M104 was easy as there three fairly bright stars pointing at the spiral galaxy.

When in view it looked like a globular cluster but when using averted vision i clearly saw the arms and bright cental core but no dust lane in my 130mm diameter newtonian.I was so excited:D to see my first galaxy and it was Fantastic:).By the way if your wondering i chose M104 because so many people say that its one of there favourites.

I also did a sketch to show how i saw it in the eyepiece.15mm 60x mag

[mental4astro]

ALL RIGHT, :party:. Good stuff Orestis!

Very exciting, & a great thrill to track down one of these suckers!

From your drawing, the bottom edge of the sketch of M104 is the dust lane! Come back to it, & I'm sure you will be able to pick-up more details. The excitement can overwhelm what we can see first time. It happened to me, & still does with new objects often.

Have a go at M83 in Hydra & Centaurus A (NGC 5128) in Centaurus. Both are well positioned for this time of year & easy to star hop to & can be seen in a finder. M83 is a face on spiral, & 5128 is edge on & resembleing a hamburger.

Tip: don't be affraid sometimes to kick up the magnification to improve contrast. I need to remind myself to pick up the short focal length EPs sometimes.

[orestis]

Thanks for the encouragement Alexander
Yeah cant wait to see M83
Looks like a clear night tonight ''YEAH"
Will give it a go might do another sketch too
Regards Orestis