Andromeda from Hobart

[Tinderboxsky]

I have had Andromeda on my target list for some time now. It has been a matter of patience, waiting for the right conditions to try for a visual observation of Andromeda from Hobart.
It is a challenge, being a little under 6 degrees altitude at culmination. Plus, given I am directly south of Hobart, it means viewing Andromeda through the Hobart light lume. On the plus side I have a good northern horizon with only the first 3 degrees of altitude lost to the very distant hills.
On Saturday night we had a rare night here - good seeing and transparency and importantly no clouds low on the northern horizon.

Success at last. An easy star hop led me to the right spot and after a few moments of patient viewing Andromeda popped into view. It showed as a faint, hazy, diffuse spot with some hint of central brightness. I could not see any structure and there was no evidence of M32 and M110.
I was viewing through a 103 mm refractor with best views at 32X. Contrast was extremely poor given the low altitude and the Hobart light lume.

Anyhow, another one bagged to top off a successful night. Just a shame good viewing nights have been so few and far between lately.

Cheers

Steve.

[mental4astro]

Good stuff, Steve, :thumbsup:

I too have only had one chance so far to see M31. I'm very much looking forward to more sightings of this spectacular DSO.

Mental.

[goober]

Fabulous! I wouldn't have thought it possible from Hobart. I have seen it a couple of times from suburban Melbourne, at around 3am. Very low on the horizon, and faint through the light pollution. Must try again from a dark sky.

[acropolite]

I've tried from Launceston but not succeeded, I might give it another go. it's worth making the trip north for Qld astrofest to see M31 in it's full glory.

[brian nordstrom]

:) When I lived in Whangarei ( top of nth island NZ ) we could see M31 in october but only on good nights and for a short time .
But now I live in Darwin 12 degrees south its an easy target .
You should see it from Tassy given a clear northern horizon , Good luck .
Oh yea , its quite big and bright and once you have found her you will think . how did I miss that ? :shrug: .
Brian.

[ZeroID]

I tried a while ago from one of Aucklands little volcanoes but conditions were not optimal. If you can do it from Tassie I must be able to get it from NZ. Elevation is about 13* I think. Just got to find somewhere not looking through all the soup.
A clear night up on Mt Albert might do it except the gates get locked and I'd have to lug the scope and dob mount up the hill .... and back !!

(edit) 15* says Stellarium at about 2230. Wonder if the binos would pick it up ??

[brian nordstrom]

:) I think a nice pair of 70-100mm binos should do it . I would try the road to Kawakawa bay , it rises high enough and is east of Auks horrible glow .
Look forward to hear how you get on Brent . :thumbsup: .
Brian.

[AstroJason]

Thats great Steve! Especially from such a low latitude like Hobart! Proves you should alwas give what you might think impossible a try.

I too saw the Andromeda from Sydney on Sunday night. It was the first time I had ever seen it and I really couldn't believe what I was seeing was over 2 million light years away.

In my 10" dob from light polluted Newington I could make out an oval shape with a brighter core. Almost like an oval globular cluster, just without the glittery appearance of globulars.

[Tinderboxsky]

Thanks for all the comments. Patience was the key as you need a cloud free corridoor over a very long distance given the very low viewing angle. Clouds over head are nor a problem. I had been on the lookout regularly for a suitable night for many months.
cheers
Steve

[ZeroID]

I'll try west up into the Waitakeres where the TV transmitter tower is. Heck of a lot closer for me.
Just got to get rid of the clouds first !!

My Binos are only 12 x 50. I could take up both the 80mm f5 and the 10" Serrurier Newt on the DOB base. The beauty of having a station wagon. :thumbsup:

[brian nordstrom]

;) You better hurry Brent , M31 is dropping into the north east sludge as we type . :sadeyes:
And Steve from Hobart you better get up high and look north east fast , as its getting lower every night ...
Mid October is the best time . :) .
Brian.

[Tinderboxsky]

Brian,
I have bagged my sighting from Hobart, which I am very happy with. Thats how the thread started.
steve

[omegacrux]

I have seen it a couple of times
last night with the 6in acro and also in the past with 20x80 bino's
But I'm looking over Bass strait , no light pollution there
For me it was very faint and fuzzy had to look for a long time to make any detail
I was using a 2in 30mm ep so not much mag needed .

David

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Bet it looked good in the 6 inch David ? , 2 million light years , cool . I used to have one of these beauties , awsome deep sky scopes , I kinda miss it :( .
Brian.

[omegacrux]

It was yours Brian
I got Regulus (Trevor) to purchase it on my behalf !
Ta mate

David

[brian nordstrom]

:hi: Ha ha , small world , that scope has great optics , very sharp .
Brian.

[Varangian]

Likewise, I caught it from ASV's dark site 2 weeks back using a GSO 2" 30mm eyepiece. Large, bright ball with a warmer nucleus.

[Tinderboxsky]

A clear night last night with no cloud on the northern horizon gave me my best chance so far this year to track down and catch a glimpse of Andromeda.
It was an easy find this year compared to earlier years. All I could see was a broad hazy patch with obvious brightening towards the centre. There was no sign of structure nor any evidence of m31 or m110.
I am not chasing Andromeda for the views, rather the challenge of being able to see it from Hobart. It is a matter of patience waiting for the right conditions given Andromeda is so low on the northern horizon. I live well south of Hobart so I have to look through the Hobart light pollution. On the plus side I have a virtually unrestricted northerly horizon down to about 2 degrees elevation with these low hills blocking the majority of the direct line of sight lights of Hobart.
Observation with 140mm refractor at 67X and 2.1mm exit pupil.

Cheers
Steve

[GrampianStars]

Good catch Steve :hi:
I can see a faint haze visually with averted vision
really well in 10 x 50 bino's small bright central core with wisps of the elongated galaxy
& looks great in ED 80 with NVL 9mm no spiral arms though
M31 only climbs to 11 deg elevation from my site
Very dark sky helps :thumbsup:

[ZeroID]

Yes, well done indeed. I have yet to see it from here. Must make an effort if I can scrape some of these clouds to one side.

[TheCrazedLog]

I was off the coast of Norway on a cruise a couple of years ago on my honeymoon. We took the 10x50 and I tracked down M31 in those, then was able to see it just using naked eye. That was pretty cool.

Haven't seen it from home though....

[AussieTrooper]

Yep. It's an easy object to spot with the unaided Mk1 eyeball. From there. The last time I saw it was from Tin Can Bay. Not exactly a dark site, but good clear shape. Wish I had some binoculars with me!

It's on my list to spot from inner Lux Melbournis too. Have had a couple of tries and failures. Might involve standing on my (flat) roof...

[castor]

I have seen M31, easily, with 7x50 binos from my apartment in Fitzroy, Melbourne, just north of the city centre. I do remember seeing it on the Sunshine Coast and on the same day vainly trying to find the Double Cluster in Perseus.

I live in Hobart now and have yet to attempt it. Just got myself new 8x44 Minox HD and 10x42L Canon IS binos - should try soon!

[AussieTrooper]

Good to hear. I'm 10 min east of there.

[AussieTrooper]

Tried it last night with 8x40s. No good. Easy to find where it should have been, but just too light polluted.
That said, with it culminating at just before 10pm last night at a little over 10 degrees elevation, it might be better to try it in October next year.
The great orion nebula was at a similar elevation at the same time, and I could only just make out that it was there, so no surprises on missing M31.

[Tinderboxsky]

I managed my 2016 sighting of Andromeda last night during the Astronomical Society of Tasmania member observing night at our Mt Pleasant observatory outside Hobart.
The observing area has a good low dark outlook to the North. The star hop is easy and Andromeda popped out as a broad diffuse patch with obvious brightening to the centre. The elongated shape was just discernible but no other detail was seen. It was an opportunity for many other members present to get their first ever view of Andromeda and marvel at the journey the light photons have taken.
The viewing was about an hour before culmination with Andromeda at about 4deg elevation.
Scope was a Vixen NA140SS with Panoptic 24 giving 33X with 4.25mm exit pupil.
So, can tick this off the list for 2016

Cheers
Steve

[Rigel003]

Nice to see these annual reports Steve. Have you tried M33? Another iconic spiral in the vicinity - to the right of M31 and about 10 degrees higher up. Lower brightness but I can easily find it in 11 x 70 binos.

[Allan]

Had a look at M31, 32, 110 last night. It's a little easier from here. M33 was nice, it's my test for sky conditions, depending on how easy it is to see naked eye.

[Tinderboxsky]

Thanks for your comments Graeme.
Being 43 deg south, I have tended to ignore anything further north than +30 degrees. Just too much atmosphere and muck to look through. I have tried Albireo, at +28 north a couple of times and whilst the pair are easy to resolve and the colours are there, I have never been able to resolve the stars as nice sharp points. They are always small mushy blobs.
Anyhow now that you mention M33, I shall track it down next time I have clear skies to the north. As you say it is an iconic spiral and the astro images are a relevation.

Cheers
Steve.

[Tinderboxsky]

The current string of fine cloudless days here in Hobart have made multiple observations of Andromeda quite straight forward this year.

I am not chasing Andromeda for the views, rather the challenge of being able to see it from Hobart and marvel at the 2million plus years the photons have travelled only to be captured by my eyes . It is a matter of patience waiting for the right conditions given Andromeda is so low on the northern horizon. I live well south of Hobart so I have to look through the Hobart light pollution. On the plus side I have a virtually unrestricted northerly horizon down to about 1 degree elevation with these low hills blocking the majority of the direct line of sight lights of Hobart.

Andromeda was clearly visible in my 7X50 binoculars and 8X50 finderscope last Saturday night during the Astronomical Society of Tasmania member observing night at our Mt Pleasant observatory outside Hobart. Another member was reporting seeing the small diffuse spot in 10X42 binoculars. The observing area has a good low dark outlook to the North.

The star hop is easy and Andromeda popped out as a broad diffuse patch with obvious brightening to the centre in my scope. The slightly elongated shape was discernible. During moments of better seeing, it was obvious that the faint hazy area surrounding the central bright core was not uniform. A hint of structure was present but definitely not enough to define anything specific. Seeing was only average, but transparency was high which seemed to contribute to better contrast this year compared with earlier years when the whole FOV has looked quite washed out.

Andromeda was close to culmination at the time.

Two of us decided we should try for repeat observations atop Mt Wellington to see what difference 4,000 feet in altitude might make. We journeyed up there last night. Of course there are too many uncontrolled variables to make any real comparisons. The transparency was about the same and the seeing was definitely better, however, the light pollution from Hobart was worse than I was expecting. There is also little opportunity to get away from the summit road, so, we had to contend with quite regular traffic - sightseers, aurora chasers, love birds and goodness knows what else.

The result for Andromeda was about the same with the binoculars. The telescopic view was slightly washed out with less contrast and a slightly less rich view. We then spent several enjoyable hours ranging over our favourite targets. We tested some time exposures, but unfortunately there no aurora on the night.

Scope: Vixen NA140SS on TRex mount with Panoptic 24 (33X and 4.2 exit pupil) and LVW13 (62X and 2.3mm exit pupil).

[Sconesbie]

We saw it on Saturday night at Rosevale (Northern Tas). Very low at about 7 deg alt. It is the first time I have ever seen it. Once I tried to go back after looking at other stuff, I couldn't find it again. Too low.

[xstream]

Thought about it here in Huonville too on Saturday night but just a few too many obstructions in the way.
Even though the sky was clear here the seeing and transparency were fairly crap.

[xelasnave]

I am at Tabulam having arrived on Saturday.
I decided against bringing any gear because the weather seemed to be so bad.
It is cloudy and raining most of the time but I was surprised to find a clear sky last night so had a peek at Andromeda thru a pair of small binos and it was wonderful. Also Orion the clouds and the sisters.
No regrets about not bringing the gear up ..well just a little.
Alex

[mynameiscd]

Saw it last night around 11pm at Langkoop, Victoria.
Quite easy to see a fuzz unaided but 10x50s were heaps better.
I took 30 x 30sec frames but I forgot to flip down the lever to engage the motor on the tripod.
Not sure what I've got to work with.
Lucky here with no lights to the north except a few house lights 15 km away then Kaniva about 120 km away but clouds are the main problem that usually blocks andomedra.
Andy