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Old 01-06-2008, 07:02 AM
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AlexN
Widefield wuss

AlexN is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caboolture, Australia
Posts: 6,994
hey, I had this trouble too when I got my scope. the biggest problem I had was I was looking for what I had seen in images...

Do not expect to see things as they are seen in images, the contrast is usually alot lower. In my 8", Tandum's image of M104 looks more like a pale yellowish smudge with a darker yellowish line in it... you're best off looking for the closer galaxies, or ones that can take as much magnification as you can throw at them... M83 is a good example of such. even at 180x mag I've had no troubles...

Keep studying your star charts, get a good feel for WHERE to look, then when you're out under the stars looking through the scope, remember that your eyes take time to adjust... give yourself time. and averted vision, look slightly to the side of your target, concentrating on the target itself.. you'll notice more detail this way...

You really have to train yourself to observe... and I'll quote a very wise mate of mine... Theres a big difference between looking and observing.

Hope this helps.

alex.
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