Possible to see other dust/gas other nebulas besides Orion/M42 with my 6" dob?

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Hi everyone

Was just wondering, is it possible to see other nebulas besides the Orion with my 6" Dobsonian? I had taken my scope last week to the blue mountains and it was beautiful to first look at the dust in Orion Nebula, but would like to see others as well if possible. Your help would be greatly appreciated,thankyou.

Kind Regards,
Mo.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

There are a few others nearly as bright and interesting that are visible at this time of year,namely Eta Carina and the tarantula nebula. As you will be aware by now, dark skies make a big difference.

If you dont have any sky charts, try the free monthly ones here http://www.skymaps.com/skymaps/tesms0801.pdf

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Originally Posted by Starkler

There are a few others nearly as bright and interesting that are visible at this time of year,namely Eta Carina and the tarantula nebula. As you will be aware by now, dark skies make a big difference.

If you dont have any sky charts, try the free monthly ones here http://www.skymaps.com/skymaps/tesms0801.pdf

Thanks mate next time will look out for the two you mentioned I use stellarium currently as my guide...

[stephend]

I can't get Starkler's URL link to open. I get an "access forbidden" page.

[dannat (Daniel)]

Mo,
If you have stellarium you can choose to turn on nebulae names - its in the config tab (under rendering) you can also choose the mag.

[byronpaul (Paul)]

What magnitude should us newbies limit ourselves to in first looking for DSO's.

M42 is very easy and obvious (plenty of guiding stars), but have struggled to find others of similar magnitude.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by stephend

I can't get Starkler's URL link to open. I get an "access forbidden" page.

Sorry the site wouldnt allow a direct link to the file. Try here and follow the link to the southern hemisphere map

Originally Posted by byronpaul

What magnitude should us newbies limit ourselves to in first looking for DSO's.

M42 is very easy and obvious (plenty of guiding stars), but have struggled to find others of similar magnitude.

The magnitude of objects you can see will depend mainly on the light pollution you have to contend with, the size of your scope, and the size of the object.

This site is full of resources to get a newbie started off in this great hobby (obsession?). If you havent already got any form of star chart, start with the skymaps link above to get you started, then you could get yourself a planisphere, download and print off the free star chart from the sticky thread in this section, or get one of the many free star chart programs available online. Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel come highly recommended.

Have fun!

[stephend]

Thanks, that works okay.