First Sighting of M104

[Dean]

Well, Last night I spotted my first galaxy... M104 - Sombrero Galaxy. Apparently this is 30 million light years away??

I couldnt find M83 so tried to have a go at M104 which is apparently harder to find?

Anyway with my 10" Dob and Telrad, and a SkyMaps chart I star jumped from the southern cross and got within the general vacinty by crossing a couple star lines between Corvus, Saturn and some other stars around Spica... With a little maneouvring around looking through the 32mm eyepiece, I spotted a faint fuzzy that looked sifferent from the surrounding spherical balls of light... AHA this has to be it! I quickly moved to a 15mm plossl and then down to a 6mm plossl. I wasn't getting a lot of detail and seeing conditions weren't really the best (I wish the neighbour would buy some curtains or blinds one of these days (get streaming light direct out his windows!).

Anyway with the 6mm I was fairly sure what I was looking at was M104. I was in the area it should be according to the charts and it did have that football type of glow with a more prominant band through the middle. I couldnt really get much detail but again, i was using Celestron plossl which probably isnt the best...

Do you think a better 6mm or 5mm eyepiece might help resolve more detail?

Anyway I was happy I found M104 which I hear is one of the harder ones to find or see? What other galaxies might be easier to find or see in July 2010? Especially any face-on ones that are closer which may not be as far as 30 million light years away? As mentioned I tried for M83 but couldnt locate it... It is supposed to be in an "attractive star field" according to the chart, but I'm not sure if I was close to the area or not. I though i was but I couldnt spot it.

[goober (Doug)]

M83 is well worth a look but it depends where you are observing from. If you're in the suburbs, you may want to wait until after midnight when the skies get darker. July is really glob season!

[Starkler (Geoff)]

M104 is one of the easier ones to see being relatively small for its brightness.
M83 is hard from the suburbs because its so extended.

I recall there being a fairly recent thread on the easiest galaxies to see, so a site search will tell you all you want to know.

[Dean]

Thanks for the info... ok so for M83 I want to be looking for something larger in the finderscope/eyepiece with not as much apparent brightness... and on a better night...

[Suzy]

Hi Dean,
Isn't it so awesome to see something that far away!!!! I had dreams (really I did ) for months of finding this one as I could never get it from my back yard and a few weeks ago I was at a dark site and "bam", got it with only a 6" dob. I couldn't see any details though, despite looking through a 10mm Pentax xw, but was awesome nevertheless. My hands were too frozen and I could barely feel my fingers, to throw a barlow on, but I don't think I would have gotten much more as it was fairly dim to begin with. It was good to read the detail of it that you got through your 10", because I will be the proud owner of one that size hopefully this weekend! So lookout M-104, I'll be hunting you down again I now own gloves by the way, apparentally that are reaaaaally necessary. .

Regarding the light from your neighbours house getting in your way, I have read that people cover their whole head with something when looking through the eyepiece? Maybe someone can comment on that and clarify it.

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

Depending where I am observing from I sometimes put a dark cloth over my head to get rid of the light coming in to the eyepiece from behind me. It does help a lot.

No its not to hide my ugly head or to remain anonymous from the public.

Adrian

[Rex]

Well done Dean, M104 is a beauty. As geoff mentioned M83 is much harder from the suburbs. From my back yard which is on the outer edge of the suburbs here in Townsville I can only just make M83 out with my 12" Dob. Depending on the quality of the seeing sometimes I even have to gently move the scope from side to side to see it at all.

To answer your other question, NGC5128 otherwise known as "Centaurus-A" is one of my favourites and quite easy to see. You said you have star charts, it will be shown on them for sure. Exciting stuff finding objects for the first time, good luck and keep having fun.

[CosMos (Rich)]

Hi Dean, here are some old charts I have used for finding some popular galaxies. Finding the Sombrero galaxy, M104 is easy. First find Corvus and locate delta which you can see on the attachment has eta alongside. Then find the triangle of stars just over 2 degrees north which point to Struve 1659 ( a beautiful triangle within a triangle) named canali on attachment then outwards to Struve 1664. The later grouping look like a hockey stick and point directly to M104.

Have included charts for Centaurus A and how to find it as well as NGC 253 and a chart of the inner bright galaxies of the Fornax Cluster.

Cheers
Rich

[Suzy]

Rich, that map of Centauras A looks a beauty. I have tried tirelessly to pin this, first with a 6" and now with a 10". I'm hoping the map you supplied will do the trick this time! Thank you. And it's so close to the Glob- I just don't get why I can't find the #$%@ thing! See, I've resorted to the use of symbols now

[CosMos (Rich)]

Hi Suzy, you should be able to see it with binoculars under a dark sky. If you are observing in the city, any light pollution overwhelms it. The trick is to get on it's position and wait for it to become visible. Usually the dark lane becomes obvious first.

The area I call the 'Golden Triangle' is a v-shaped group of brightish orange stars. To the southeast lie two bright stars, moving away from them and through the star to the northeast (a few difficult and faint galaxies lie around it) brings you to Cen. A. It is quite large.

[astrospotter (Mark)]

If you can find Corvus this method will be maybe helpfull. You may want to have some chart before you as I describe this as I amy be poor at directions.

I look for the dim star that is still naked eye visible in reasonably dark skies where this star is about half way between the two stars that form the E-W line on the southern side of Corvus. (about half way between Beta and E).

Now from that dimmer star between Beta and E imagine a line that cuts right through the NE corner of the corvus (which is a wide double where delta is just south of eta. This brighter star, gamma, of the two on the NE rectangle of Corvus is half way on this imaginary line to M104. Extend that imaginary line the other half way moving NNE and the end of this imaginary line is real near M104. If you still don't see it due to sky brightness or scope size, continue for more fun below.

Here is the 'fun part' if you are using 6" or better scope. Right in this area at the end of the imaginary line there is a small 'arrow' made of 4 semi-bright stars that points RIGHT at M104 and this arrow is easier to see than M104. This arrow is 1/3 degree west of M104. The tiny arrow is about 4 arc-minutes long and therefore is 'about' the same length as M104 and in the same orientation (close to E-W). So follow that arrow about 5 times the arrows length to be just a touch below (south) of M104.

I hope you understand ANY of this because I sure don't ...

[Suzy]

Many thanks Rich for those very helpful instructions to go with the map. I have just printed it off and marked what you said with a highlight pen. Can't wait for the weather to be clear so I can have another go!

[Benno18 (Ben)]

The neighbours light issue: Go and ask the person to come and have a look through the scope at what you are looking at, and then in general conversation bring the excess light issue up and tell them that it is bothering you. They go and turn it off, come back and then look again.
'Holy smokes!!!!!! that looks heaps better!!!!!

Worked for me. No he has got a small scope and is getting his kids involved and the cycle continues!!!