December & January Observation Challenge

[glenc (Glen)]

Well done Rob. Amazing what you can see with a 4.5"!

[michaellxv (Michael)]

I have had a couple of goes at finding NGC1808 and NGC1792 now without success. I'll be the first to admit I don't know squat about star hopping but I am reasonably sure I am in the right area of sky. I have just checked using Stellarium in ocular mode and the stars look the same as I saw last night, just couldn't see the galaxy

Assuming I am not completely lost should I be able to see these from my backyard? Or is this a measure of the amount of local light polution?

[pgc hunter]

Originally Posted by michaellxv

I have had a couple of goes at finding NGC1808 and NGC1792 now without success. I'll be the first to admit I don't know squat about star hopping but I am reasonably sure I am in the right area of sky. I have just checked using Stellarium in ocular mode and the stars look the same as I saw last night, just couldn't see the galaxy

Assuming I am not completely lost should I be able to see these from my backyard? Or is this a measure of the amount of local light polution?

Both of those should be fairly easy for a 10" newt. How bad is your light pollution? Even relatively bright galaxies can be hidden by LP so you'll want atleast moderately dark skies. What eyepiece/magnification are you using? Low powers render the background sky brighter so in situations with LP the contrast between the galaxy and sky will be low. When you zero in on the area, try a higher mag, about 150-200x, to darken the background sky and increase contrast.

[Rob_K]

Originally Posted by michaellxv

I have had a couple of goes at finding NGC1808 and NGC1792 now without success. I'll be the first to admit I don't know squat about star hopping but I am reasonably sure I am in the right area of sky. I have just checked using Stellarium in ocular mode and the stars look the same as I saw last night, just couldn't see the galaxy

Assuming I am not completely lost should I be able to see these from my backyard? Or is this a measure of the amount of local light polution?

You will be able to see them in a 10" Michael so maybe it is a measure of local light pollution. I would rate them as considerably easier to see than, say, the galaxies of the Grus Quartet, at least in my scope. Maybe you could print out a screen shot from Stellarium and double check the star patterns in the FOV to make sure you're in exactly the right spot. I often print out screen shots from Starry Night to help me with really dim things. Use low powers too. Good luck!

EDIT: Oops, beat me to it pgc!!

Cheers -

[michaellxv (Michael)]

Originally Posted by pgc hunter

Both of those should be fairly easy for a 10" newt. How bad is your light pollution? Even relatively bright galaxies can be hidden by LP so you'll want atleast moderately dark skies. What eyepiece/magnification are you using? Low powers render the background sky brighter so in situations with LP the contrast between the galaxy and sky will be low. When you zero in on the area, try a higher mag, about 150-200x, to darken the background sky and increase contrast.

Thanks, I will give that a try if the weather holds out.
Naked eye I can only just see Omi Columba and only then because I know it's there. Light polution is quite bad, after only a few minutes outside I can walk around and avoid everything except the woofer eggs.

[pgc hunter]

Originally Posted by michaellxv

Thanks, I will give that a try if the weather holds out.
Naked eye I can only just see Omi Columba and only then because I know it's there. Light polution is quite bad, after only a few minutes outside I can walk around and avoid everything except the woofer eggs.

Omi Columba?

Do you mean Omicron? If so, its magnitude is 4.8, so it sounds like your skies aren't severely light polluted. You should be able to see those galaxies. Be aware though, don't expect them to "jump" out at you. Study the field for a bit, allowing your eyes to adjust to the fainter objects. Jiggling the optical tube slightly also helps with seeing faint diffuse objects.

Rob's Idea of printing off charts is a good one, you can also try printing off DSS images of the galaxies and use the field stars as reference. I do that all the time and really helps with knowing what to expect and pinpointing the exact location relative to the faint field stars.

[glenc (Glen)]

Michael here is an image to help you http://picasaweb.google.com/dunlop18...58844115852706

[michaellxv (Michael)]

Thanks for the picture that should help.
I now have more charts than I know what to do with, I did manage to get Sky Charts to print one in a large scale that I can read in the dark.

Just need the clouds to go away now.