Sombrero Galaxy

[MattT]

Very patchy cloud in Melbourne tonight but I'll give M104 a go with my 4" f9 ED refractor. I have seen the dust lane in my 6" f12 refractor but doubt the 4" will have it….one thing I do when I'm not sure if I'm in the right spot is a slight de-focus that makes the faint fuzzies a bit more fuzzie than the rest!!!!
Works for me, it's the only way I have spotted the Leo triplet from Melbourne looking over the LP North sky.
Matt

[raymo]

Hi Doug, Very few galaxies are impressive visually, but it should be
good in your 12".
raymo

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Doug
In your 12" M104 is one of the best Galaxies to view. Stunning IMHO.

Malcolm

Fantastic seeing last night however I couldn't see M104 due to the veranda roof just cut my view above Mars. I did however see the Virgo cluster of galaxy's all together M84, M99, M98, M87, M86 & M100 also Saturn looked a fantastic sight as well. I will try again maybe tonight after selecting a better viewing position.

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Had a crack last night with the little 8". Really clear night and M104 was lovely. Bright and extended with the dark lane very clear. Was only at 53x with a 15mm 68deg EP which had the 3 stars in a line at the edge of the field.

Nice!!

Malcolm

Thanks for that Malcolm! Gives me hope for my "little" 8" scope...

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Success! Sky was certainly not dark enough, but got a nice look at the Sombrero tonight, very pleased! My 6mm ep was good but my 32mm in two barlows was slightly better...I do imagine under very dark skies that it would be quite a sight...cool!

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Good onya!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

I was just remembering my first catch of M104. It was about 4 years ago at a session in Camperdown about an hour after sunset, and it was lowish in the west so I think it was spring. Was very thrilled to get it as it was the first galaxy that was more that a blob that I had managed to see!

Malcolm

[astrospotter (Mark)]

From a dark site you can see M31 with naked eye or even better in binoculars. A 8-12" scope (or larger) M31 becomes really nice. In an 16-18" scope you can seek out globular clusters too! (not just G1). M31 is a gift to us astronomers but sadly it is out of season for a while but always a treat even to deep sky buffs like myself. Never pass by the huge eye candy objects, always take time to take a peek at them no matter how deep you like to go in general. They are a treat for us all!

[Pinwheel (Doug)]

Originally Posted by astrospotter

From a dark site you can see M31 with naked eye or even better in binoculars. A 8-12" scope (or larger) M31 becomes really nice. In an 16-18" scope you can seek out globular clusters too! (not just G1). M31 is a gift to us astronomers but sadly it is out of season for a while but always a treat even to deep sky buffs like myself. Never pass by the huge eye candy objects, always take time to take a peek at them no matter how deep you like to go in general. They are a treat for us all!

Sadly M31 is too low in the Southern Hemisphere for me to see. November is the best time however I've never seen it.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Very cold and clear last night, had to really bundle up to keep warm. Apparently it got down to 3*, sudden cold snap from down south.
But I had a look at M104 through Lunt. Tried some imaging, not very successful, focussing and air stability issues. But once I had got everything centred on M104 I was able to see the smudge in the 80 mm. Still high in my NE sky over the CBD direction.
Had a go at Saturn with the ZWO as well but air was way too unstable in that direction. Next month maybe in the norwestern skies.
Weather about to change for the worse, wet and windy.