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  #21  
Old 05-02-2015, 12:38 PM
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Hi Wey and
Adding to Alex's great monthly challenges, I've written up some observing lists as well, many of the objects on my lists should be do-able with your scope.


Exploring Puppis- Come and Take a Trip With Me!
Puppis is good viewing right now and there's a lot to see in that one constellation.


Highlights of the Winter Sky (these are the eye candy objects).


May/June Observing Challenge (focusing on the constellation of Hydra).


Suzy's Observing Targets: July/August 2012


Easy and Beautiful Targets for Binos
Scroll down to post #11 as I've added more to the list.


And I've also written up pretty much everything you need to know to get started in astronomy. See posts #12 - #15 in this thread here.
I really need to put this all together into the one article and pop in the articles section one day.
Loads of good tips! If I do say so myself .

And lastly, Malcolm mentioned the Messier book for star hopping and observing and I second that. It's a brilliant book. But you'll get it for around half that price through the Book Depository in the U.K.
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  #22  
Old 05-02-2015, 12:51 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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Thanks Suzy! Wow! That's a really great guide and there's heaps of info in there to keep me entertained for a long time! The Puppis challenge looks good. It'll be helpful since everything is within the one constellation. I would suck as a starship pilot. Might give it a go tonight since we are looking at clear skies in Melbourne. Is it possible to see the blue and gold of the butterfly cluster in my 130p scope?
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  #23  
Old 05-02-2015, 02:21 PM
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Oh you're welcome! I'm so glad it will be of help to you and that you're excited to go after some of things on my list. It makes it all worthwhile doing these lists and becomes rewarding when people use them.

I wrote up the list for Puppis back in November and I still haven't had clear enough skies to go after my own list .
Wey, you might want to wait for the Moon to buzz off before tackling many of these objects. You may be okay with some of those brighter star clusters tho. Have a go anyway, but definitely go back when the Moon is not around. See the widget of the Moon on the blue menu bar to the left? Click it and it'll tell you in advance what the Moon will be doing. Also, on that table, check when astronomical twilight is as it's best to do observing after this time (the sky is darker so you will see more). I found the best time to observe was around midnight when most people have their lights turned off and sleeping .

The Butterfly Cluster is in Scorpius and is more of a winter object. Geee I think it would be very low on the horizon in the wee hours of the morning, at the moment ?. And I honestly can't remember the coloured stars in it . If you have downloaded Stellarium (free night sky software lots of people on here use), it will tell you when objects are viewable from your location. Then you can make a proper plan for your night of observing starting up first viewing objects that set earlier in the night. If you make a proper plan for the night you will likely have a better & fun filled observing session.

Exploring within a single constellation is the best way to become really familiar with it and IMO tend to remember better of where those objects sit. Gives a nice personal experience . And it's so much fun!

If you enjoy seeing coloured stars, Canis Major has oodles of gorgeous gold stars. Wow, I just love scanning the scope aimlessly through that region. There's also a lovely gold & yellow pair known as The Summer Albiero (145 CMA). Feast your eyes on the Winter Albiero when it's Cygnus season - very cool!
I also did a big tour through there but I haven't typed it up yet. And I also mapped out a neat, easy little star hop to find VY Canis Majoris (watch the very cool video) - it's the largest known star . It's apparently viewable in binos (tho I haven't) & I've spotted it easily thru my little 4" dob, so your scope should nab it easily. There's another nice little challenge for you .
If you want the star hop, let me know. And I should hurry up and type up the tour!

There is one particular star that might be a nice little challenge for you and ridiculously easy to find. Point the scope at beta Crucis (Mimosa). That's the star on the bottom left of the Southern Cross. Use high magnification. Look to the left of beta (I have a Newtonian tube so my views are flipped). It's a tiny blood red star known as Ruby Crucis. Both objects should be within the same field of view in the eyepiece. This is called a carbon star and one of the reddest, if not *the* reddest of all the carbon stars. Unfortunately it often gets overlooked because it's a southern object and not on a lot of carbon star lists which are mainly compiled by northern hemisphere people.
I'd be interested to see if this is do-able with your 130mm scope, as it's very easy to find in my 10".
And while you're there, move your scope down below beta a little bit (you may make out a fuzzy patch with your naked eye) - that's our famous Jewel Box cluster. Lovely assortment of colours in there and it's one of our showpiece objects of the southern sky.

The showpiece globular cluster, 47Tuc is very easy to find by using this method:
Look for the really big triangle in the sky facing south (Hydrus), which sits to the right of the Southern Cross. Make this your first object for the night at around 8pm as it's getting low as the night progresses. You know you have the correct triangle if you see a pair of stars running thru the left side of the triangle - sitting about the half way mark on that imaginery line.
- Now, go to beta Hydri which is the bottom right star on that triangle.
- Hold out 3 fingers horizontally, at arms length with one eye closed, above beta.
- Voila! You're there . Easily spotted in binos btw.

We are very fortunate in our southern sky to have two of the largest and brightest globular clusters in the sky - Omega Centauri (brightest) and 47Tuc (second brightest, which many including myself think is prettier).

Along with the stuff I already gave you, that should keep you busy for a while and out of trouble .
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  #24  
Old 05-02-2015, 02:38 PM
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BTW, I forgot to mention, M31 The Andromeda Galaxy will totally rock your telescope. I get awesome views with my 4" dob. It's big!!! But you'll have to wait till Nov/Dec. You just missed out I'm afraid . You will need a good clear view of the northern horizon as it sits fairly low. It's ridiculously easy to find using the bright golden star, Mirach as your guide.

Here's the map for star hopping. Turn the map upside down for us tho as it's orientated for the northern hemisphere.
http://www.space.com/7426-starhoppin...da-galaxy.html
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  #25  
Old 05-02-2015, 05:49 PM
Jemmo (Adrian)
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Noooooo I only just learnt about that galaxy as I'm a noon and I was so excited I had the 10" dobsonian out ready then started searching for it with an app on my phone only to see it was below the horizon. Knowing I've missed it by a few months is so annoying do you happen to have any photos of it
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  #26  
Old 05-02-2015, 05:53 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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I've been really keen to see Andromeda as well. Oh well, I'll just wait a year. I'm interested to see sketches of this from a smaller telescope. The hunt for 47tuc begins in a couple of hours.
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  #27  
Old 05-02-2015, 06:38 PM
Jemmo (Adrian)
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What ep would you use for Tuc?
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  #28  
Old 05-02-2015, 07:12 PM
BeanerSA (Paul)
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Originally Posted by Jemmo View Post
What ep would you use for Tuc?
I see it best with my 15mm, but YMMV.
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  #29  
Old 05-02-2015, 07:35 PM
BeanerSA (Paul)
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Originally Posted by breammaster View Post
So the Bintel Plossl will give a better contrast and hence better nebula viewing?
That has been my experience.
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  #30  
Old 05-02-2015, 08:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jemmo View Post
What ep would you use for Tuc?
Jemmo
The rule is, as a general guide, when looking for an object, use your lowest power eyepiece, as you want the widest field possible to track it down. then once you have it, you can, if needed, up the power.
47Tuc is a big object. so it looks good at low power, but moderate power enables you to resolve all the stars. If conditions allow, cranking it up allows you to get quite deep in the core and you even start to see variations (slight though they be!) in colour if you have enough aperture.
Remember, there is no "best" eyepiece for an object, it is really finding what works for you and gives you the views that you enjoy.

Malcolm
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  #31  
Old 06-02-2015, 12:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jemmo View Post
Noooooo I only just learnt about that galaxy as I'm a noon and I was so excited I had the 10" dobsonian out ready then started searching for it with an app on my phone only to see it was below the horizon. Knowing I've missed it by a few months is so annoying do you happen to have any photos of it
Jemmo, go into the imaging forum for deep sky objects and do a search for the Andromeda galaxy. You should see several images that our guys have taken.

Meanwhile, this is September's image in our 2015 IceInSpace calender taken by Attila Bodi. The calender is for sale through the IceInSpace shop.
Click image for larger version

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Don't worry too much about missing Andromeda. In a month or two, and then heading right through winter, it's a galaxy feast to be had. You will be way too busy observing as many as you can and trust me, you won't have time for all of them in the one season . The 10" dob even thru light pollution will rock many of them. And wait till you see Markarian's Chain in Coma Berenices. OMG a whole string of galaxies all lined up, it's utter craziness I tell you!!!

I see Leo starting to get visible now. Here in Brisbane at 11.30pm it's around 34 degrees above my horizon. You want to observe galaxies at least above 40 degrees to avoid the murky lower atmosphere. Leo will bring in some really nice galaxies as it rises higher and higher each night .

Please note tho, that a lot of these galaxies will be faint fuzzies. Embrace the fact that you looking at something that took something like 30 million years or whatever for the light to reach your eyeballs .

In winter, M 104, the Sombrero galaxy will bring you to your knees!
And that galaxy loves high power as it's fairly bright. I found a 7mm eyepiece thru my 10" dob gives the best views. One night I saw it during an exceptionally good night of seeing (again, from my LP backyard) and I didn't recognise it. It was that good! I had to check the charts to do a double take on what I was observing. This comes down to something I constantly urge on here - keep re-visiting those galaxies as the seeing conditions will dictate how the object looks in the eyepiece. Some nights can appear extremely faint. High cloud too is a real killer on DSOs (deep sky objects), and hard to tell at night time .

I found with my 10" dob, my 10mm eyepiece on galaxies does the job the best on most of them. I have a 72 degree widefield eyepiece which makes finding them and observing them a whole lot easier at this magnification. And globular clusters Omega Centauri and 47 Tuc will easily fit into the field of view (fov) of the eyepiece in all their entirety. Where as a 10mm plossl 52deg fov I think? Thereabouts anyway, won't fit them all in. They look amazing thru a 10mm ep, you can resolve many of the stars! Basically, my 10mm is my hardest working eyepiece for my 10".

If you want a really easy galaxy to find right now, here's one for you.....
NGC 5102 in Centaurus.
It sits practically huddled up next to the bright star iota Centauri so this galaxy couldn't be easier to find! In my 72 deg. widefield 10mm eyepiece, both the star and galaxy are within the same fov. Pop the star out of the way so the brightness doesn't inhibit your views of the galaxy. On a reasonable night of seeing, you should see a kind of brick shape; it's a spiral galaxy.

Meanwhile, getting ready for galaxy season in the next month or so, my biggest tip would be observe as much nebula as you possible can right now. This will help prepare you for observing those faint fuzzy galaxies. The more you observe, the better your eyes will get with picking out detail. And learning the art of averted vision is also another good tip for you to practice on those nebulae. Many planetary nebs out there too right now worth a look at.

Hope this info helps. as you're new to this hobby, I'm not sure if you know of these objects yet.

Enjoy!
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  #32  
Old 06-02-2015, 08:05 AM
breammaster (Wey)
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I saw a number of clusters including 47 tuc last night. I did notice that many of them were faint. 47 tuc was quite faint for me. Its was about half the size of the moon but a faint shade of grey in my 10mm. I used the 25 mm and it was a bit brighter. I wonder if its the full moon messing with contrast or maybe i need to upgrade to the bintel plossyl

Last edited by breammaster; 06-02-2015 at 09:30 AM.
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  #33  
Old 06-02-2015, 08:51 AM
Jemmo (Adrian)
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Thanks Suzy. To be honest the only things I've managed to see so far in the month I've had the 10" dobsonian is the moon of course. Some great views of Jupiter with 9mm ep and Orion neb looks good through my 26mm wide view ep other than that I haven't seen much else so I will definitely have a look for the things you've listed
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  #34  
Old 06-02-2015, 11:14 AM
BeanerSA (Paul)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by breammaster View Post
I saw a number of clusters including 47 tuc last night. I did notice that many of them were faint. 47 tuc was quite faint for me. Its was about half the size of the moon but a faint shade of grey in my 10mm. I used the 25 mm and it was a bit brighter. I wonder if its the full moon messing with contrast or maybe i need to upgrade to the bintel plossyl
Night vision helps. The more you see it, the more you will see, if that makes sense.
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  #35  
Old 06-02-2015, 01:02 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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Yeah I think I was staring at my ipad screen too much trying to figure where everything was. Probably effected night vision
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  #36  
Old 06-02-2015, 04:14 PM
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Adrian, you're very welcome .

Wey, yes the Moon in the way is no good for deep sky observing (esp. now as it's nearly full).
And bright screens are a big no no as they totally mess with night vision. Only use red light when observing. Cover the screen with lots of red cellophane. No good if it's pink. Lots of layers until it's more red. And dark adapt your eyes for a good 10 mins - 20 mins is better. If you have stray lights from neighbours coming your way, pop a black hood over your head while looking thru the eyepiece.
My backyard isn't dark, I have neighbours lights and street lights around, so I just turn down the brightness on my lappy to very dim and only look at it when I have to. But if you're using it a lot as you're learning, go the red light. The Sky Safari app. turns the screen red so all done for you .
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Old 06-02-2015, 11:25 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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Thanks for the red cellophane tip Suzy I'll give it a shot for the next viewing.

Managed to see Tarantula Nebula tonight. Was faint but I stared long enough to kinda see the arms of the nebula. Looked at 47tuc again. Better viewing tonight under a towel to block moonlight. All in all a good night. Good to put on some music as well as I observed. Makes the experience more pleasurable.

Was looking for the small mallengelic cloud but I think it was to faint tonight for me. I'll wait for a smaller moon. BEautiful clear skies though.
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  #38  
Old 07-02-2015, 09:00 AM
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The Small Magellanic Cloud is an object that is hard to see in a single view. To achieve that, probably binos are the best bet. I have seen the entire cloud in my 15x70s but it needs a reasonable dark sky, even in the moderate light pollution at home it is not obvious. The reason is that it is quite large, and most scopes only show a portion of it.

Malcolm
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  #39  
Old 07-02-2015, 10:29 AM
Sylvain (Jon)
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Yes, when looking for DSO target, it's crucial to have your eyes adapted to the darkness! It makes such a massive difference on how much you can see. Think about when you are in a dark room/at night and suddenly turn the light on: this feeling/pain you have in your eyes is your pupil rapidly contracting to reduce light influx. It will then take a while (10 minutes mini) to slowly dilate and let the light flow back in. So very important to avoid all kind of white light. Stick to red light and perhaps grab yourself a red light torch to help see you around. A good tool is a planisphere. That is literally a map of the sky and you can look at it with your red light torch to navigate the sky. If you are planning your night with some specific objects, why not print some maps ahead to help you star-hop your way to the object? I find it a good exercise to plan ahead how you will get to your target.

As previously mentioned, always start with your longest focal length eyepiece as this will give you the widest field of view and make it easier to star-hop. If you are thinking of upgrading your eyepiece, IMO for about the same budget there are better deals to be had out there than the standard Bintel plossl, such as the flat field eyepieces, but you need to have a look around the web and eBay.

But the most important is to keep observing and using your equipment. By doing this, you will improve your skills for finding your way to objets and train your eyes on observing and detailing them. I believe seeing and observing are 2 different things: it is easy to see an object, but to observe it means you take the time to detail it, look for faint details, explore the structure. A great tool to help with observing is peripheral vision: this is utilising the outer part of your eye rather than the centre part. It's the same zone that detects movement in the background, such as when you are focusing on something but your eye picks up some movement in the background and you instinctively look at it. That peripheral vision is actually surprisingly sensitive in its detection capabilities - a crucial evolutionary survival tool. To stimulate this zone of your eye, what you want to do is try not to stare at the objet directly. Instead look next to it, look at different points around the object and slowly move your eye around it. It takes a bit of practice and is a bit tricky because you will sometime pick some details and instinctively look at the object but then the moment you look at it straight, the details are gone. But practice that and it will truly help your observing and you will be able to make up more details in the objects you observe.

Keep us posted with your observations!
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  #40  
Old 07-02-2015, 01:43 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-25-Flat...item2c965ef581

How would something like this perform on DSOs in my 130p?
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