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  #61  
Old 05-03-2015, 07:20 AM
breammaster (Wey)
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I didn't realise awb did a version of the heritage. The base looks like the bushnell ares 5. I dig the blue tube.
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  #62  
Old 08-03-2015, 05:43 PM
nudibranch (Paul)
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Thumbs up Thanx

Thanks for this thread Wey.

My daughter got a the same 130P Dob for Xmas and we've had loads of fun with it. I've read through a lot of the discussion you have engendered and it's been instrumental in helping us understand what's what and where!

I posted the current run of sights we are doing at the moment in another thread, sounds like you are in the same area. I can highly recommend the double stars in Volans if you're in the area. It's amazing to think you can see something like this in such a small telescope through all the light pollution!

FWIW I have been trying to see M65 and M66 for a couple of nights as the moon is slowing leaving the area, but so far the LP is winning. Maybe I'll have more luck later in the Autumn.

Anyway thanx again - Paul
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  #63  
Old 09-03-2015, 02:04 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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No probs Paul don't thank me though. The long time members like Suzy, Malcolm and Alex are the ones that have been making these great suggestions here.

Will give Volans a go. I've become more interested in double stars lately. At first I thought they were quite boring cause they're just points of light. But I think I've become more interested in them now. I'm keen to see alberio in Cygnus. Not sure when it's viewable in Australia.
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  #64  
Old 10-03-2015, 01:37 AM
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Originally Posted by breammaster View Post
Malcolm, my galaxy observing might be better off now that I am the proud owner of an 8 inch Saxon dob! Got it for dirt cheap. Almost the same price I paid for my heritage. I need to figure a way to either sit of stand without putting too much pressure on my lower back. Also need to vacuum the spider webs that are inside the tube. Funny how the web actually don't effect the image at all.
Oh sweet !!!! Congratulations Wey, oh boy oh boy you will see so much through your 8". I'm so happy for you. You deserve it as you are so taken in with the beauty of the sky, it sure has gone to a good home!

Ummm also... we do love spending peoples money , hehe aperture fever sure caught you quick!

It's impressive that you nabbed the Sombrero galaxy so low in your Heritage scope as it would've been quite dim. You deserve a medal. You have great observing skills and you will totally rock that 8"!

Regarding seating. I have the height adjustable observing chair from Bintel which cost around $175. Very solid - you can do all sorts of positions on that chair and you won't fall over .
Meanwhile, a quick fix which worked for me before I got the chair was that I used a stool and added/took away phone books as needed.
Some people use a gas lift office chair.

And seeing as you've developed an interest in double stars, I'll give you a few to split which is even more fun than observing more distant pairs. When I say "split", the star actually looks like one but on looking closer they're actually two very close together. Use the 10mm eyepiece on all.

alpha Crucis (the brightest star in Crux).

alpha Centauri (the brighter of the two pointers to the Southern Cross).

Castor in Gemini (Castor & the brighter star Pollux make up the feet of Gemini). The pair are very distinct in the northern sky to the right of Orion.

Gamma Velorium (in Vela near the Southern Cross).
It is the brightest known example of a Wolf-Ryatt star which is a rare type of star with a very hot surface seen to be ejecting gas. In the eyepiece it is so bright! It's easily split showing it's fainter companion and another two companions are visible a bit further out. You should see all four in the same field of view.
In the map, the star is marked "Y" greek letter for gamma.
http://www.constellation-guide.com/c...constellation/

Actually, while you're there in Vela, knock yourself out with the super cool planetary nebula NGC 3132 (The Eight Burst Nebula)- you won't be disappointed.

And then in winter there is the famous double double in Lyra - epsilon Lyra. Turn map upside down for us as it's orientated for the northern hemisphere. http://freestarcharts.com/17-guides/...-double-double

Oh by the way, re your question earlier, Albireo in Cygnus is a winter object which will be around the same time as Lyra.

And if you're up for a challenge, which I reckon you are because you've shown great observing skills so far .......

Split Sirius.
Its companion is very dim, out shined and made harder to see due to Sirius being so bright (the brightest star in the sky aside from our sun).
Tip: do this in the evening before the sky gets too dark. It'll be much easier to see as Sirius won't appear so bright against the dark sky.
This is a challenge to many and if you spot it, give yourself a big pat on the back! Make sure to carefully look and take your time. I tried showing hubby but for the life of him he couldn't spot it but was so easy for me to see it.

The Astronomy 2015 book has a list of easy to find double stars in it. Available from the IceInSpace shop.

Lastly, if you want to see a gorgeous brightly coloured blue planetary nebula, there's one in Centaurus called The Blue Planetary Nebula (duh ) - NGC 3918. It's an easy hop. Launch from delta Crucis to the right staying on the same line and move about the distance of gamma & delta. Trust me on this, you will be rewarded .

If you download the free sky programme Stellarium, you can have a play with the programme and see when these constellations are viewable.
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  #65  
Old 10-03-2015, 01:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Akwestland View Post
To all who have contributed,

What a great thread. Some of the tutorials/advice given here are fantastic, I read the whole thread top to bottom, including some of the associated links. as a very new starter it has given me some objects/techniques to focus on.

There may even be some components that could be beneficial as a "sticky" for the raw beginners (like me).

I will re-read this again yet and make some notes for myself and am now looking at some of the apps and links to further educate myself.

Fantastic work and thank you all.

Cheers,
Andrew
Hearing feedback like this is so rewarding and I'm sure Malcolm, Alex, Pete, Paul, Sylvan & others who've contributed on this thread would feel the same. Truly glad it's been such a big help as the initial learning curve in this hobby can be daunting and one of the comforting things about this forum with such great people is that we try to make that experience fun and a little less daunting. I have the most massive respect for Malcolm. He has been tirelessly, endlessly & with enthusiasm before I even joined up has helped beginners no end. I learned so much from him when I joined. Honestly Malcolm you deserve a plaque or something!
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  #66  
Old 10-03-2015, 11:21 AM
nudibranch (Paul)
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Hi suzy, how "big" is the blue planetary nebula NGC 3918 ? I'm confident we are looking in the right area, but still struggling to find it.

Thanx for all your advice. Paul

EDIT: actually we found it! was smaller than I initially assumed. Found a reference that called it 8-10 arcseconds, so I could compare that to some of the double stars we had found and WOW!! it really is blue, very surreal !

Last edited by nudibranch; 11-03-2015 at 01:46 AM. Reason: Found It!!
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  #67  
Old 10-03-2015, 12:30 PM
PSALM19.1 (Shaun)
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Originally Posted by Suzy View Post
I have the most massive respect for Malcolm. He has been tirelessly, endlessly & with enthusiasm before I even joined up has helped beginners no end. I learned so much from him when I joined. Honestly Malcolm you deserve a plaque or something!
Yup, ditto! And, if I may, I'd add Alex into the Amatuer Astronomy Advice Awards as well! Oh, and Brian!

And by the way, Paul, I've been using an office chair with my 8"Dob for ages and it works really well! Better than spending 179 bucks on an astronomy chair...but hey, your choice!

Last edited by PSALM19.1; 10-03-2015 at 01:41 PM.
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  #68  
Old 10-03-2015, 05:35 PM
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barx1963 (Malcolm)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzy View Post
Hearing feedback like this is so rewarding and I'm sure Malcolm, Alex, Pete, Paul, Sylvan & others who've contributed on this thread would feel the same. Truly glad it's been such a big help as the initial learning curve in this hobby can be daunting and one of the comforting things about this forum with such great people is that we try to make that experience fun and a little less daunting. I have the most massive respect for Malcolm. He has been tirelessly, endlessly & with enthusiasm before I even joined up has helped beginners no end. I learned so much from him when I joined. Honestly Malcolm you deserve a plaque or something!
Shucks Suzy, you are making my head swell!

I sometimes worry whether I am giving good advice, but basically rely upon what worked for me.

Malcolm
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  #69  
Old 10-03-2015, 06:14 PM
Akwestland (Andrew and Kim)
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Further to this list Suzy, I would like to add names like Raymo, Barb & David (Tamtarn) who I have met, Daniel (Dannat), and Bo (Traveller) , and I am sure there are more.

I have asked some seemingly idiotic questions in the past, but at the end of the day it is with the patience of these people to try to explain things so that complete newbies (like me) can start to get a grasp on what may otherwise be seen as the very basis of the pursuit.

And again, Suzy. I have already re-read this complete thread over coffee and have started the list.

This sort of list of objectives to pursue to a newbie is a great aid to give us direction in what to look at, rather than panning the heavens and not knowing what we are looking at.

My hat is off to all those mentioned and all those that have helped.

:bowdown :

Cheers,
Andrew.
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  #70  
Old 10-03-2015, 07:20 PM
raymo
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Don't forget Antares is coming up soon. Stunning apparently green
companion in my 6" Mak, but no sign of it in either my 8 or 10"
Newts. I thought I should find something to add to the list, being as I was so kindly mentioned.
raymo
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  #71  
Old 11-03-2015, 07:59 AM
breammaster (Wey)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzy View Post
Oh sweet !!!! Congratulations Wey, oh boy oh boy you will see so much through your 8". I'm so happy for you. You deserve it as you are so taken in with the beauty of the sky, it sure has gone to a good home!

Ummm also... we do love spending peoples money , hehe aperture fever sure caught you quick!

It's impressive that you nabbed the Sombrero galaxy so low in your Heritage scope as it would've been quite dim. You deserve a medal. You have great observing skills and you will totally rock that 8"!

Regarding seating. I have the height adjustable observing chair from Bintel which cost around $175. Very solid - you can do all sorts of positions on that chair and you won't fall over .
Meanwhile, a quick fix which worked for me before I got the chair was that I used a stool and added/took away phone books as needed.
Some people use a gas lift office chair.

And seeing as you've developed an interest in double stars, I'll give you a few to split which is even more fun than observing more distant pairs. When I say "split", the star actually looks like one but on looking closer they're actually two very close together. Use the 10mm eyepiece on all.

alpha Crucis (the brightest star in Crux).

alpha Centauri (the brighter of the two pointers to the Southern Cross).

Castor in Gemini (Castor & the brighter star Pollux make up the feet of Gemini). The pair are very distinct in the northern sky to the right of Orion.

Gamma Velorium (in Vela near the Southern Cross).
It is the brightest known example of a Wolf-Ryatt star which is a rare type of star with a very hot surface seen to be ejecting gas. In the eyepiece it is so bright! It's easily split showing it's fainter companion and another two companions are visible a bit further out. You should see all four in the same field of view.
In the map, the star is marked "Y" greek letter for gamma.
http://www.constellation-guide.com/c...constellation/

Actually, while you're there in Vela, knock yourself out with the super cool planetary nebula NGC 3132 (The Eight Burst Nebula)- you won't be disappointed.

And then in winter there is the famous double double in Lyra - epsilon Lyra. Turn map upside down for us as it's orientated for the northern hemisphere. http://freestarcharts.com/17-guides/...-double-double

Oh by the way, re your question earlier, Albireo in Cygnus is a winter object which will be around the same time as Lyra.

And if you're up for a challenge, which I reckon you are because you've shown great observing skills so far .......

Split Sirius.
Its companion is very dim, out shined and made harder to see due to Sirius being so bright (the brightest star in the sky aside from our sun).
Tip: do this in the evening before the sky gets too dark. It'll be much easier to see as Sirius won't appear so bright against the dark sky.
This is a challenge to many and if you spot it, give yourself a big pat on the back! Make sure to carefully look and take your time. I tried showing hubby but for the life of him he couldn't spot it but was so easy for me to see it.

The Astronomy 2015 book has a list of easy to find double stars in it. Available from the IceInSpace shop.

Lastly, if you want to see a gorgeous brightly coloured blue planetary nebula, there's one in Centaurus called The Blue Planetary Nebula (duh ) - NGC 3918. It's an easy hop. Launch from delta Crucis to the right staying on the same line and move about the distance of gamma & delta. Trust me on this, you will be rewarded .

If you download the free sky programme Stellarium, you can have a play with the programme and see when these constellations are viewable.
Thanks Suzy Love your challenges!

Went out last night and tried the Sirius one. Might have been too late. Glare from Sirius was blocking its fainter star. Although I did watch it hoping to see the fain star pop in between the breaks in the glare. Didn't manage but will try again later in the week.

Managed alpha crucis split. In the 10mm I just manage the seperation. It's pretty cool to see though. They're quite close together.

Still yet to try alpha centuari, castor or gamma valorium.

I did attempt blue planetary and eight burst. No luck last night for me

I'm having trouble with my finderscope which could be describe as blurry. Even at best focus, every thing has a halo around it. Might have to get a red dot or better finderscope later. It also doesn't have an illuminated cross hair.
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  #72  
Old 11-03-2015, 08:04 AM
breammaster (Wey)
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Originally Posted by Akwestland View Post
Further to this list Suzy, I would like to add names like Raymo, Barb & David (Tamtarn) who I have met, Daniel (Dannat), and Bo (Traveller) , and I am sure there are more.

I have asked some seemingly idiotic questions in the past, but at the end of the day it is with the patience of these people to try to explain things so that complete newbies (like me) can start to get a grasp on what may otherwise be seen as the very basis of the pursuit.

And again, Suzy. I have already re-read this complete thread over coffee and have started the list.

This sort of list of objectives to pursue to a newbie is a great aid to give us direction in what to look at, rather than panning the heavens and not knowing what we are looking at.

My hat is off to all those mentioned and all those that have helped.

:bowdown :

Cheers,
Andrew.
They really are a great bunch around here perhaps the most helpful lot in all of the astronomy forums around the world
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  #73  
Old 11-03-2015, 07:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Akwestland View Post

And again, Suzy. I have already re-read this complete thread over coffee and have started the list.

This sort of list of objectives to pursue to a newbie is a great aid to give us direction in what to look at, rather than panning the heavens and not knowing what we are looking at.

Cheers,
Andrew.
That's awesome that you were able to put a good list together, so glad to be of help .
I have several observing books and to find a decent amount of objects within the one constellation no one book seems to give it all, so it's actually a lot of sourcing to start a good tour. My tour guide for Puppis is a good example of that sourcing (It's listed on page 2 of this thread).

If you guys are interested, I have another couple of very nice blue planetary nebulae (again, use your 10mm eyepiece):

-The Ghost of Jupiter, NGC 3242 in Hydra (you can see this now).
This would be my favourite of all the blue nebs.
You can make out the nodules on each side if you observe it well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_3242


-The Blue racquet ball in Ophicius, NGC 6572 in Ophiuchus (winter).
http://observing.skyhound.com/archiv.../NGC_6572.html

I'll throw another one in actually; though it's not blue, it has a very interesting shape! Sort of an "S" shape in a square.
The Spiral Nebula, NGC 5189 in Musca (it's below Crux).
http://annesastronomynews.com/wp-con...rt-Gendler.jpg


It's interesting how different peoples eyes will see them as either blue or green. It's the way our eyes are apparently. I always see vivid blue.

There's a thread put up as a sticky packed with great info on observing planetary nebulae:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=79684


The Moon is starting to rise later each night now as it heads into New Moon. Tonight for example it doesn't rise till 9.30pm here in Brisbane, so it's time to get out there and observing again .

Wey, give Sirius' companion another go without the Moon in the way. It's tiny and faint and sits very close at the bottom of Sirius. This will be a good feather in your cap if you can nab it.
Click image for larger version

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  #74  
Old 12-03-2015, 10:44 AM
breammaster (Wey)
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Gave it another shot last night. Stayed on it for 30 mins. I saw glimpses of a tiny dot In The top left hand corner of Sirius in my eyepiece. Not sure if it was just Rays from Sirius A though. had to use a Barlow with my 10mm.

Is that image you posted the view through the eyepiece or is that the corrected view? Where would the pup sit on the view in the eyepiece?

So so keen to see this hehe mainly because of its difficulty.


Also found eight burst nebula. Was quite a hard find because I could only see the nebula using averted vision at first. It was so faint. Thought it was just a star at first and hen noticed the slight grey circle haze around it. Switched to a smaller eyepiece and stuck on a nebulae filter and whammy. There it was. Not very clear on my 10mm cheap eyepiece. Not much stru true to be see.
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  #75  
Old 12-03-2015, 11:28 AM
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When I saw it in the evening it was sitting where that pic shows. And it was a tiny faint dot.
I don't know what that pic was taken thru.
If it was really close to Sirius, it sounds like it could be it. The bright rays of Sirius shouldn't show up as a dot- they are long bright lines. They are called diffraction spikes caused by the spider veins from the secondary mirror.

Excellent going nabbing the Eight Burst neb. It could be poor sky conditions that you didn't get a pleasing view- that happened to me a number of times when I first tried observing it; I thought what's the big deal, I can hardly make it out. And then it fast became one of my fav planetary nebs. Please do keep having a go at this. And ah, yes, I did forget to mention (so forgot about that!) that with lower power it looks very stellar! If you have a nice clear night, I've even seen the orange hue surrounding it. You don't need an excellent night of good seeing to see this neb, just a good night. And I'm guessing you weren't observing in moonlight.

Still.... you can tick this one off your obs list .

When I observe objects to the south, for this time of year I use the two globular clusters, Omega Centauri and 47 Tuc to gauge the sky conditions. If you're in a darkish sky, find a star that's just within your limiting magnitude for naked eye visibility.

Looking south, I'm not looking over the city lights from my suburban backyard and these are *just* naked eye to me. When the transparency is poor, they are hard to make out with 47 Tuc non existent. So if I don't see at least Omega, I forget observing. If I see 47 Tuc clearly, I get all excited for a good night's observing.
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  #76  
Old 18-03-2015, 02:45 PM
breammaster (Wey)
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Will definitely give 8 burst another go. 47 Tuc didn't look that spectacular as it usually does, on that night. So conditions might have been too bright.

I saw sombrero again last night for the first time in the 8 inch. Could see it was a galaxy at 10mm but the sky around it was quite light for some reason so wasn't much contrast and must have kept me from really seeing the bulge of that galaxy. Are there any tricks for bringing out galaxies like this? Shuold I go up in Mag so that it dims the background sky?

I did however go to Omega Centauri after this and WOWSERS! I think I prefer this to 47 Tuc!. It was out of this world! I had it in full view in the 15mm. Wouldn't wanna go any shorter in eyepiece for that glob. Also split Alpha Centauri while I was there.

Saturn looks so much better in the 8 inch as well. see the division in the outer rings. Really tempted to up the mag on this one.
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  #77  
Old 20-03-2015, 07:09 AM
breammaster (Wey)
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Some new notches to add.

- lagoon nebula. At least I think it was. There was a dark lane between the two parts and looked like a near by open cluster that could have been part of the nebula itself.. Could have been the triffid.

- m83. Again this was very faint. More like a smudge. Didn't get to see any spiral structure maybe it was something else but I'm pretty sure this was I the right location. There was a star in the middle of a very faint circular cloud. Even averted vision wouldn't bring out the spiral. These galaxies are becoming more of an obsession and a collecting thing than they are for pure pleasure. Haha
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  #78  
Old 24-03-2015, 06:36 PM
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Hi Wey, you are getting lots of stuff lately!

Galaxies end up being an obsession to most of us. Regarding M83, that bright star in the middle sounds like it's the core. Most galaxies are very faint, if you are observing from a dark site you're more likely to see some sort of spiral structure. With M83, I've had no luck from my suburban backyard seeing an structure, I can only see the core. Most of the viewable galaxies are elliptical so they just fuzzy dots really - some brighter and bigger than others - so observing spirals is such a treat.

I've found that using too high a magnification makes the views worse as yes, higher mag does darken the sky background but it also dims the galaxy. M104 The Sombrero Galaxy is one of the few that can take high magnification well because it's quite bright. I found a 7mm eyepiece hits the spot nicely with it. I generally observe galaxies with either my 15mm or 10mm eyepiece.

If Saturn looks super, up the magnification!!! Don't be afraid to go for a 5mm eyepiece. If it looks good in that, up it even more.

It sounds very much like M8 the Lagoon nebula that you got .

As for the globs, I have a widefield 10mm eyepiece and that's generally what I use to observe them in as it fits the entire glob within the field of view very nicely . Having said that, a 15mm gives brilliant views as well.
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