Easiest galaxy to view ?

[Stu Ward]

I'm desperate to see another Galaxy, can someone tell me which is the easiest to spot with an 8" Dob

I've found some open clusters. Mars, Saturn and the Orion Nebula. But after that i'm just sortof scanning around and can't seem to find anything.

Maybe my inexperience is making me rush ? I'm not sure, but nothing is jumping out at me

Stu

[Wavytone]

At the moment... by magnitude:

M83, 7.6
Sombrero, 8.3
M49, 8.4
NGC 1291, 8.5
M87, 8.6
M60, 8.8
NGC 2903, 8.9
NGC 3521, 8.9
NGC 1316, 8.9
M66, 9.0
M96, 9.2
M85, 9.2
NGC 4725, 9.2
M105, 9.3
M84, 9.3
... all easy reach of an 8"... more ?

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

I can't resist getting you like I was got THE MILKY WAY GALAXY. But seriously try the Andromeda galaxy do you have a star map program like Stellarium

[Liz]

Dont worry Stu, there are heaps of galaxies that are great in 8" Dob. It was my source for a LONG time,and great views of many!!
Too cloudy up here to even know whats around, but will get back to you!!

[M54 (Molly)]

The Large Magellanic Cloud is the easiest to spot. It's a beautiful sight in a dark sky.
Having only 5 inches of aperture, it's a bit of a challenge hunting for the further ones, but I recently found M83 in Hydra and Centaurus A (in centaurus, north of omega centauri). so they shouldn't be too hard to find in an 8inch dob. but you'll need a dark sky.
Do you have any star maps?

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Centaurus A and M104 are probably the pick at the moment, followed by the 2 groups in Leo, M95, M96 and M105 and the Leo Triplet of M65 M66 and NGC 3628. The Messiers in this group are easy in 8" but NGC3628 is a harder get, but more rewarding as it is quite large and has prominent dust lanes that are easy to see under a dark sky. Later in the year try for NGC 253.

[mark3d]

I typed M83 in Stellarium and that should be relatively easy to find..

good thread, thanks, just what newbies need to venture beyond the planets and M42.

.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

The Sombrero galaxy, M 104, by far the easiest after the Milky Way and the Magellanic clouds.

Very striking as being nearly edge on, its dark dust lane cuts an unmistakeable slice through one edge of the galaxy.

M 83 is face on to us, and is larger than the Sombrero, but it has a lower surface brightness, making it appear dimmer. But it has an unmistakably brighter central core.

M 104 and M 83 are visible from my place in central Sydney in 50mm binos. Try finding them with binos first. It will be easier to star hop with them as the field of view is wider and less stars to confuse with.

I'd love to see the Andromeda galaxy, but it is too far north for me. Too far north from the Gong too.

Galaxies, faint fuzzies, are on the main dim fuzzy objects, and inexperienced eyes might not quite pick them up first go. Take heart! Last year, I had a mate over with his 8" dob in my backyard, together with my 17.5" dob. All the galaxies viewed in my bid dob were ALL visible in his 8", only a little dimmer!

You have a powerful instrument there. Be patient. All will be revealed.

This is a link to a very good beginners star atlas that is available through one of the Stickies in the "beginners talk" forum page. Best if you have access to an A3 printer. It has heaps and heaps of stuff on it. Print up the pages, figure out how it works and take it out with you using a torch covered with red cellophane to help preserve you night vision. Dozens and dozens of galaxies listed:

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~zs3t-tk/atlas/atlas.htm

Mental.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

And don't forget NGC4549 in Centaurus plus there are a swag of easy pick galaxies between Virgo, Coma Berenices and Leo

[Stu Ward]

Wow, thanks guys, what great replies whilst i was resting my eyes !!!

I'm sure the main difficulty i'm having is being able to read the sky.
I have stellarium and its wonderful, but i'm trying to find my way through the sky by using the major constellations as reference points.
eg

Looking at pollux and going slightly up and to the left, but its all guess work, as my eyes cannot see the faint fuzzies through the finderscope.

What would be the best eyepiece to see these Galaxies ?

I know i seem to be bombarding this board which are total noob questions, but thats because im a total noob !!!

Thanks again

Stu

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Hi Stu,

First a cautionary note with the finder- unless you know where to look, what to look for, at a dark site and the object is bright enough, only then will you see a galaxy through the finder. The finder is only a guide to help with fine star hoping to the area where the object resides. A hard copy of a star chart comes into its own here.

As then the scope's field of view is much smaller than the finder's, use your widest view eyepiece first to help locate the object. Other than half a dozen galaxies, most are small fuzzy, underwhelming spots. And even the large ones are faint as galaxies have low surface brightness. The look nothing like they do in pictures.

Once you have the little sucker in place, you can then go about increasing the power on it. This serves the purpose of darkening the background skyglow and helps with contrast. But it also makes for a delicate image that demands attention- Not something to rush, our eyes need a little time to absorb the faint light and make out detail. Just be weary of cranking up too much power as the thing will move too quickly out of view. Medium power is a good next step. Moving a dob is a skill that develops.

Another note on observing is not to view faint objects directly. The most sensitive part of our eyesight surrounds our central vision. Look to one side of the object and let its light stimulate your eye for one moment, then 'magically' the object will appear brighter and with more detail. This is called "averted vision". It takes time to get the hang of it. Very soon it becomes second nature.

Try M104 first. It is up high enough around 10:30pm. Though it is in the constellation Virgo, try using Corvus as your stepping stones to it. M104 is really, really close to this easily made out small constellation.

Oh, and don't forget the magnificent globular cluster Omega Centauri. It is thought to be the remnant core of a galaxy long ago absorbed by our monstrous Milky Way. It is splendid in your 8", and it can take cranking up the power really well. It is located not too far from the Southern Cross. Its stellar population is markedly different from 'standard' globular clusters give away its true origin.

47 Tucana is another core remnant, which is located very close to the Small Magellanic Cloud (both Magellanic's are satellite galaxies to our MM), and both globulars are visible to the naked eye from a dark site, and easily pinged with the smallest of binoculars.

Here is where if you can get to a star party it can really help make sense of what I'm ranting about. Experienced eyes will help guide yours a little better in the field than on a screen.

[Liz]

Some supherb advice and targets below
Yes, finding your way around the night sky is tricky, and takes time. You sound like you can recognize a few constellation, thats a good start. Perhaps sit outside one 'clear' night, with a star chart, and see how many you can find. Orion is a great start, so work outwards from there. When I first started, I had NO IDEA so drew some of the brighter star patterns, and that worked for me
As Alex said, many of the galaxies are faint, so dont expect huge bright objects, apart from Magellanic Clouds, and Andromeda Galaxy. Galazies are great to hunt down when you know your way around a bit more.
Try for Omega Centauri and 47 Tuc in the south, as Alex suggested - they are amazing, and bright, and easy to find. Enjoy!!

[Suzy]

Stu, keep up the great questions. As a noobie too, i'm learning from what you're asking! The Book, "Astronomy Australia 2010" has been very helpful for me, along with a sky computer programme such as starry skies, which i print and take out with me for specific targets, and a planisphere. Comet Wild is looming around at the moment next to Saturn in Virgo- give that a shot. Around 11 (qld time) it's up about 38deg. There are amazing clusters (wishing well, jewel box, and pearl) around Crux and Carina. Not to forget the Carina Nebula.

[pgc hunter]

My vote goes for M104 Sombrero Galaxy. It's large, bright and has a high surface brightness so will be easily visible even in moderate light pollution. Visually it's also more striking than face on spirals such as M83, M65/66, and ellipticals like M87, M49 etc.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Spindle galaxy is good also for being small and bright and therefore easier to see in light polluted skies than larger diffuse ones like M83.

[Wavytone]

Originally Posted by Stu Ward

I have stellarium

That list was from StarMap Pro on my iPhone, I selected "whats on tonight" and filtered for galaxies, in magnitude order

It's a neat thing to have this in the field. When I was more active 30 years ago, you had to plan all this in advance in the library, and take a list and an atlas with you.

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Yes, the Milky Way, of course. But why stop at one...?

[Stu Ward]

An Update.

Had a good go tonight again, looking for some of the objects that have been recommended.
Unfortunately some of them start off in the Southern skies and my view to the south is obscured.
I also get significant light pollution from the East with the Port Kembla Steel works being around 6Km away.

I tried to find the Galaxies just off Chertan in The constellation of Leo, but i still think it was a little low in the sky and still in the light polluted part of the sky. I saw something "different" in the sky but could not develop the resolution to see anything significant.

So i concentrated on the clusters that can be seen around Canis Major and Orion as its a particular dark part of the sky from my house.

So i'll keep looking and maybe even take a drive out with my dob one night for a darker patch of sky.

Next question, how do you stop the Dob bad back ?

Stu

[astroron (Ron)]

Next question, how do you stop the Dob bad back ?

Hi Stu, I suggest you build a platform to put you Dob on to raise it up a bit higher,and also get yourself a stool or an observing chair.
You will find you will enjoy your time at the eyepiece a lot better.

[Suzy]

I use a stool along with 2 yellow pages phone books, and remove and add them as needed, so i have height for 3 levels. Works well.