xanthic Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Was searching for it last night. I was able to see mag 5 stars with Mk 1 eye, so fairly clear for back garden work. I was able to see M94 (Mag 8.2) but not M101 (7.9 and much bigger). Any hints? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Being solely imaging based I cannot give you any hints but I can tell you despite its size 101 is a right pain to see visually. It is hard enough to find with the imaging rig some nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) I should think it is at a decent site when you're dark adapted. I managed to find it the other week at the Wainfleet site with an 8" so I shouldn't think it's too much more difficult in a 6"! It is a real bugger to find though... Edited May 14, 2013 by Tibbz2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Yeah I agree, I have yet to see M101, but I find that if you are anywhere near any LP then you will have no chance, I have spent best part of 2 Years looking for M51, just could not find it, but did find it that night on the road at Belper when we could not get to the cricket club. Really dark skies do make galaxy hunting easier. You say M101 is mag 7.9, but that is a magnitude spread over 6' to 7' in diameter, so is still very faint compared to a mag 7.9 star for example. I expect to see "something" in my 8" dob, I think you should be able to see something too in a 6", I think you just need really clear, calm skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xanthic Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Thanks guys. Good to know it's not just me and that magnitude is not everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I first found m101 in my 6" reflector but as others have said, it wasn't easy. Dark skies and a slow methodical search is required. I usually follow the line of stars from Mizar / Alcor. Now I can go straight to it's locatuon with my 12" dob but very often I can hardly see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 M101 is faint and extremely hard to see in LP areas. But it's a piece of cake at Kelling on a transparent night with good seeing. Says it all really - dark sites and dark adaption make a huge difference. A 6" scope has more than enough aperture to pick it out - bring it to Belper or Wymeswold and I'm sure you'd go home happy. (Edited) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 M101 is faint and extremely hard to see in LP areas. But it's a piece of cake at Kelling on a transparent night with good seeing. Says it all really - dark sites and dark adaption make a huge difference. A 6" scope has more than enough aperture to pick it out - bring it to Belper or Sawley and I'm sure you'd go home happy. Maybe not Sawley eah Kim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Oh heck - what am I like - Belper or Wymeswold is what I meant d'ohhhh...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I can only agree with the above replies. M101 is only visible from a darksite, from anywhere near light pollution it disappears. Daz made a very valid point as well, it's brightness is distributed over it's entire area, so what sounds like a easy target, can be very frustrating. There are four galaxies in Ursa Major which are great indicators of how well you can see. M81 & M82, I can see these from my garden ( real bad LP, thanks to nearby leisure centre). Then M51, visible from a reasonably dark site, and then M101, visible from a really dark site. The galaxy's orientation also makes a vast difference, face on it makes it difficult to see as the light from it is as spread out as it can be, where as an edge on one, or tilted has more concentrated light, particularly from the central bulge, the core. Take M31 and M33 in Andromeda, M31 edge on and a beauty, M33 is face on and huge, but real difficult to find in a scope. It took me two or three hours to find it, then I realised I was looking straight through it. It's better in Binoculars. Happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I saw M101 in my 6" refractor and ST120 on 4th May from a mag 5.7 sky, but It was a faint and dismal view and could easily have been missed. The 10" displayed it better, and with some study, I teased out some faint spiral structure. Having found it first in the 10" with the other two scopes aligned with the 10" on the same mount was probably cheating. At least I knew the refractors were pointing at it. Due to M101s faintness I would have had more difficulty locating it in one of the refractors alone. As said in other posts above, it needs a really good sky since the light is well spread out. I remember other nights when I just could not even see it in the 10" since the conditions were just not quite good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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