22.3.15

[Guest zidder]

My latest foray into the realms of what has gone before. Again I set myself some targets, these were ones recommended on Star Gazing Live by some ( I believe ) silly women ( sorry if anyone is a fan )

M37, M108, M97, M65, M66, NGC3628, M3 These apparently are visible with Bino's and a small telescope Ha, Ha,

I could see : M37, M3, plus I went for M67

I have not decided if it is the seeing or the chase that is more exciting, I have to say after fumbling around the sky for what seems like an age, then to get the THERE YOU ARE YOU SO & SO is very satisfying,

Out of the three objects I got M37 and M67 were very nice, as you can make out obvious detail of the separate stars. M3 though I found quite surprising in that I could see no detail just a fuzz ( is this me ?)

This was my first try out with the Telrad, what was the impression ? an unadulterated failure, firstly having mounted it to the right of the finder I found I need to be a contortionist to use it, secondly looking through the screen I did not see one set of circles but three, all superimposed on one another ( another dud ? )

[Tweedledee]

A nice challenge you took on

 

Some of these objects are quite elusive. I saw them suggested on Stargazing Live and thought they were quite a mixed bag and some would be quite difficult.

 

M3 may need some higher power to start resolving the fuzzy patch into stars and whether you see things like M97 and M108 depends a lot on the conditions and light pollution at the time.

 

Whatever, you are gaining experience all the time, both finding and seeing these objects. I have been doing this for over 40 years and sometimes still have difficulty seeing stuff.

 

This may help with the Telrad...

http://www.365astronomy.com/2-inch-Riser-Base-for-Telrad-Finder.html

http://www.365astronomy.com/4-inch-Riser-Base-for-Telrad-Finder.html

[+Ibbo]

with the Telrad you should see 3 rings

outer is 4° across

middle 2° across

centre 1/2° across

 

you can use them to estimate how much you need to move from a bri=ght starting point

 

try M35 , 36 ,37 and 38 all open clusters fairly bright

once you have your eye in try for fainter stuff like 65 & 66

 

this might help

 

http://www.custerobservatory.org/docs/messier2.pdf

Edited March 22, 2015 by Ibbo

[Guest zidder]

Steve, probably a more accurate description is 6 rings the three that should be there then three more on top of those slightly offset

[+Ibbo]

you may be a bit too close to the telrad

[Doc]

Well done Gary for getting out there and trying, I found the chase quite exciting and of course the seeing but having a 16" helped.

 

As Pete says you need more power when it comes to globs, put in a high power eyepiece and the fuzz will turn into stars.

 

As for the extra rings on your telrad, not sure i have never had that problem. Also I replaced the finder with the telrad, don't use a finder anymore.

[tuckstar]

Placement of the telrad is a personal thing. I have beside the finder like you and get on just fine. You can get a riser to lift it higher up and also a flip mirror so you can use it from the side.

Edited March 23, 2015 by tuckstar