On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:25:24 -0500, "Joe S." wrote:

Is M1 a difficult object from light polluted skies?

I live in a city, in an apartment complex with the usual "security"
lighting. I see only the brightest stars with my naked eye. For example,
in Orion, I see only Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix, Saiph, three stars in the
belt, and 2-3 stars in the sword.

I have tried for the last three nights to find M1 with no luck -- not even
the faintest fuzzy appears. I'm using an XT-12, 12-inch dob; collimation is
dead on. I've tried different eyepieces -- 35mm PanOptic (43X), 18mm Radian
(83X), 10mm Radian (150X) -- no luck.

I am starhopping using a Telrad and the instructions in "Turn Left at
Orion" -- find Zeta Tauri -- very faint naked eye from my location -- then
slightly NW of Zeta Tauri, toward El Nath.

Have tried with OII and Orion UltraBlock filters -- not a wisp.

I suspect you meant "OIII". I have both filters, but haven't tried
either on M1 -- not yet anyway. I tend to prefer observing and
depicting objects as they appear in a reasonably dark sky without the
use of filters. I 'suspect' (but don't know for certain) that M1
might be one of those objects that's more readily visible without
either filter.

IIRC, the XT-12 comes with a 9x50 finder. One of the first things I
do with any finder is to measure its true field of view (My homemade
9x50 has a FOV of 5.75 degrees). Using the finder, with its known
true FOV, along with a reasonable star chart and your Telrad ought to
allow you to point the scope "exactly" at M1's location. M1 should
then be visible in your 35mm Panoptic. You will probably need to use
averted vision to see it. Once you've found the Crab, you could
increase magnification as desired.

If you don't already do this, here's a suggestion: Considering your
light pollution and/or light trespass situation, try keeping your
eyepiece eye covered (to maximize dark adaptation in that eye) except
when actually looking through the eyepiece. Do all you can to
maximize that eye's light sensitivity! (I wore red goggles inside
prior to last night's observations;-)

For comparison
-- M31 is not naked eye but is readily visible with 8X42 and 10X50 binos.
With my scope, I see the glowing center surrounded by a fuzzy cloud but I
can't see the long, elliptical extensions of M31 -- too much light pollution
I assume.
-- I can find M57, Ring Nebula, with no problem (takes a little searching).
At 83X and 150X the ring structure is clear though I cannot see the star in
the center.

My scope has the Orion Intelliscope feature but I'm trying to find objects
by starhopping. I guess my next step is to use the Intelliscope to find
M1 -- if it's visible at all.

M1 should be visible! I've seen M1 (from a dark sky) with 8x42
binoculars. Even when within one degree (IIRC) of a bright, gibbous
moon I've been able to see M1 with 20x80 binoculars. Light pollution
will definitely have an impact, but M1 should certainly be visible
with a 12 inch scope, at low power, under your sky conditions.

You've tried for three nights on your own. It sounds like a good time
to set the scope up with the Intelliscope. You could try once more
without using it; but this time, if you don't succeed, you can flip
the switch and use it! Good Luck! M1 is still out there. I saw it
just a couple of nights ago. A sketch appears in my blog.
--
Bill
Celestial Journeys
http://cejour.blogspot.com