My first DSO

I've had my telescope (Helios Explorer130P) for six months and managed to
see the moon, some planets and a few double stars. My views of DSO have been
non-existent - up until now!!!
Having ditched the finder for an Orion Ezfinder in the last week or so I
went into the garden on Wednesday determined to see the Ring Nebula. Despite
the light pollution from the street lamps, Vega was very bright and the two
finder stars below it were clearly visible. I pointed the scope in between
and took a look around.
Having read Turn Left i'd got the impression that it was going to be a star
with a hole in the middle. This is why i've constantly missed it in the past
I guess. After a couple of minutes I spotted something fuzzy in the 20mm
Plossl and upped the magnification. Going for full power - 10mm on a 2x
Barlow - it resolved into a smoke ring. I must have stared at it for twenty
minutes in amazement. I realise now the importance of dark skies because
this would truely look impressive without the sodium lighting washing it
out. Seeing this nebula for the first time also made me grateful not to have
gone for any kind of GOTO setup. Sure, it would be nice just to hit a button
and have the 'scope go directly to the chosen target but the months of
frustration melted away at this first glimpse and made the moment even more
special.
Last night the conditions here in South Wales were great once again so I
went out into the garden around 7pm and took another look around. I hit the
Ring Nebula once again without a problem. As my eyes became more and more
adapted I saw the pointer stars in a square shape between Vega and Arcturus.
M13 has alluded me from day one but I pointed the 'scope in between the two
stars to the right and there it was right in the eyepiece!! Really bright
and much, much bigger than i'd anticipated. Two stars close by really added
to the scale and even my wife was impressed when I asked her to take a look.
I guess all this is old hat to you guys who've been doing this for years but
for a newbie to spot two DSOs in 48 hours was awesome.
To cap it all I got up at 6.30am this morning to see Jupiter and Saturn and
got my first peek at Orion. Took me totally by surprise when I saw those
three stars in a row to the south. Too bright to really see anything but
great all the same. I hadn't seen the two planets since the summer so it was
really nice to see them again today.
Any new guys out there struggling, my advice would be to get a red dot
finder.

"halfastory" wrote in message
...
I've had my telescope (Helios Explorer130P) for six months and managed to
see the moon, some planets and a few double stars. My views of DSO have
been
non-existent - up until now!!!
Having ditched the finder for an Orion Ezfinder in the last week or so I
went into the garden on Wednesday determined to see the Ring Nebula.
Despite
the light pollution from the street lamps, Vega was very bright and the
two
finder stars below it were clearly visible. I pointed the scope in between
and took a look around.
Having read Turn Left i'd got the impression that it was going to be a
star
with a hole in the middle. This is why i've constantly missed it in the
past
I guess. After a couple of minutes I spotted something fuzzy in the 20mm
Plossl and upped the magnification. Going for full power - 10mm on a 2x
Barlow - it resolved into a smoke ring. I must have stared at it for
twenty
minutes in amazement. I realise now the importance of dark skies because
this would truely look impressive without the sodium lighting washing it
out. Seeing this nebula for the first time also made me grateful not to
have
gone for any kind of GOTO setup. Sure, it would be nice just to hit a
button
and have the 'scope go directly to the chosen target but the months of
frustration melted away at this first glimpse and made the moment even
more
special.
Last night the conditions here in South Wales were great once again so I
went out into the garden around 7pm and took another look around. I hit
the
Ring Nebula once again without a problem. As my eyes became more and more
adapted I saw the pointer stars in a square shape between Vega and
Arcturus.
M13 has alluded me from day one but I pointed the 'scope in between the
two
stars to the right and there it was right in the eyepiece!! Really bright
and much, much bigger than i'd anticipated. Two stars close by really
added
to the scale and even my wife was impressed when I asked her to take a
look.
I guess all this is old hat to you guys who've been doing this for years
but
for a newbie to spot two DSOs in 48 hours was awesome.
To cap it all I got up at 6.30am this morning to see Jupiter and Saturn
and
got my first peek at Orion. Took me totally by surprise when I saw those
three stars in a row to the south. Too bright to really see anything but
great all the same. I hadn't seen the two planets since the summer so it
was
really nice to see them again today.
Any new guys out there struggling, my advice would be to get a red dot
finder.



I enjoyed reading your post and I thank you for taking the time to pass on
your thoughts. I remember my feelings the first time I turned a telescope
to M-42, M-15 or the ring nebula. This is a feeling I will probably never
forget and there was enough steam generated from that first glimpse to keep
me going for many years.

What I could not understand is your resistance to using GOTO. You wrote...

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Seeing this nebula for the first time also made me grateful not to have
gone for any kind of GOTO setup.

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GOTO was not available the first time I viewed M-42 or M-15, but I surely
wish it was. I find that GOTO is a viewing aid, much like the red dot
finder that you tout for having helped you locate the objects you viewed.
There are many viewing aids...sky charts, telrad and digital setting circles
to mention a few. The telescope itself is a viewing aid. As I see it, GOTO
is nothing more than a viewing aid...an aid which would have allowed you to
actually see the ring nebula the first day out.

Of course I'm not saying that GOTO is the only way to do it. There are many
people who find the hunt far more attractive than the kill. If you are one
of these people, then GOTO is not for you. However, there are many of us
who appreciate GOTO for giving us more time for actual viewing.

With or without GOTO, enjoy the view!

Al

"halfastory" wrote in message
...

My views of DSO have been non-existent - up until now!!!

Halfastory--

thanks for sharing your enthusiasm. since you're up in the early a.m., you
might try pointing your scope at the great nebula in orion (m42/m43). and
don't overlook the pleiades (m45). and the andromeda galaxy (m31) is also
well-placed in the morning. these are all quite large, so use low mag's to
start.

clear, dark skies--

mark d.

"halfastory" wrote in message
...

I must have stared at it [M57] for twenty
minutes in amazement.

Congrats on a great find!! M57 is truly capable of punching through just
about any level of light pollution short of being directly under a light. It
also responds very well to UHC filtering, which is ideal for reducing the
effect of ambient light. M27 (Dumbell Nebula) also really likes a UHC
filter. One of my most memorable views thus far was of M27 on a balmy night
under brightly moonlit skies in early Autumn with the UHC in the 4" Mak at
40x (1.2 degree field of view). These objects can really look
magical/mystical in the right lighting. (Not that I advocate an increase in
light pollution for that purpose).

Seeing this nebula for the first time also made me grateful not to have
gone for any kind of GOTO setup. Sure, it would be nice just to hit a
button
and have the 'scope go directly to the chosen target but the months of
frustration melted away at this first glimpse and made the moment even
more
special.

That conclusion is a little suspect as a generality, but it seems true to
you, and that's all that matters. Enjoy!!

Personally, I was perfectly happy to have my little Mak GT show me The Ring,
as well as many of the brighter delights during my first couple of months
using a telescope. Later when I moved up to a bigger scope with DSCs, I was
able to cruise the sky endlessly clear night after clear night getting to
know both my charts and the sky (that is, just what's up there to see). Now
that I also have a Dob with a Telrad and a right angle correct image (RACI)
finder, I'm finding all those known targets the manual way, as well as
searching out new objects. I don't consider the GoTo/PushTo experience to
have been a detriment in any way at all. But I'm a defender of GoTo and
everyone here knows it. So 'nuff said.

Any new guys out there struggling, my advice would be to get a red dot
finder.

That, and a RACI. I have the ubiquitous Telrad on my Dob and it works great
for getting you dead on under good skies and close under worse conditions,
but the addition of a 50mm RACI finder makes slewing and matching star
fields to what's shown on your charts a very easy proposition under light
polluted skies. It's like using binoculars. The motion of the stars through
the finder's field of view is very natural. When you slew left, the stars
exit on the right. When you slew up, they exit at the bottom. Just as the
brain expects. Just like the Telrad/Red dot (unit power) finders.

Best wishes,
Stephen Paul

"Al" wrote in message
et...


Of course I'm not saying that GOTO is the only way to do it. There are
many
people who find the hunt far more attractive than the kill. If you are
one
of these people, then GOTO is not for you. However, there are many of us
who appreciate GOTO for giving us more time for actual viewing.

Loads of aperture doesn't hurt either. ;-)

I had a similar experience a few nights ago, but not with a DSO. Even
though I have been using my LX90 since last December, I had not yet taken a
look at Uranus. I had been sucked in by all the Mars hoopla of the last few
months and concentrating mostly on that wonderful planet. But instead I
decided to take a look at the blue-green disc of Uranus. Like you did with
the Ring, I must have stared at this distant planet for I don't know how
long, just amazed at what I was seeing. I love moments like these.
- Dave

However, there are many of us
who appreciate GOTO for giving us more time for actual viewing.


I am viewing while I am searching.

Jon

I guess all this is old hat to you guys
who've been doing this for years

Nope. Most of us remember well the thrill of finding those first DSOs,
and while maybe that initial charge lets up just a little, it never goes
away. That's why we still keep doing this as amateurs for no pay and
usually, no recognition. You see that little blur of a distant galaxy
or star cluster glimmer into view, and suddenly, you're voyaging through
space, and the universe is yours!
Seeing this nebula for the first time also
made me grateful not to have gone for
any kind of GOTO setup. Sure, it would
be nice just to hit a button and have the
'scope go directly to the chosen target
but the months of frustration melted
away at this first glimpse and made the
moment even more special.

The subject of GOTO used to be good for a long, spirited thread in here,
but now, most of us have settled down over it. It has pretty much
become accepted as just another tool, like setting circles. In those
threads, I was on the starhopping side, and I couldn't understand how
anyone could long enjoy just punching in numbers and then looking in the
scope at the object. ( I compared it to fly fishing and dynamite.) I
still sort of feel that way, but to each his own. There are some who
see those "months of frustration" as being nothing more than some type
of miserable initiation, but for me, learning the constellations was one
of the most enjoyable things I've ever done in my life. Others, like
Stephen Paul in this thread, used GOTO intelligently, and learned the
sky anyway because they wanted to. I still feel that those who depend
entirely on their scope to do the hunting and never learn the sky are
missing something wonderful, sort of like looking at minerals in the
grand canyon with a magnifying glass without ever seeing the big hole,
but heck, it's a hobby.
Have a good time, and welcome to the sky!
Marty

"Marty" wrote in message
...

see those "months of frustration" as being nothing more than some type
of miserable initiation, but for me, learning the constellations was one
of the most enjoyable things I've ever done in my life. Others, like
Stephen Paul in this thread, used GOTO intelligently, and learned the
sky anyway because they wanted to. I still feel that those who depend
entirely on their scope to do the hunting and never learn the sky are
missing something wonderful, sort of like looking at minerals in the
grand canyon with a magnifying glass without ever seeing the big hole,

One can learn the general area of a large number of DSOs without being able
to pin down an exact location with a telescope. One can can also learn how
to find those objects using a finder and a sub-two degree field of view
eyepiece.

I consider the former to be "knowledgable" about the sky, and the latter to
be "skilled" at matching star patterns on a chart, to those in a finder.
While practicing both leads to a more intimate knowledge of the locations of
specific DSOs, one can still have a very useful knowledge of the sky,
without a whole lot of skill with a telescope.

It all depends on what you want to get out of it. For some, just punching in
and looking at M2, M3, M4, M5, M9, M10, M12, M13, M14, M15, M22.... over and
over again (you know all those wonderful looking globulars?) is enough to
keep them happy for years.

-Stephen

While practicing both leads to a more intimate knowledge of the locations of
specific DSOs, one can still have a very useful knowledge of the sky,
without a whole lot of skill with a telescope.

Learning to find various targets with a telescope also leads to a more general
understanding of the sky as one begins to put those small pieces together into
the big picture.

From my viewpoint, I like to be able to point with my finger and mentally view
the star fields that I should see. When I think of finding say M46, I think of
the star fields, not the star charts.

It all depends on what you want to get out of it.

Thats about the size of it.

Jon