I'm Crabby!

Do I need a bigger scope? Darker sky? Better chart? Or more patience?

Nick

Nick:

You have gotten lots of good advice.Your post stimulated my curiousity so I
decided to see if I could see M1 from my backyard with my Space Probe 130ST, a
fast Newt about the same size as your Skyquest.

I live in San Diego, a city of about 1.3 million so the light pollution is
significant, skies are Magnitude 4.2 at the Zenith on the best nights.

When I read the vary bits of advice, the one that seemed most important was
Sketchers suggestion that you make sure the M1 was well above the horizon.
Since the Crab is rising in early evening, one is tempted to give a look while
it still mired down in the light pollution.

I kept looking through out the evening but it wasn't until about 10:00 when the
Crab Nebula was almost 40 degrees about the horizon and finally out of the muck
of light polution that I was able to detect the Crab Nebula with adverted
vision at the very limits of my ability. Yes it was there but I would not have
expected anyone who had not been doing the faint-fuzzy thing a few years to see
it...

This morning I woke up about 3:30 and the sky being clear, I set the scope up
again. The Crab Nebula was nearly overhead and the sky was also significantly
dark. At this time M1 was much easier to find, visable with direct vision at
about 50X. I decded to give it a try in the $50 Telestar/Meade 60AZ-A that I
have been playing with. Surprisingly I was able to spot M1 with this scope as
well when conditions were good.

The bottom line here is that dark skies are important in finding and observing
a faint target like the M1 but that with patience, darker skies can come to
you.

So, if you were searching in the evening, I suggest that the next time you are
up early, spend a few minutes and see if you can find it.

Best wishes, clear skies

jon