finding m49

Suggestions for finding M49 from Vindemiatrix?

What will M49 look like in a 4.5 Dob?

Thanks.
Bruce

Suggestions for finding M49 from Vindemiatrix?

What will M49 look like in a 4.5 Dob?

Thanks.
Bruce


It will look at least as good as it does in most binos, so do a Google on
"M49 binoculars" and you will get a bunch of hits about finding it and what
it will look like. In fact, it would probably be worth your while to first
find it in binos before trying your scope.

Dennis

Bruce wrote:
Suggestions for finding M49 from Vindemiatrix?

What will M49 look like in a 4.5 Dob?

Start from the star and go west to the finderscope double star Rho
Virginis. If you are using a Dob, you can use a finderscope to form a
very thin triangle or slightly curved arc between Epsilon, Rho, and M49
out on the far end about the same distance from Rho as Rho is from
Epsilon. It is a fairly bright galaxy, but in a 4.5 inch, it will
basically be a small faint fuzzy spot with a brighter middle. It will
show no other detail in your scope, as it is an elliptical galaxy.
Clear skies to you.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 14th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 15th-20th, 2007, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

It is a fairly bright galaxy, but in a 4.5 inch, it will
basically be a small faint fuzzy spot with a brighter middle. It will
show no other detail in your scope, as it is an elliptical galaxy.
Clear skies to you.


David,
Thanks for your reply. I am thinking of upgrading to a Nexstar Se 6 or
8. How would the view of M49 compare with the view in the 4.5 Dob?

Clear Skies.
Bruce

On 11 May 2007 07:06:38 -0700, brucegooglegroups
wrote:

Thanks for your reply. I am thinking of upgrading to a Nexstar Se 6 or
8. How would the view of M49 compare with the view in the 4.5 Dob?

Why the obsession with M49? It is just another run-of-the-mill
elliptical (i.e. round) fuzzball galaxy with the only thing of visual
interest being the bright'ish foreground star situated near its
nucleus.

Are you confusing M49 with some other object?

In my experience, the Nexstar 8SE is a great starter goto scope for
almost anyone. That's how I restarted in the hobby after years of
inactivity. It was a great scope that was highly portable and gave big
views. The views of the same objects will be brighter in the 8 vs. the
4.5 dob, with the downside of a generally narrower field of view, and
you'll be able to use more power on solar system objects and resolve
more details.

You'll need to get away from the city lights for the best view of deep
sky objects with any telescope.

---
Michael McCulloch

David,
Thanks for your reply. I am thinking of upgrading to a Nexstar Se 6 or
8. How would the view of M49 compare with the view in the 4.5 Dob?

Well, a larger scope will make M49 a lot easier to see, but it will add
little other detail. Elliptical galaxies are just huge spheres of stars
with little gas and dust, so you won't see spiral arms or other structure,
other than an oval fuzzy blob with a brighter middle. You might be able to
see a tiny brighter core in a moderate to large scope, but otherwise,
ellipticals are almost featureless. An 8 inch might show some spiral detail
in a few galaxies, but it is often subtle detail at best. I have the
NexStar
9.25 inch SCT, and it shows some detail in some of the brighter spiral
galaxies, although again, much of the detail is faint and requires averted
vision to see well. Clear skies to you

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 14th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 15th-20th, 2007, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

Why the obsession with M49? It is just another run-of-the-mill
elliptical (i.e. round) fuzzball galaxy with the only thing of visual
interest being the bright'ish foreground star situated near its
nucleus.

Are you confusing M49 with some other object?

In my experience, the Nexstar 8SE is a great starter goto scope for
almost anyone. That's how I restarted in the hobby after years of
inactivity. It was a great scope that was highly portable and gave big
views. The views of the same objects will be brighter in the 8 vs. the
4.5 dob, with the downside of a generally narrower field of view, and
you'll be able to use more power on solar system objects and resolve
more details.

You'll need to get away from the city lights for the best view of deep
sky objects with any telescope.


Let's face it - many/most objects don't look all that great in any 8" (or
10", or 12.5", etc) scope, which is why a lot of folks find much of their
enjoyment in learning how to navigate the sky and locate stuff. For my sons
and me, finding M49, and learning the area around it and noticing other
stuff in the process is what observing is largely about, and is why we
regularly spend time on targets that don't have much of a visual "wow"
factor.

Dennis

"brucegooglegroups" wrote in message
oups.com...
It is a fairly bright galaxy, but in a 4.5 inch, it will
basically be a small faint fuzzy spot with a brighter middle. It will
show no other detail in your scope, as it is an elliptical galaxy.
Clear skies to you.


David,
Thanks for your reply. I am thinking of upgrading to a Nexstar Se 6 or
8. How would the view of M49 compare with the view in the 4.5 Dob?


Stick with a Dob. Get more aperture. M49 won't look much different, but it
will be brighter.

I could go into the pros and cons of GoTo vs Dob, but it's been beaten to
death in here.

I will only say from my own experience, I found that with a GoTo scope, I
was too complacent in doing my homework and found myself setting up, sitting
back in the observing chair and staring up at the sky saying to myself,
"what the hell am I suppose to do now?" I'd then go get a chart and figure
out what was in my sky to look at. Usually that was too little too late and
I'd not use the scope all that much once it was setup, but rather spend the
time looking up and contemplating the miracle of existence, which I can do
without a scope at all. ;-)

With the Dob, I'm forced to self reliance and planning ahead, to figure out
what constellations are up tonight, what objects each holds within its
boundaries, and exactly between which two or three stars I need to aim my
scope to see it. I plop the Dob out in the backyard and wait for darkness to
fall. I then head out with the finder charts and a red LED flashlight, aim
my Telrad to the predetermined location, and look into a low power (wide
field of view) eyepiece and nudge around a little until I can find my target
object. If I can't after a while, I move on to the next object.

Either way, you have to know what's up there, when, and generally where. If
you already know generally what, when, and where to look, then honing in on
it isn't really that much trouble, in fact, it turns out to be a big part of
why you're out there, not to mention it's a skill that will serve you well
should you be without GoTo for some unforseen circumstance.

-Steve Paul



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On May 10, 10:55 am, brucegooglegroups
wrote:
Suggestions for finding M49 from Vindemiatrix?

What will M49 look like in a 4.5 Dob?

Thanks.
Bruce

As with all galaxies, that depends a whole lot more on how much light
pollution you have than on the size of your scope.

But as everyone else says, like most elliptical galaxies, M49
basically just looks like a blob.

- Tony Flanders

On May 11, 12:00 pm, Michael McCulloch
wrote:

Why the obsession with M49?

It's one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster -- maybe *the*
brightest, depending which sources you believe. So it's a logical
starting point for somebody trying to break into the Virgo Cluster.

- Tony Flanders