I believe I may have finally seen M51 tonight. I'd like to confirm what I saw with my fellow CN'ers. I'm using a 8" Lightbridge with a Celestron eyepiece kit( I finally got enough cash to order two Telvue Possel's today). I live in a fairly light polluted area and with a 15 MM eyepiece I saw what looked like two blurry "blobby" stars. Any stars around these two objects came in sharp, but these two objects seemed to have a little softness to them no matter what I did. There were a few times when it seemed as if I could make out a small swirl pattern.

I used my Telrad to center Alkaid. I then moved the scope down and slightly to the right of Alkaid.

Do you guys think I did see M51?