varmint
I invite more abuse
Reged: 02/10/07
Posts: 768
Loc: Pacifica, CA, USA
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I'm pretty new to CN, and relatively new to Astronomy (what I learned 17 years ago growing up has faded tremendously and I'm working on getting that knowledge back and building off of it).
Though the weather has been rather horrible to get out and observe the past few nights, a few nights ago I managed to get about an hour in with my two boys and our assorted binoculars.
I was pointing out several of the different constellations and where certain things were in the sky.
We were facing south for the most part, the moon was very bright and limiting much of the sky (though it was perched just over the Pleadies which I couldn't make out with the naked eye unless I blocked off the moon or looked through my binocs). We were looking around Orion for the most part, the sky was fabulous (I'm still somewhat new to the terminology, but I have to venture that the seeing was very good in my lightpolluted neighborhood just south of San Francisco).
My older boy (6.5 years) got his first real glimpse at a "faint fuzzy" which actually wasn't that faint. The Orion Nebula stood out quite well, and the excitement and enthusiasm he demonstrated when he "saw" it pulled at my heart.
I was so happy for him, as some of our previous foray's into the night sky were rather frustrating for him as he wanted to see Andromeda but couldn't figure out how to work the binoculars. Also, his first glimpse made me think it was feigned enthusasim (seeing it to humor me, but not really seeing it). But then I asked him a few questions: what does it look like, describe the patterns of stars, how many stars do you see? He started answering with exactly what I saw... we could make out two of the stars in the Trapezium, and see the wispy "cottony" tendrils of the nebula.
Then he started getting his excited "shake" and giggle, and I knew he had really seen it. We tried to find Andromeda. I could see it quite plainly through my binoculars, but it was too difficult for him to see (he wobbles the binocs a lot more than I do  ), but we emphasized his triumph at catching a glimpse of M42.
That lead me to think about what my very first DSO was and when I recognized it, and so I thought I'd share it and ask if others have similar memories.
I'm having trouble digging up the memories, but I'd have to say it was Andromeda, followed closely by the Orion Nebula.
Of course, if the Pleadies counts, then that was probably the very first one I saw, but I didn't know what it was until about the time I first saw Andromeda...
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Clear Skies,
Jim
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"Do, or do not. There is no try."-Jedi Master Yoda
Scopes: CGE925, Orion 80ED (w/ADM MDS&Rings)
EPs: Naglers: 31, 22, 17, 9, 3.5 Pan’s: 15
Misc: Telrad, 2x&4x Powermate, Sol/OIII/UHC/Var Pol. Filters
Imaging Gear: Pentax K100D, SPC900NC
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 6778
Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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My first one was M8. As a 12-year old kid, I had just gotten a pair of binoculars and was scanning the southern sky from my backyard when I saw an elongated fuzzy something which, at the time, I mistook for the Andromeda Galaxy. It kind of looked like the pictures (and I didn't know the sky at all well back then), so I stayed with that misperception for a long time until I finally found the *real* Andromeda Galaxy with those same binoculars. Still, seeing M8 and its associated star cluster got me really hooked. Clear skies to you.
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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info
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FirstSight
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/26/05
Posts: 2515
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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M13 in a large dob someone had set up in a city park, but with relatively few lights nearby for an urban area. I don't know exactly what size scope it was, but it was larger than 12" - probably a 15", because it made M13 look extremely bright (brighter in my memory than I can see it in my present 12"), yet despite the scope being pointed within 20 degrees of the zenith, the eyepiece was easily accessible without a stepstool.
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Chris M., aka "First Sight"
Orion XT12i Dob with Moonlite CR-2 focuser
WO Megrez 90 refractor on UniStar Light mount
Nikon 10x50 Binoculars
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novbabies
Postmaster
Reged: 06/05/05
Posts: 15678
Loc: Northern Georgia!
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I think my first one was the Pleiades najked-eye, although in my journal in 1966 it says something like "it might be an airplane, or it might be the Little Dipper"...my how far I've come!
Second one with my 3" f/10 Edmund reflector was M42.
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Good Seeing!
Mark
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
VERY old Edmund 6" f/8 reflector
Assorted binoculars
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OldDeadOne
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 1083
Loc: West Virginia
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My first real DSO with a scope was Ring Nebula,probably when I was a teenager the Maia Nebula(without knowing what it was at the time lol). Boy starhopping hasn't been easy when I got my scope,but I've learned the sky pretty well since I got my scope last July.
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Bert O'Dell
PROUD GOTO USER
LX200 10" Classic
various meade plossi's eyepieces
Konig MX70 40mm" eyepiece
11mm T6
7mm T1
Insane under a full moon
I duck from Iron Skillets
Charleston WV clearsky
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rocco13
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/29/06
Posts: 1546
Loc: Phoenix, Arizona
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As a kid, I was just scanning the skies with my dad's binoculars when I saw this smoky cloud. After looking in an astronomy book later, I realized I had 'discovered' the Great Orion Nebula.
To this day, it's still one of my favorites.
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Rocco
Super C8 (1984 vintage)
Celestron 102 f/5
and a cheap pair of binoculars
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Tom Polakis
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/20/04
Posts: 551
Loc: Tempe, Arizona
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I saw M42 in 1977 in my Superior Optics 4" f/8 reflector. Only the very brightest region around the Trapezium was visible. I called a couple family members out to see it, and they were nonplussed. It was at that point that I realized that my love for the deep sky was not going to be considered "normal" behavior!
Tom
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Tom Polakis
Tempe, AZ
Visual observing, DSLR photography, lunar & planetary imaging
http://www.pbase.com/polakis/
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Chopin
Canis Insanus
Reged: 02/03/05
Posts: 3376
Loc: In the doghouse.
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Quote:
I think my first one was the Pleiades naked-eye, although in my journal in 1966 it says something like "it might be an airplane, or it might be the Little Dipper"...my how far I've come.
Same here. I remember being 8-10 years old, looking out the car window during winter nights, as my mother drove home from my grandparents house. I swore it was the Little Dipper! 
Just two short years ago my interest in this hobby was rekindled with a 4.5" reflector (Christmas Present). I didn't even know where I was going, when I slewed the scope 'SMACK' into M42. Wow! Now I spend every last penny on optical gear. See how that happens!?! 
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Jason®
Phlog
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 30019
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Naked eye, it was the Pleiades.
With my old 60mm refractor (would have been in the early '70s) the first DSO I can remember seeking out was M42.
First with the Newt was M13.
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
"If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going." Professor Irwin Corey
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AstronomyXtreme
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/27/06
Posts: 885
Loc: Maryland
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It was M42 in my ETX-70. With my untrained eye then, All I could see was puffiness around a group of stars, I was so siked! But now with the ol' ETX, I see alot more then that. The "wings", trapezium, hint of NGC1977, and M43.
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-CJ "The 15 year old astrofreak"
14.5" F/6 Truss
10.1" F/4 Odyssy Coulter
127mm 5" F/12.1 Starmax Mak Cassegrain
90mm 3.5" F/11 Celestron Refractor on EQ3/w drives
4.5" DS114 coverted to newtonian
ETX-70
60mm F/11 Sears Refractor
50mm F/12.5 Simmons Refractor
10x60 Konus APO binocs/w built in nebula filters
7x18 Meade Monocular
Fugifilm Funpix A500
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tatarjj
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/20/04
Posts: 905
Loc: Auburn, AL
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My first DSO, excluding M45, was probably M42. In second or third grade, I checked out a book from our school library that described how to find the "Great Orion Nebula". I went home and found it with my 10X25 binocs. I already knew where Orion was and what it looked like, so I had an advantage.
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John T.
Auburn, AL
25" f/4.2 Dob
18" Obsession #701
4" Stellar Vue Achromat
8X56 Binos
Edited by tatarjj (02/27/07 08:43 PM)
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LND
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/28/06
Posts: 595
Loc: Queen Creek Arizona
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My was M27 in my 5" after failing in searching of other DSO =) Still remember my excitement when I saw the little gray blur in the eyepiece
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~Richie 15 yrs old future NASA Employee
Zhumell 10" Dobsonian w/ Telrad + CR1
Ep-less for now~
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James Trapp
super member
Reged: 07/21/06
Posts: 156
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Discounting the Pleiades , my first was the Orion Nebula w/ $30 8x42 binocs. I was quite surprised the faint nebulosity was actually visible with mere binocs.
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Celestron 102mm WV f/5 w/ upgraded finder, regular and unremarkable SD, and Paragon HD-F2
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galaxyman
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/04/05
Posts: 1171
Loc: Limerick, Pa
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My first "real" good view of a DSO was in 1971 in my new 6" f/8 Edmunds newtonian, with the Ring Nebula. From that point on, I was hooked on those wonderful objects beyond the Solar System.
Karl
E.O.H.
Chesmont Astronomical Society
22" f/4.5 Dob
12.5" f/4.8 Dob
8" f/9 refractor (The Beast)
6" f/6.5 refractor (Mini-Beast)
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So many galaxies, so little time!
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Downward Bound
Adrenaline Junkie
Reged: 03/29/06
Posts: 2135
Loc: Seattle
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Excluding M45 (following suit here) my first DSO through the EP was M13 followed by M81/82 - that same evening. This was 1.5 years ago at the age of 47 and from that moment I was hooked. 
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Bill
'flector: Vixen R200SS, Webster 22" f/3.6 (on order)
'fractors: TV-85, NP-127, PST-2X
Orion 15x63, Minox 10x52 HG, GO 22x85 HD
Sphinx, Telepod, EZ Touch, G-11 (waiting)
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Pat42
super member
Reged: 12/26/04
Posts: 193
Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada
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My first was M31 with my home built Dob. I remember my wife wondering what I was up to, running in and out of the house between the scope and the computer figuring out exactly where Andromeda was and freezing the house out in the middle of winter lol.
Then my friend who got me started took me out that week end and we did a Messier run and hit around 6 objects and I was hooked big time.
Patrick Wilson
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Celestron C8-NGT
MK 127 EQ3-2
8" DOB (Home Built)
Canon 40D unmodded
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AJTony
sage
Reged: 04/17/04
Posts: 379
Loc: Hamilton Square, NJ
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I am suprised this was not on anyone's first list, but my first DSO was M31. I was 8 years old and got my first telescope, a very cheap refractor, with a cardboard OTA!... and gasoline was only 19 cents a gallon.
AJ
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Oberwerk BT100-45 Binos
Apogee 25 X 100 Binos
Canon 15 X 50 IS Binos
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F.Meiresonne
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 2956
Loc: Eeklo,Belgium
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My first real DSO must have been the Pleiades. At the age of 18 i studied it through the binoculars of my father. I observed it for weeks , counted the stars i could see and tried to estimate their magnitudes,made also drawings. I think i never again studied an object for so long.
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Freddy Meiresonne
Obsession 18 inch #1638
Orion Optics 8 inch F/4.5 -1/8 wave optics -Vixen GP-E
20x80 Helios Stellar Binos
10x60 Helios Quantum 4(= Obie Mariner)
10x50 Helios Nature sport plus
8x40 Helios Nature sport plus
Eyepieces in use :Pan 35,24,19, N13T6, Pentax 10 XW, N9T6, Ultrascopic 7.5, TV2, baader ortho 12.5 and 9 mm
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SGT500
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/03/06
Posts: 1855
Loc: Ny
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If i remember Correctly it was a M57. It was just a very small faint object in my etx 90. I remember saying "i think a see it."
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-Sal
Meade 16" Lightbridge
Williams Optics Zenithstar 80
Televue Nagler T4
My Sketch Gallery
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cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 2121
Loc: San Diego, CA
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The Pleiades were my first object through binoculars at age 11 or 12, M-7 my first object through a telescope, at age 13.
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Eric
6" f/6 Parks Newtonian
10x50 Bushnell Binocs
CN Sketch Gallery
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