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TenthEnemy
sage
Reged: 01/21/08
Posts: 428
Loc: Maryland
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Your flashlight should be as dim and red as possible. Aside from experience, dark adaptation is probably the largest factor in what you can see.
Don't be discouraged by having a small telescope, last night I observed the North America nebula, M31, and M27 with a 3x18 monocular from the red zone.
As for filters, a UHC filter performs wonderfully in any size telescope. If you want to observe nebulae you shouldn't hesitate to purchase either a UHC or OIII filter.
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Orion XT10
70mm refractor
12x50 binoculars
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TheCaptain
member
Reged: 04/06/09
Posts: 65
Loc: Florence, SC
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It's all a wonderful journey of discovery. I still can't believe it's been more than 30 years since I saw M57 and many other wondrous deep sky objects for the first time. Trust me, it never gets old.
Clear skies,
Jim
Meade 8" LX200 ACF
Meade DSI 2 Pro w/color filters and fan
Antares 0.5 focal reducer
Orion DeepSky Imaging Filter
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mypontiac
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/06/07
Posts: 1080
Loc: Austin, Tx.
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So which filter would be better for an NP 101 or CPC 1100 UHC or OIII filter?
I am in Austin, Tx. and the skies are orange/yellow zone.
Thanks,
Sean
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 12230
Loc: Los Angeles
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Quote:
Okay, so I just got my Astromaster 90 AZ in the beginning of May and have been out for many viewing sessions. I live in a very light polluted area (just outside of Chicago) and have found the Jupiter and Saturn with no problem but am getting bored of that. So tonight I used my planishpere to find messier 13 and Andromeda. I was fairly impressed with the star cluster but it was very dim. Then I turned to Andromeda and it was very dissapointing. No structure or color whatsoever. Just a boring yellow thing that was so dim I had to squint to see it. Is there anything that I can do to improve deep sky objects without buying a new scope? Any eyepieces, filters, etc.? I am thinking that it might just be the light pollution but am not sure. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!!
It is the light pollution.
Here's an example.
The night sky at my home in LA has an average brightness of magnitude 17.5 per square arc-second. Where I observe, the sky brightness averages 4 full magnitudes darker, or a difference of 40X.
By driving my scope to a dark site, I essentially increase my scope's reach by 4 magnitudes, making it, effectively, 40X larger.
There are mitigating factors that reduce the difference slightly, but the point is that if you want ot view deep-sky objects, the brightness of the sky IS the determining factor.
Drive your scope to a darker site and it will see more.
Very simple, isn't it?
Now one other factor enters the picture: there is no activity you can participate in that enables you to see faint details in faint objects at the limit of your scope's ability to see except observing through that scope.
Accordingly, you will never see less through the scope than you do right now. Every year you observe, you will see more and see more details in what you observe. You will train your eye to see at the limit of its abilities, and your ability to see will improve through training, just as a piano player improves with practice, or a guitar player improves with practice.
I'll bet that a few years from now you will go back to look at the Andromeda galaxy and you will not only think it is spectacularly bright but that you are also amazed at its size and details.
But that is not now.
I would investigate where in your local area you can go where the sky is darker so you can really see what a 90mm scope is capable of. Start here:
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/
and pick your state.
Select a site near your homw and select the light pollution chart (under the weather forecast strips). Click "find other charts" and select a cross near your home that is in a darker sky.
Plan a trip on the weekend of New Moon to that site (or near it). Better still, ask a local astronomy club where they go to observe and join them on a monthly outing.
You will gain access to a darker sky, better views, and, who knows, maybe a newfound friend or two.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov, Fujinon Binos
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member
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azure1961p
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/17/09
Posts: 731
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M57 for me is just one of thse objects that gets a lot of visits. Super easy to find. Nice surface brightness - has that hole that'll show in any scope.
ITs dark though - thats deepsky. BUT, for a "dark" object, its comparitively robust.
You'll find it takes magnification very very well too. For giggles in my 8" I put in 364x. As luck would have it, I saw a shot of detail that lated a fraction of a second that i have never ever been able to recover.
Deepsky is like that... it all about the mystique of the secrets bordering on invisibility. On the other hand it is a humbling thing too. I have log books of things I have observed. I could make a seperate log entirely of objects that I couldnt see at all.
Thats not to say its like fishing where you can end up empty handed often. But the potential is there in spades. You'll find your own niche or visual sweet spot as it were - by and by. Everyone has there own.
By all means tho - tell me how you liked M57 - lol i envy your first impressions!!!
Pete
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Edited by azure1961p (08/15/09 04:55 PM)
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