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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.

Do you guys think I did see M51?

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I'd say that it's quite possible but not certain. Here are a couple of indications.

First, I've never perceived the cores of M51 and its companion as being like stars. They're small, but fairly diffuse and faint, not pointlike and intensely bright like stars. Very much like the core of M31, but smaller.

Second, there's very little doubt that any swirls that you saw were illusions. It's tough for an inexperienced observer to see the spiral pattern of M51 through an 8-inch scope even in pristine skies. I'd say that it's absolutely out of the question in a light-polluted area.

Long before the spiral arms become apparent, I see M51 and its companions as two large disks, nearly touching each other or even overlapping.

The best way to be sure that you're looking at M51 is to match up the surrounding star field with a photo or a detailed chart.

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Tony Flanders

First and foremost observing love: naked eye.
Second, binoculars.
Last but not least, telescopes.
And I sometimes dabble with cameras.

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