hi managed to do some stargazing tonite 8th Nov,,, ,in a dark area,acept for the moon,nice though

im using first scope 80eq celestron,a 10mm and 20mm eyepeice,

my questions , i use Cassiopeia to find andromeda galxy but i cant find it,the starfinder is of no use as i cant see it naked eye,,
also when lookin through binoculars and the scope just below alkaid ,it is said that the whirlpool galaxy is located, so either my starchart software is giving me wrong readings,or my scope and binculars are not the best, or the moon washed out the chances of seen the galxys mentioned above,any ideas :?:

I'd definitely suggest that for your first attempt at any object you wait for a moon-free night. The moon is getting out of our way now so I'd suggest waiting a few nights and then giving it another go.

Also, I personally find it easier to find Andromeda by star-hopping from Pegasus rather than Cassiopeia. Over two and up two from the top-left corner of the square basically.

Bart.

Also, I personally find it easier to find Andromeda by star-hopping from Pegasus rather than Cassiopeia. Over two and up two from the top-left corner of the square basically.

I use the exact same approach as Bart. From the Andromeda corner of Pegasus. Left two, up two

The whirlpool might be a little faint to pick out in a light polluted sky with a small telscope. The nearly full moon at the moment certainly wont help.

Best of luck with your new scope.

It's murphys law that if you get a new scope it will either be cloudy or else clear with a full moon washing out the sky :roll:

Your going to find andromeda gal. easy tonight however may be a bit disapointed with the lack of detail............ you just have to remember you are looking at a galaxy the about the same size as our milky Way about 2.5 million light years away.


The Whirlpool is easy to locate but difficult to see with your 3"......... still do able if conditions good.

Might be worth having a crack at the Ring Nebula M57 in Lyra. It is easy to locate (close to Vega, one of brightest stars in sky) and should be reasonably high in the sky early tonight before the moon rises to far.

Damon

Might be worth having a crack at the Ring Nebula M57 in Lyra. It is easy to locate (close to Vega, one of brightest stars in sky) and should be reasonably high in the sky early tonight before the moon rises to far.

Might as well put the diagram for that up too.



Its half way between those two stars as on the diagram, though it is a lot smaller than the circle there indicates. It will look like a star at low magnification.

not to go against the grain ,but last weekend i found andromeda on a moonlit night by hopping from Cassiopeia. i have a habbit of doing stuff the hard way though! must try to find it from pegasus this weekend.

thnx for the replys, the sales picth i got was that i would b able to see galxys,thts why i bougth the scope,anyway, when i compare my software starchart to the maps postd here,things are upside down,i know i need to get used to constelations n where they are,i wud consider my self a total beginner in this area, i know the plough and casipea,and thats about it,also when i attempt to look for m31 the telescope seems to b pulld back to 90degrees :?:

thnx for the replys, the sales picth i got was that i would b able to see galxys,thts why i bougth the scope,anyway, when i compare my software starchart to the maps postd here,things are upside down,i know i need to get used to constelations n where they are,i wud consider my self a total beginner in this area, i know the plough and casipea,and thats about it,also when i attempt to look for m31 the telescope seems to b pulld back to 90degrees :?:

I'm sorry to say that the sales pitch you get when you buy a scope from some dealers, particularly photo shops, are often totally exadurated. You can see galaxies, but not that many. Don't worry though, there is still an awful lot that you can see. Basically anything that is referred to as a Binocular object is going to be easy in your scope and when you get the knack if it you'll be able to see other, dimmer objects too.

no probs, thanks to all contributions.

Might I suggest that downloading the IFAS Observing challenges would be great help in your first (and many there after) steps in astronomy.
I tried to find the links but cannot??? Not under the IFAS publications as I expected?? Maybe someone could put up the links?

maybe they could be given a prominent position on the home page..

maybe they could be given a prominent position on the home page..

in the meantime www.irishastronomy.org/observers/challenges/index.php

the sales picth i got was that i would b able to see galxys,thts why i bougth the scope,anyway

Do not dispare......... you have a good scope........ you are just not used to using it yet

3" refractor is good for planets and fine for galaxies and other deep sky objects........ Try galaxies M81 & M82. My advice is take a deckchair, a star map and a torch (paint bulb red with nail varnish) into your back garden for about an hour and identify 4 or 5 constellations. Then next time you are out try and find deep sky objects in these constellations ( may as well start with M no's as they are generally easy hits)

That scope will be good for magnification up to X 100 (i.e. your 10mm eyepiece) and if conditions are right you will get away with X150. At first you will probably be better going for X50 or less (20mm eyepiece or bigger) it will give you a bigger field of view and more clarity.

Remember the entire process should relaxing not frustrating.

Good luck, Damon