Spotting Andromeda

[GaryA]

Twas a good night for star gazing last night up here in thre North East. Normally where I am, because of light pollution/hazy sea fret its quite difficult to see the fainter contellations with binoculars but last night for only the second time I got a good view of the Andromeda Galaxy from the garden. Not too impressive- a hazy fuzzy patch- but its knowing what it is... a whole extrnal galaxy..the furthest object with the naked eye that makes seeing it so ecocative. Above third star from top LH square of pegasus...pleiades also put on a fine show and the satellites of jupiter were plain to see.

Never managed to spot the planet mercury though; dusk or dawn....its a elusive bugger.

 

[upsidedown]

I used to spend hours outside as a kid looking at the stars through a small telescope. Loved it. The most amazing sight I saw was at sea with zero light pollution seeing the milky way from one side of the sky to the other.

Paul

 

[fossyant]

Might have a nosey tonight - Google Sky Map for Android is the business !!!!!

 

[GazK]

I was doing the same through my new 15x70 bins... lovely, especially the Pleiades - first sign of winter coming. Bring on Orion!

You could also try for Uranus - I got it for the first time last night. You should be OK with 10x50s at a dark site. Its an easy spot at the moment because its a little to the left of, and above, jupiter. Check an online chart before you go out and its easy.

Has anyone managed to get comet Hartley yet? Easy target my ass - it's right under Cassiopeia and I still haven't managed to find it with big bins from a dark site 2 nights running!

Oh, and no Uranus jokes please.

 

[zacklaws]

Bring on Orion!

Orion visible in the night sky now on a night. Off top of my head, I do not know what time it rises, but when I'm on night shift its visible in the sky towards the east and South East sometime during the night as I gaze up at it as I patrol around.

 

[661-Pete]

Pleased to see other folks getting the 'bug'! Try Stellarium for a good downloadable freebie.

I find the easiest pointer to M31 (Andromeda) is to follow the right hand (more acute) 'V' of the 'W' of Cassiopeia (most people can recognise that) as it points downwards - for about three or four times the height of the 'V'. This leads you straight to it.

M31 is a good benchmark for how dark your skies are: sometimes I can see it with the naked eye, sometimes not. An even tougher challenge is M33 - the Triangulum Galaxy - which is a little way below Andromeda in the sky and a lot fainter. I have never seen it with naked eye, some people can if the sky is truly dark. Sometimes I can pick it up with the binoculars in Sussex (like, last Monday ), sometimes not.

And this is a good time of year for seeing the Milky Way, if it's dark and clear enough! Also try for the Double Cluster in Perseus. That looks good in binoculars.

 

[661-Pete]

I haven't tried for Hartley yet - it's a periodic comet which means it's bound to be pretty faint (notable exception was Holmes a few years ago). Best time I think will be around the end of this month, when it's expected to reach magnitude 5 - a bit fainter than the Andromeda galaxy. You'll need binoculars and a dark site.

 

[Midnight]

I was looking at Andromeda at 02:00 this morning, I got a great view with it so close to the zenith, but it will only ever be just a fuzzy through binoculars. Mercury is moving back towards the sun though, so you might have to wait a while. Orion clears the horizon at around 01:00 at the mo. Still no Hartley2 though

 

[661-Pete]

I was looking at Andromeda at 02:00 this morning, I got a great view with it so close to the zenith, but it will only ever be just a fuzzy through binoculars. Mercury is moving back towards the sun though, so you might have to wait a while. Orion clears the horizon at around 01:00 at the mo. Still no Hartley2 though

Andromeda is always going to be just a fuzzy oval, even through fairly large telescopes - I have never been able to make out any detail in my ten-inch. The human eye is just not able to pick out that much contrast. For the spectacular imagery you see on t'web, you need photography.

Mercury: best evening opportunities are in the spring, and best morning ones in the autumn. It's all to do with the way the Earth tilts. But you have to pick the right time - each 'apparition' is only a few days' window. Usually quite easy to get from southern England and Wales if skies are clear and you can see close to the horizon. Far less easy from northern England, Scotland or NI.

 

[ASC1951]

I used to spend hours outside as a kid looking at the stars through a small telescope. Loved it. The most amazing sight I saw was at sea with zero light pollution seeing the milky way from one side of the sky to the other.

A couple of years ago I went to Tenerife at new moon, specially to pedal up to the observatory and bivvy out looking at the stars. It's reckoned to be one of the best sites in Europe.

I was very disappointed. What I hadn't realised was that 58 year eyes old just don't perform like 10 year old eyes, even with an up to date prescription.

 

[GaryA]

I hiked to the top of the local cleadon hills a few months ago so I could get a better view of the horizon at twilight...mercury was supposed to be just to the right and below venus. Get it this time I thought.... i peered for half an hour, but seen nothing.