Re: finding the ring nebula

Steve Paul <smarshallpaul@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi Bruce,
There's nothing inherently more difficult about finding objects in a Dob, in
fact quite the opposite. It is however a little frustrating at first no
matter what scope you have. You aren't suffering anything new. That's for
certain. :-)

Hi, Bruce and all.

Please let me agree with this wise statement, as a beginning telescopic
observer who's still going through the growing pains.

With a 200mm f/6 Dob, I've done fine with M24 and M25 -- but in a "dry run"
last night, or actually early this morning, had problems locating an
asterism close to NGC 253, the Silver Coin Galaxy in Sculptor, although
I found the same asterism below Beta Sculptoris quite easily using
7X50 binoculars. Local light pollution from nearby outdoor lights, which
affects me when I'm using the scope or finder, but which the walls of
my apartment observatory largely protect me against when viewing from a
lower level with the binocs, could account for some of this. My Orion
Canopy helps -- but maneuvering between scope and finder, even from a
comfortable observing chair, while keeping the canopy in place can get
rather intricate <grin>.

After a couple of hours of this, I was a bit down, but assured myself
that it was a question of finding the right strategy and having patience.
Of course, there's also the question of whether NGC 253, with the scope
accurately positioned on it, can sufficiently stand out against the
surface brightness of a light polluted sky not so far from the horizon.
However, I want to try my best -- possibly with more magnification or
my Astronomik CLS broadband filter as helpful options.

My idea wasn't necessarily to find NGC 253 with the Moon still a
factor (at third quarter), but to practice locating the right area for
the coming time around the new moon when things may be close to optimal,
or as close as they can at an urban site like mine <grin>.

I'm not sure a bigger scope is really necessary, but a low power wide field
of view is always the way to start a finding mission.

Please let agree! Recently I had a first light with a 2" 30mm Garrett Optical
eyepiece with an apparent field of view of 82 degrees -- or just over
2 degrees at 40X with my Dob (1200mm focal length). The wide field is
wonderful both for sweeping between objects and viewing something like
M24 (the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud) in a single field! This is a
"not-quite-Nagler" EP, and I could note a bit of what looked like field
curvature at the edges if I looked for it, but those wide views were
still beautiful, and sweeping from M25 to M24 in only about two fields
was lots of fun.

[...]

Remember this, it's not the main scope that's the "problem" when it comes to
finding, it's the finder, and learning to use it well. I can enjoy seeing
any fuzzy in any scope that will show it (and 4.5" qualifies for _at least_
a couple dozen show piece DSOs).

The trick is finding them in the first place. :-)

That's pretty much a neat summary. May I add that while I'm using a scope
just a tad smaller than 8", a 4.5" scope in dark skies might reveal all
kinds of views that I might long for here in a city setting.

Keep at it, and keep looking up,
Steve Paul

Indeed: I hope, Steve, that your words encourage Bruce, because at
any rate they encourage me after a not-so-successful night.

Most appreciatively,

Margo Schulter
mschulter@xxxxxxxxxx
Lat. 38.566 Long. -121.430

.

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