Andromeda Galaxy, Small and Fuzzy?

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TahaSiddiqui

Guest
<p>&nbsp;Hi everyone, last night i viewed M31 for the first time and was a little disappointed. M31 was a very small fuzzy blur taking up a bit more than 1/4 of my eyepiece (1 degree FOV).&nbsp;All I was seeing&nbsp;was the core of the galaxy.&nbsp;I was also&nbsp;able to spot a very faint M110 but only with averted vision. I have a small telescope (4.5") but I was wondering, would I be able to see more than just the core if I were to find a very dark site? I was at a nearby park, which is actually really affected by light pollution (sky was greyish at 30 degrees). At a place where&nbsp;its dark enough to see&nbsp;the milkyway in detail, would I be able to see a larger, clearer M31?</p><p>Thanks in advance,</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Taha Siddiqui</p>
 
A

aphh

Guest
<p>4.5 inch is probably too small. For more detail sources suggest atleast an 8 inch scope. M31 is a vast object in the sky, the spirals are about 2.5 degrees in diameter (5x full moon), but because it's so large the total visual magnitude of 3.4 gets spread over a very large area. </p><p>The surface brightness is therefore low and a good scope or a long exposure time is required to resolve more detail than a "ball of fog". </p>
 
W

weeman

Guest
Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;Hi everyone, last night i viewed M31 for the first time and was a little disappointed. M31 was a very small fuzzy blur taking up a bit more than 1/4 of my eyepiece (1 degree FOV).&nbsp;All I was seeing&nbsp;was the core of the galaxy.&nbsp;I was also&nbsp;able to spot a very faint M110 but only with averted vision. I have a small telescope (4.5") but I was wondering, would I be able to see more than just the core if I were to find a very dark site? I was at a nearby park, which is actually really affected by light pollution (sky was greyish at 30 degrees). At a place where&nbsp;its dark enough to see&nbsp;the milkyway in detail, would I be able to see a larger, clearer M31?Thanks in advance,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Taha Siddiqui <br />Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV><br /><br />I myself have viewed Andromeda through my 4.5 inch refracting Celestron, and it's not much to look at. A darker area will help, but not by much. You're better off getting a larger telescope. If you have the money, I would invest in a 8, 10, or 12 inch Dobsonian. I would love to have one of those, but not enough $$ right now <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-frown.gif" border="0" alt="Frown" title="Frown" />&nbsp;You should be able to get a 10-12 inch Dob for about $1,000-$1,200. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>
 
M

MeteorWayne

Guest
Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I myself have viewed Andromeda through my 4.5 inch refracting Celestron, and it's not much to look at. A darker area will help, but not by much. You're better off getting a larger telescope. If you have the money, I would invest in a 8, 10, or 12 inch Dobsonian. I would love to have one of those, but not enough $$ right now &nbsp;You should be able to get a 10-12 inch Dob for about $1,000-$1,200. <br />Posted by weeman</DIV><br /><br />If we could juet get humanity to stop lighting up the sky, Andromeda would be a magnificent sight with the unaided eye. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>
 
T

TahaSiddiqui

Guest
<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>If we could juet get humanity to stop lighting up the sky, Andromeda would be a magnificent sight with the unaided eye. <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /><br />Ah, thanks for the advice everyone :). I am planning to buy a new telescope soon but I am&nbsp;trying to see what this scope can see and how much detail it shows. One more question, through my 4.5" will all galaxies be dim and blurry such as Andromeda or will they be slightly brighter because of the size? I know M33 is a very dim galaxy because of its size, but for objects like M51, M81, M82 will they be brighter or dimmer?</p><p>Thanks for the comments/suggestions :).</p>
 
W

weeman

Guest
<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Ah, thanks for the advice everyone :). I am planning to buy a new telescope soon but I am&nbsp;trying to see what this scope can see and how much detail it shows. One more question, through my 4.5" will all galaxies be dim and blurry such as Andromeda or will they be slightly brighter because of the size? I know M33 is a very dim galaxy because of its size, but for objects like M51, M81, M82 will they be brighter or dimmer?Thanks for the comments/suggestions :). <br />Posted by TahaSiddiqui</DIV><br /><br />For backyard astronomy, there's not much in the night sky (as far as galaxies go)&nbsp;that is more prominent than M31. It sits just 2.5 million lightyears from Earth and is at least as large as the Milky Way, if not bigger. Great objects for your 4.5 telescope are the Moon, the Sun (with a hydrogen-alpha filter!!!!), Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, The Orion Nebula, and many other globular clusters. </p><p>As for Meteorwayne's comment: You can blame light pollution on all the Technical Theatre majors and Theatrical Designers, we're the ones who light the world! <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>
 
T

TahaSiddiqui

Guest
<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>For backyard astronomy, there's not much in the night sky (as far as galaxies go)&nbsp;that is more prominent than M31. It sits just 2.5 million lightyears from Earth and is at least as large as the Milky Way, if not bigger. Great objects for your 4.5 telescope are the Moon, the Sun (with a hydrogen-alpha filter!!!!), Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, The Orion Nebula, and many other globular clusters. As for Meteorwayne's comment: You can blame light pollution on all the Technical Theatre majors and Theatrical Designers, we're the ones who light the world! <br />Posted by weeman</DIV><br /><br />Oh ok, so my next targets should be Globular clusters im guessing. Do you have any idea which are the best for viewing (Northern Hemisphere). I know M13 is said to be a great globular, but I don't think my sky is dark enough to see the stars forming the Hercules keystone :/.</p><p>Thanks for the advice :).</p>
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts