Re: [Utah-astronomy] M 74
Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try next time I get out which would have been tonight but the smog is just horrible right now. I need to get up early one of these mornings and nab a look at Saturn even with the rings edge on. I noticed this early a.m. that Ursa Major was looking pretty good near zenith also with some of the objects in and around it. On 2009-01-19 23:03, zaurak wrote:
Jay,
A little more info: Author Mallas puts M74 at mag 8.8. Brent Watson lists some magnitudes lower in his cards than "The Messier Album" by Mallas and Kreimer, I have found many examples in the card set we have at SPOC, perhaps he considers angular size and does some sort of calculation, M74 is listed at 8 mins. They list the central core as "starlike" and fairly easy to see, and early observers (1861) thought it resembled a globular cluster.
I woud suggest that next time you look at M74 go to Alpha Piscium (Al Rescha) first, it is a close double star that requires 150-200X to get good view. When Al Rescha is high enough that also puts M74 in a good viewing location, Eta is also called Kullat Nunu.
Erik
--- jayleads@??? wrote:
From: JayLEads <jayleads@???> To: Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy@???> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] M 74 Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:58:48 -0700
Just was wondering if anyone could help a newbie. M 74 has eluded me this winter though I have attempted to find her several times. I know I am in the right area based on star charts and tonight I thought using averted vision I saw a very small core, but it faded out as I moved my eye back. This best describes the route I have tried though I have tried another also:
I start from Hamal (Alpha Arietis); and from this star, I follow a line via Beta Arietis to Eta Piscium (mag 3.5); M74 should be about 1/2 deg N and 1 1/2 deg E of Eta Psc;
Is it just too hard an item to see unless I'm in a dark site?
Thanks,
Jay
Jay: The weather in the valley is very poor for viewing even if the weatherman calls it "clear". When an inversion sets in like this the thing to do is head for higher ground. When it's foggy and cold in the valley it can be 20 degrees warmer and clear as a bell at 7000 feet. DT --- On Mon, 1/19/09, JayLEads <jayleads@gmail.com> wrote:
From: JayLEads <jayleads@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] M 74 To: "Utah-Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, January 19, 2009, 5:48 PM Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try next time I get out which would have been tonight but the smog is just horrible right now. I need to get up early one of these mornings and nab a look at Saturn even with the rings edge on. I noticed this early a.m. that Ursa Major was looking pretty good near zenith also with some of the objects in and around it.
On 2009-01-19 23:03, zaurak wrote:
Jay,
A little more info: Author Mallas puts M74 at mag 8.8. Brent Watson lists some magnitudes lower in his cards than "The Messier Album" by Mallas and Kreimer, I have found many examples in the card set we have at SPOC, perhaps he considers angular size and does some sort of calculation, M74 is listed at 8 mins. They list the central core as "starlike" and fairly easy to see, and early observers (1861) thought it resembled a globular cluster.
I woud suggest that next time you look at M74 go to Alpha Piscium (Al Rescha) first, it is a close double star that requires 150-200X to get good view. When Al Rescha is high enough that also puts M74 in a good viewing location, Eta is also called Kullat Nunu.
Erik
--- jayleads@??? wrote:
From: JayLEads <jayleads@???> To: Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy@???> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] M 74 Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:58:48 -0700
Just was wondering if anyone could help a newbie. M 74 has eluded me this winter though I have attempted to find her several times. I know I am in the right area based on star charts and tonight I thought using averted vision I saw a very small core, but it faded out as I moved my eye back. This best describes the route I have tried though I have tried another also:
I start from Hamal (Alpha Arietis); and from this star, I follow a line via Beta Arietis to Eta Piscium (mag 3.5); M74 should be about 1/2 deg N and 1 1/2 deg E of Eta Psc;
Is it just too hard an item to see unless I'm in a dark site?
Thanks,
Jay
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