This Spring I intend to observe some Messier Objects before they get too far below the western horizon. I've listed the objects that are visible in the evening during the Spring. I have purposely left off the 16 Messier objects in the Virgo cluster as this region of the sky intimidates me. I am hoping to learn more about it this year and perhaps tackle it in 2019. However, there are still 14 galaxies on my list below. If I see only a handful I will consider that a success.
| Messier | Constellation | Type | Date Observed |
|---|---|---|---|
| M3 | Canes Venatici | Globular Cluster | May 18, 2018 |
| M5 | Serpens Caput | Globular Cluster | May 20, 2017 |
| M9 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | - |
| M10 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | - |
| M13 | Hercules | Globular Cluster | May 21, 2017 |
| M16 | Serpens | Emission Nebula/Open Cluster | July 9, 2018 |
| M19 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | July 12, 2018 |
| M40 | Ursa Major | Double Star | May 22, 2018 |
| M51 | Canes Venatici | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M53 | Coma Berenices | Globular Cluster | - |
| M62 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | July 12, 2018 |
| M63 | Canes Venatici | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M64 | Coma Berenices | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M81 | Ursa Major | Spiral Galaxy | May 18, 2018 |
| M82 | Ursa Major | Irregular Galaxy | May 18, 2018 |
| M92 | Hercules | Globular Cluster | - |
| M94 | Canes Venatici | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M97 | Canes Venatici | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M94 | Canes Venatici | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M97 | Ursa Major | Planetary Nebula | - |
| M101 | Ursa Major | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M102 | Draco | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M104 | Virgo | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M106 | Canes Venatici | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M107 | Ophiuchus | Globular Cluster | - |
| M108 | Ursa Major | Spiral Galaxy | - |
| M109 | Ursa Major | Spiral Galaxy | - |
I will update this blog post as I observe the objects contained therein. I observed the globular cluster M5 last May and it was beautiful. I was able to capture an image of it at the time which is shown below.
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| Messier 5 |
The next evening I spent some time in Hercules and officially logged and imaged M13.
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| Messier 13 |
It is obvious that I need to revisit these clusters to attempt to get better images.
My Imaging Plans
This year I intend to use a focal reducer, higher ISO DSLR camera, autoguider and a dark site. The first two will allow me to take shorter exposures to avoid star trails.
The autoguider is essentially a camera that attaches to a guide scope piggybacked on the imaging scope. The autoguiding camera keeps its eye on the view and automatically adjusts the imaging scope to compensate if the mount has small tracking errors. This allows for long exposures. With higher ISO you can take shorter exposures at the cost of noise. However, since an autoguider allows for longer exposures, you can decrease the ISO and eliminate some noise.
A dark site will generally just improve the image quality as urban light pollution will not be as invasive.
This brings me to what I need to learn.
- Autoguiding
- Accurate Polar Alignment
- Post Processing
The first bullet point is described above, however, I still need to learn how to do it!
The next bullet point refers to how you have your mount set. The mount's polar axis should point in the direction of Polaris. However, Polaris is not exactly on the North Celestial Pole so some adjustment has to be made. I use a basic polar scope. It points through the polar axis of the mount and I can use it to align my mount to the North Celestial Pole. Without a properly polar aligned telescope the autoguider can't really save you and you'll get star rotation during long exposures.
There is a new device on the market called the Polemaster which hooks up to your telescope and computer. The computer software provides instructions on how to adjust your mount to ensure sub-arcminute accuracy on your polar alignment. This may be a handy tool.
Post processing is another thing I find intimidating. There are some great workshops in and around the Calgary area that I hope to take so I can develop skills in photoshop. This will allow me to repair, denoise and enhance my images.
I am looking forward to finding a dark site and use an autoguider to take long exposures of those elusive dim galaxies! I tried a few galaxies from my backyard and got handcuffed with light pollution.
I will share my observation journals and images on each of these Messier objects as I can find them! I will try to tackle the easier globular clusters from the backyard and perhaps head to a dark site for the elusive galaxies!
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