Heya. I have a new telescope. It's pretty awesome, I had a great look at the Pleiades last night, some amazing glances at the moon and hundreds of stars. But I really wanted to get a look at the Orion Nebula. I found Orion and searched through and through his belt, and found absolutely nothing. Yet in this software I got with the scope it says you can see a red blotch with the naked eye. I checked a great deal, the entire constellation in fact, and I saw absolutely nothing. My guess is that it could be due to the lights in the town I live in. But anyway, I was wondering if anyone could tell me exactly, in relation to the stars of the constellation, the nebula is located at. I'd really like to have a good look at it.
"A red blotch with the naked eye" I don't think so.(you nead light gathering power! It doesn't matter of you are in the city or country. Look in the middle of orions sword, not the belt. You were looking right throught the nebula, but didn't see it cause, it was too faint. What are your telescope details? eg: diameter of telescope, focal lenght of scope? eyepiece used? My Small 72mm diameter refractor will not show up red nebulas as red, but as a faint colorless mist, or as a very faint cloud. Our eyes cannot see faint colors, gett a bigger scope and/or reduce magnification. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
If the term is refractor, then the refractor is six inches. I used the piggyback finder thingy that goes on the top to look at the trio of stars in his belt and I still saw nothing (the magnification is probably about the same as a pair of normal binoculars).
The sword??? ooooooookay that should help a bit. He only has one weapon, right? The string of stars connected to his arm might also look like a bow...I know little about constellations or the positions of objects, so I just want to make sure. This should help a lot. Next clear night I'll have another look. It's cloudy here though. That's very succulant indeed. Thanks for your helpPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Orion has two weapons. A bow and arrow, and a sword danging between his legs. Use your least powerfull eyepiece, to produce bighter views . Hope that helps.
I can find the Orion Nebula with no problems on my telescope, even here in the middle of San Antonio, TX. Orion Spaceprobe '3 EQ 76mm Apature 700mm Focal Length 25mm Kellner Eyepiece Is there a lot of Mercury Vapor lights in your area? Maybe there is too much light polution for you to get a good view. You might want to consider an appropriate filter. But as far as the scope itself goes, you shouldn't be having any problems seeing it. Let me rephrase the question, simpler. Does your telescope have a big lense on the front of it and the eyepiece is in the back, or does it have a big mirror in the bottom of the tube, and the eyepiece is on the side?
Yep, you folks got it right on the head -- the great Orion complex is situated around the middle "star" in Orion's sword. Here's an awesome video: http://vis.sdsc.edu/research/orion.html - Warren
Xevious, The second onePlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I got a good look at saturn a few nights ago. That was incredible, even if it was the size of my fingernail (probably smaller). It's freezing out here now, it was clear last night but was savagely cold, it's clear tonight too...I don't know if I should try to have another look, I might risk losing an ear or something. Even though I live in a relatively non city-fied area we get all the pollution from NYC and Boston. I doubt that's it, because the nights tend to be pretty clear and I can see a ton of stars through my scope. Oh well.
OK, then what you have is called a "Reflector" telescope. Such telescopes are specifically built for Astronomy. A '6 Reflector like yours has 3 TIMES the light grasp my current one does, so the Orion Nebula should not only be visible for you, but it should be even more spectacular than it is for me. I guess you just need to find it ! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I swear to god I thoroughly combed the entire sword-area of orion's constellation. I did it slowly, with separate lenses, and I didn't see a goddamn thing.
Pollux, It's easily visible in binoculars of any size. It's the brightest emission Nebula in the northern hemisphere. - Warren
Here, buddy. No one seems to really be showing you where it is. I took a few moments to find a really good picture of the Orion Complex, and I've labeled a map for you. I really do hope this helps, and you find it. It's such a spectacular object, eveyone should enjoy it!
Those pics are nice...but they've been taken with long exposures I bet. I'm not even sure I know what to look for. If I see the nebulae through my telescope, will they be bright or colorful or what? I've also had a few looks at some maps myself...they show the same relative information. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...well it's gotten to be so cold that I can't go outside without wishing immediately that I hadn't, so it's probably going to be awhile before I can have a look at the sky. Thanks.
Pollux, Can't see the forest for the trees? Look at the middle star in the belt. The middle star is actually not just one star, but four -- in a little tight group called the Trapezium. All around those four hot bright stars, you'll see a giant cloud of whitish, or perhaps slightly purplish-pink, nebulosity -- it'll be enormous, and will likely fill up most of the field of view of your 'scope. Your eye is not sensitive enough to see color at those kinds of light levels, so you generally see astronomical objects as varying shades of gray. - Warren
