Post by @jkanev@fediscience.org

2026-03-03 07:23 UTC

@dpnash@c.im @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @W6KME@mastodon.radio @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org Some weeks ago, on a clear night, I tried to see the pinwheel galaxy. Took me a while to find the exact spot, but what I saw was exactly dark blue on a dark blue background. I could make out nothing. Not even a faint difference. That was with a six-inch reflector, near a big city. You've probably seen it?

Replies (2)

@W6KME@mastodon.radio 2026-03-03 07:30

@jkanev@fediscience.org @dpnash@c.im @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org FWIW, I have never seen the Pinwheel using my eyeballs, just cameras, even from some pretty dark sites. I have a 10" Newt, nothing compared to most Dobs but still a pretty big bucket.

Open ##2268901
@dpnash@c.im 2026-03-03 17:31

@jkanev@fediscience.org @paul_ipv6@infosec.exchange @W6KME@mastodon.radio @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org I have, from a very dark sky with a 10” scope some years back. With a 6” it should be possible to see all the Messier catalog galaxies, but you’ll need a dark sky to have a reasonable chance at it. Galaxies are, without a doubt, *the* toughest things to see with significant light pollution. You can snag fairly faint stars by cranking up the magnification a bit, and many nebulas can be made more visible with narrowband color filters, but galaxies are only visible when the sky background light level is low enough.

Open ##2268902