Expert: Tom Whiting - 11/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: Mr. Whiting,

Hoping you can help me identify an object I'm seeing....

I'm new to astronomy and I've been looking for the Ring Nebula lately.  From my site I can make out the constellation Lyra with the naked eye.  I think I've got it narrowed down to approximately the right spot in the sky but all I've seen thus far is a very faint spot that looks like a small blurry star.  Is this what the Ring Nebula would look like in an amateur scope (8" Newtonian, 1200 mm focal length with 2" 30 mm eyepiece, magnification = 40X)?

Thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Josh,
Yes, that's it... a small "fuzzy star" at only 40 power. You'll have to up the power to magnify it to a larger size.  It is located almost exactly between the stars Beta and Gamma Lyrae, out on the south end of the parallelogram of Lyra. It's just slightly bigger than Jupiter's disk.  (Jupiter's disk is about 45 arc-seconds diameter).
M 57 is the smallest of all the Messier objects at only about 60 arc-seconds across, or 1 arc-minute. But it's one of the easiest of the Messier objects to find. So all other Messier objects can be guaranteed to be bigger in size compared to M-57.  Once you up the power and examine the ring, swing your scope over to Beta as it's an interesting quadruple star, one bright center star and 3 dimmer ones encircling the bright star in the center.
The other star Gamma, on the other side of the Ring, is a single, and un-interesting.  But all the other primary stars of Lyra...  Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta... are either doubled or multiple star systems.  Delta and Epsilon are field glass (binocular) doubles.  Epsilon is the famous double-double, a 4 star system but requires high power to make the final splits as they are approximately 3 and 2 arc-seconds separation respectively. Use at least 150 power for that one.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA

FOLLOW UP:
You can get away with using only 40 power on the big wide open star clusters like the Pleiades (M-45) in Taurus, M-34 in Perseus, M-44 the Beehive cluster in Cancer, M-37 in Auriga, even the Great Nebula in Orion (M-42) and even the Andromeda Galaxy M-31... but most globulars, and planetary nebulae (like the Ring)... you'll need to up the power (to about 100) to see them more than just a dim fuzzy, small object,
with an 8 inch scope.
Happy hunting,
Clear Skies,
Tom


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: This isn't a question, more like fanmail since ratings are turned off.  Thanks very much for the very helpful and detailed reply.  I learned much more than I had even hoped for.  Time to get out and find the Ring again!  Thanks again!

Answer
Thanks for the fan-mail.  Anytime you need help with the night sky objects, give me a shout.  I know it better than the streets of my hometown.  Yes, I turned the rating system off about a year ago when I finally realized that prestige points and 5 bucks gets you a latte coffee at Starbucks. It's just an ego thing, which I don't need. IMHO, It serves no useful purpose.
Clear Skies,
Tom