It was a clear cool nite at the observatory tonite. We were able to stay out until 11:00 PM until the dew rolled in. The deep sky team got together tonite to try their hand at locating M31. Thanks to the pictures in all the text books and magazines it is easy for the inexperienced stargazer to miss the Andromeda gallery. They're expecting to see this huge galaxy with spiral arms. Not the little fuzz ball that appears in the eyepiece of their 6 inch reflector.
The team used the star charts they prepared to hop to M31, but tonite it was an easy naked eye object. Once centered on the fuzz ball that is the core the Andromeda galaxy, you could notice a fuzzy star near the edge of the eyepiece. The chart identified this as M32. That meant M110 should be just outside the field of view on the other side of the eyepiece but it was hard to see. All claimed they could pick it out of the gray background in the eyepiece but I think for some it was wishful thinking. We'll break out the 10 inch next time we're out.
BrianC
