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Aperture fever
Larger apertures may not show as much as small ones do under dark skies, but those larger scopes
will still show more than small scopes will under the lights. So if possible, increase your aperture by
using a larger telescope. The telescope will gather more photons that can be collected at the
eyepiece, increasing your odds of seeing more. One thing that can help is increasing the
magnification of the object you are viewing, if the size of the object allows you to do so and still keep
it in the field of view. This darkens the sky background, and although it does not change the actual
contrast, it increases the effective contrast that your eye perceives, which makes faint fuzzies more
likely to stand out. A dark grey on a black background is easier to see than a medium gray on a
medium-dark grey background.
Watch overhead
Not every object will ever be at the zenith (the point directly overhead), so ideally, look for objects
when they are at or near the meridian (the line running from north to south) as they will be near their
highest elevation at this time. So by looking at deep sky objects when they are at the zenith or
meridian, there will be less atmosphere to look through, reducing the dust and humidity light travels
past to reach the eyepiece.
Filter it
With larger aperture telescopes (4.5" / 114mm to 6" / 150mm or larger), narrowband light pollution
reduction filters, O-III and other filters can increase the contrast of the object viewed. No filter will
make the object brighter, but they do darken the sky background, which can provide an image that
appears brighter by comparison, and perhaps more detail as well.
Exit pupil:
Calculating the best exit-pupil for your telescope / eyepiece combination will make a difference. The
human eye does not dilate more than 7mm; even less for folks over age 40 or 50 (6mm or 5mm). So
an exit pupil that is larger than this size will not allow your eye to see any more light. Also, you don't
want to reduce the light your eye is capturing, so an exit pupil smaller than 1mm is going to make it
difficult to see any more. Don't go larger than 7mm, and don't go less than 1mm.
How to calculate exit pupil:
Exit Pupil = Telescope aperture / Magnification provided by a give eyepiece
- OR -
Exit Pupil = Eyepiece focal length / f/ratio of the scope
Cup your hand(s) around your head/eyepiece when you view, to block all extra light even from
dark-sky areas.
Use a chair to be comfortable; the more comfortable you are at the eyepiece, the more you are
likely to to see
Avoid alcohol and drugs. These can reduce your senses, particularly sensitivity to low light
levels.
Be well-rested; tired eyes don't pick up as much detail as sharp, attentive ones do.
Wait for nights of good transparency; haze and humidity in the air can block even the tiniest
details. Nights where the stars are twinkling wildly can often mean bad planetary observing, but
ideal DSO observing. Adjust your observing sessions accordingly.
Choose higher locations if possible; dew tends to form in lower areas more quickly
Observe later at night; often, business lighting is turned off after 10 to 12 pm, and there tend to
be fewer cars driving at those times as well.
Above all, don't force things. If teasing out more detail just isn't working on a given night, it may be
any one of a number of gremlins keeping you from seeing more haze, humidity, fatigue, etc. Try
again another night the stars will still be there! The key is to have fun make sure you do!
There's a lot more here on Eyes on the Sky. For example, every week on the homepage there
is a new astronomy video about observing objects in the night sky. They're only 5 minutes
long - why not check out the latest one right now? For those new to astronomy, don't miss
Eyes on the Sky's Ultimate Beginner's Guide!