How to find M57 Ring Nebula?

[diogom]

Has anyone seen M57? I've been trying to find it for a few days with my telescope, but it's a little hard with a full moon. Is there any trick or reference point (other than the M57 being about half-way from Beta and Gamma Lyrae, closer to Beta than Gamma)to find it?

 

[Izack]

You can give Stellarium a try. I found it quite easily there. I can't go out and verify tonight, though. Haven't seen the sky for a while, it's been so cloudy.

 

[McWgogs]

Note the two stars near the nebula forming a inverted triangle.
Don't use high magnification until you find it.

 

[diogom]

I have Stellarium, it's a great program (but thanks for the sugestion anyway), but even with Stellarium it's being a little hard to find it. I'l try the triangle, if it doesn't work, I think I will have to wait for a sky with less moonlight.

 

[george7378]

This screenshot from Stellarium shows how I find it. I look for Lyra and trace a line between the two stars furthest from Vega. It is about 2/3 of the way along (try looking from left to right and from right to left). Use a low magnification to search - it should appear as a fuzzy star, maybe with a little hole in the middle. When you find it, add magnification. Seach slowly as it can be easy to miss.

---------- Post added at 11:48 ---------- Previous post was at 11:28 ----------

I'd also recommend looking for the nearby M27. It is much brighter, and nuch larger with a more defined shape. Look around for Sagitta, and it should be somewhere to the top left - right in the middle of the Milky Way. It looks amazing on the backdrop of stars: