Mars and the Moon

28 November 2020, 19:00 – 20:00

Conditions: Quite cold (as you’d expect for the time of the year). Light film of condensation on the telescope.

Seeing: Good / excellent

Transparency: N/A


My run of good luck with the weather had to come to an end eventually, and so it proved with the months of October and November being pretty much a wash-out as far as deep-sky observing was concerned. The few windows of clear sky I did get were devoted to observing and imaging Mars, and fortunately I able to get just enough data to assemble a crude albedo map.

Tonight however was all about observing, with the seeing remaining unusually steady for once.


Mars: Good views at all magnifications from 171x up to 428x. Gibbous phase starting to become more obvious now. SPC tiny, but still bright. The albedo features were of much lower contrast than previous viewings, even with the Baader CB filter in place; but I was looking at the Tharsis / Solis Lacus region – the site of a recent major dust storm. There was a large – and prominent – bright yellowish haze near the limb (over Argyre?), plus a less obvious fainter haze further north.


The Moon: Nearly full, very bright. Viewed at 171x and 428x (with the Baader ND filter). As usual, the amount of detail on view was almost overwhelming, particularly at the higher magnification, but a few observations worthy of mention include:

At least three Plato craterlets “twinkling” in and out of view when the seeing allowed.

Mons Rümker region near the terminator, just a few days before the Chang’e 5 mission landed to collect samples.

Rimae Sirsalis showing particularly well (at 428x it looked more like a canyon than a rille).

Mare Humboldtianum visible close to the northern limb (the best view I’ve had of this elusive libration feature).


Nature note:
Tonight's soundtrack: The gentle “tseep” of winter thrushes passing overhead, and the not so gentle clattering of a fox jumping over the fence into the garden. Its eyes lit up when I shone the torch at it, but it didn’t leave until I cleared my throat.

Open Clusters in Cassiopeia

21 – 22 September 2020, 21:45 – 01:00

Conditions: Mild to begin with, but soon turning chilly. No wind. Condensation increasing over the course of the session.

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor

Again, with a couple of hours to spare before Mars reached a usable altitude, and the transparency no better than the previous night, I filled the time by touring some of Cassiopeia’s many open clusters.


M52, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Rich, vaguely delta-shaped cluster with a bright star on the eastern corner.

Also of note: between 21:50 and 21:55 BST, while looking at this cluster I spotted an unusually slow-moving satellite of about 8th or 9th magnitude, winking into view every three seconds. It was travelling west to east, and passed just south of M52, taking about a minute to cross the field of view. Later, when I was back indoors, I used a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation to estimate it was on a 12-hour orbit. This puts it squarely in the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) range; the first time (as far as I can remember) that I’ve observed one of these satellites.

NGC 7790, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Compact cluster of about 20 faint stars with an underlying unresolved haze. Quite a nice view. In the same field of view to the NW was an even smaller triangular cluster of about 6 stars plus an unresolved haze – what I assume to be NGC 7788.

I looked (rather optimistically, it has to be said) for the galaxy IC 10, but couldn’t see it. However I did spot a very close double star nearby, just to the north.

NGC 129, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Large, loose cluster with a mixture of bright and faint stars. No underlying haze that I could see.

NGC 225, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Large cluster of about 20 to 30 similarly bright stars.

King 14, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Faint stars plus haze in a rich star field, just NW of 15 (Kappa) Cas. It's a nice field in the Nagler, but the cluster doesn’t really jump out.

NGC 7789, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Not so well resolved tonight as on previous occasions, but still wonderfully rich. Looked like a hazy “swarm” of stars.

NGC 559 (Caldwell 8), open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Small, hazy, rectangular cluster with bright stars on each corner; the brightest stars on the eastern side formed a triangle. More stars popped out with averted vision.

NGC 663 (Caldwell 10), open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Rich, large, lots of bright stars, plus that distinctive horseshoe shape. Always impressive.

NGC 659, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Small, arrowhead-shaped cluster near NGC 663. Fainter stars of similar brightness plus two bright ones (are these foreground stars?).

IC 1747, planetary nebula, Cassiopeia

I added the 2.5x Powermate to boost the magnification to 333x, but before heading to Mars, I paid a return visit to this little planetary nebula. There wasn’t much to see other than a faint little disc – but at least it was an obvious disc as opposed to a bloated star. With averted vision it seemed slightly brighter on the western side, but this feature (if real) was very subtle.

Mars: 333x. The seeing wasn’t quite as good tonight as it had been over the weekend, but the Sinus Sabaeus region was still showing well, with just a hint of Syrtis Major on the evening limb.

Nebulae in Cepheus and Cassiopeia

20 – 21 September 2020, 21:45 – 01:00

Conditions: Chilly, breezy. Light condensation appearing as the temperature dropped.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Poor

With Mars now larger than the magic 20-arcsecond threshold, deep-sky observing (and indeed deep-sky astrophotography) will be playing second fiddle to the red planet for the next couple of months. (The autumn constellations will be back next year; Mars won’t be this good again until 2030-something.) That said, the nights are getting longer, so I was able to get a couple of hours of observing before Mars took centre stage.

I started with a short wander around Cygnus at 133x, during which I stumbled across 27 Cyg – a close double in a dark nebula (B146). The transparency in this part of the sky was very poor (the Crescent Nebula was disappointing – even with the filter it was barely visible ), so I relocated to Cepheus.


NGC 7538, emission nebula, Cepheus

133x + OIII filter. Initial impression was of an amorphous patch of light, like a puff of smoke, surrounding a pair of 11th magnitude stars. Averted vision showed some detail in the form of mottling, including what looked like a dark lane or rift on the eastern side of the nebula. Not a showpiece object by any means, but not bad given the middling conditions. Switching up to 171x plus the Ultrablock filter gave much the same view, but larger and fainter – although the two central stars were easier to see. The nebula was just barely visible without the filters.

IC 1470, emission nebula, Cepheus

133x + OIII filter. I never know quite what to expect when tracking down obscure IC-designated nebulae. Sometimes they’re surprisingly bright; other times they’re all but invisible. However this object was fairly easy to spot as a quite small, fuzzy round patch of light. The core appeared stellar with averted vision. Increasing the magnification to 171x (no filter) showed a star embedded in a wide, fan-shaped nebula, a bit like a comet. (It reminded me of Hubble’s Variable Nebula, NGC 2261.) The Ultrablock filter offered a little improvement: the central star became harder to see, while the nebula itself seemed more triangular and harder-edged.

A quick look at the eye-catching clusters NGC 7510 and Mrk 50 (see last year's notes on these) and then onto another nebula.

NGC 7635, Bubble Nebula (Caldwell 11), Cassiopeia

171x + Ultrablock gave the best view, though it wasn’t nearly as good as my previous look at this object (perhaps the Ethos plus the OIII filter would be a better combination). Bright star associated with a nebula of indistinct shape; with averted vision it looked a little bit like one half of a Yin-Yang symbol.

NGC 40, “Bow-Tie Nebula” (Caldwell 2), planetary nebula, Cepheus

171x + Ultrablock filter. While reading up on this nebula (after my observation on 16 September), I found some reports claiming it responds better to narrowband filters than OIII. Now I’ve tried both I do think the Ultrablock filter gives a slightly better view than the OIII, but this nebula is bright enough that it doesn’t really need it. The two arcs were a little easier to see (with averted vision), but of course it helps when you already know where they are.


Mars: The combination of the 9mm Nagler and the 2.5x Powermate (giving a magnification of 333x) seemed to hit the sweet spot tonight, giving me my finest view yet. The SPC was a brilliant little oval and the Sinus Meridiani (home of the Mars Opportunity rover) and Sinus Sabaeus regions were showing particularly well. I could also see a blue haze over the north polar region and brighter patches along the morning limb. I swapped the eyepiece for a camera and captured some videos, resulting in the image below:

Planetary Nebulae in Cygnus (again) and Cepheus

15 – 16 September 2020, 21:30 – 00:30

Conditions: Much the same as the previous night, but warmer(!) with heavier condensation.

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor

I warmed up with a look at globular clusters M15 and M2 with the 7mm DeLite (171x). As noted before, M15 has a significantly condensed core compared to the looser M2, but overall the brightest stars in M15 were brighter than those in M2, making it (M15) a little easier to resolve. M2 had one prominent star (noted on previous occasions) residing in a dark void just east of the core.

Then it was back to Cygnus to catch up on a few planetary nebulae I missed last night.


NGC 7026, planetary nebula, Cygnus
171x. Located just north of 63 Cyg (and easy to overlook on a star chart – which is why I missed it last night despite being in that area) – almost in the same field at 171x. The nebula itself appeared as a little ellipse of green-grey light immediately west of a bright star. Possible lobed structure with averted vision, but even at 171x it was so small it was hard to be sure.


I then spent an inordinate amount of time looking for PK 80-6.1, the so-called “Egg Nebula”. (I should know better than to go after PK-designated planetaries, but I figured that an object worthy of a nickname is probably worth tracking down … probably.) Eventually I did stumble upon a star-like point surrounded by a faint haze – looking more like a tiny galaxy than a PN. With averted vision it seemed doubled. By the time I’d put the OIII filter in, it had left the field and I couldn’t find it again (or if I did, I didn’t notice it). Not sure about this one.


NGC 40, “Bow-Tie Nebula” (Caldwell 2), planetary nebula, Cepheus
171x. Surprisingly faint in OIII, but when I removed the filter I could see a bright central star embedded in a round shell of nebulosity. Averted vision suggested an asymmetry in the form of brighter arcs in the SE and NW sides of the shell. Faint star due west of the nebula.

I failed to spot NGC 7139 in central Cepheus, but I had better luck with the next target:

NGC 7354, planetary nebula, Cepheus
171x. Faint oval disc; brighter with averted vision. A little brighter still with the addition of the OIII filter, plus a suggestion of “clumpiness” with averted vision. Plotted in SA 2000 but not the PSA.


I spent the remainder of the session looking at Mars before a combination of condensation and tiredness forced me back inside. It looked much the same as it had the previous night, although Solis Lacus was rotated a little closer to the limb.

Planetary Nebulae in Cygnus

13 – 14 September 2020, 22:30 – 01:30

Conditions: Humid, hazy, no wind. Heavy condensation from about 23:15 onwards, particularly on the star atlas.

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor

Experience has taught me there’s no point trying for faint stuff like galaxies when the sky is like this, so I devoted the session to planetary nebulae … at least until Mars rose into view. But before that I warmed up with a quick look at Albireo at 133x. Not much I can add to previous superlatives, other than to say that the 9x50 finder does split this double, although you can’t really make out the colours of the two stars.


NGC 6884, planetary nebula, Cygnus
133x and 171x. Tiny blue-grey disc, almost stellar. Only really stood out with averted vision.

NGC 6826, “The Blinking Planetary”, Cygnus
171x. Slightly oval, bright green-grey disc. Seemed slightly brighter on eastern side. Central star showing clearly.

NGC 7008, “Foetus Nebula”, planetary nebula, Cygnus
171x. This one’s been on my target list for a while, but it was almost directly overhead when I looked for it, which made getting the scope on it somewhat tricky. Large (for a PN) kidney bean-shaped nebula associated with a pair of bright stars. Quite a distinctive shape compared to all the various “discs and doughnuts” I’m used to seeing when I look at planetary nebulae. Use of averted vision revealed three bright spots in the larger portion of the nebula. I’m not sure if one of these was the illuminating star as it’s hard to tell where the centre is. The nebula appeared much brighter when the OIII filter was added; in particular the larger lobe was enhanced to the point where it overwhelmed the aforementioned bright spots. There also appeared to be two dark lanes cutting into the nebula at right angles, giving it a segmented appearance. An unusual object worthy of its nickname.

NGC 7048, planetary nebula, Cygnus
171x + OIII filter. Amorphous patch of light, adjacent to a 10th magnitude star. (Not a small nebula, but needs the higher magnification to separate it from the star.) The shape becomes better defined with averted vision: oval with a possible lobed structure.

NGC 7027, planetary nebula, Cygnus
171x + OIII filter. Small, very bright nebula. Shape-wise, it seemed slightly “squared off”, with two bright components of unequal size separated by a narrow dark lane (just visible with averted vision). One very bright spot on the western lobe – not sure if this was the illuminating star (offset from the centre) or just a prominent condensation. There also appeared to be a hazy outer halo surrounding the nebula, but this may have been caused by condensation. The nebula appeared much the same without the filter, but boosting the magnification to 428x with the 2.5x Powermate emphasised the boxy shape and the clumpy structure – particularly in the larger lobe. This object really does benefit from as much magnification that you can reasonably throw at it.

While at 428x I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to revisit an old favourite in Andromeda:

NGC 7662, “Blue Snowball”, planetary nebula, Andromeda
7mm DeLite + 2.5x Powermate. Impressively large at 428x! Still bright at this magnification, but the colour was more subdued – a pale greenish-blue. Darker centre with averted vision; no sign of the central star. Faint star due east. The nebula seemed slightly brighter on the eastern side, with a possible faint halo extending NE-SW, though again, this may have been a side effect of the condensation.


The rest of the session (00:15 – 01:30) was devoted to observing and imaging this autumn’s star attraction, Mars. Even under favourable conditions it’s a challenging planet to view, but I’m finding that with practice I’m seeing a little more detail each time out. As noted before, the Baader Contrast Booster filter really helps with this. The bright South Polar Cap is still the most striking feature, despite its diminishing size. The dichotomy between the darker southern and lighter northern hemispheres was also fairly easy to see, and eventually I was able to make out an isolated dark spot – Solis Lacus – near the centre of the disc (as often happens in astronomical viewing, it was so obvious once I’d noticed it that I wondered why I hadn’t seen it straight away). This is the first feature on Mars, other than the polar caps and Syrtis Major, that I’ve been able to positively identify. In fleeting moments of good seeing I glimpsed subtle colour variations across the surface, including a bluish haze on the northern limb. As yet I’m not seeing anything at 428x that I haven’t seen at 171x; still waiting for that elusive window of perfect seeing!

Nature note:
Plenty of frogs on the move. I have to be very careful where I’m treading.

Exploring Lacerta and Pegasus

21 – 22 August 2020, 21:45 – 01:30

Conditions: Strong, frequent gusts of wind. More cloud than the forecast predicted, particularly early on.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Average

Given the windy conditions (and the prospect of clouds forcing a premature conclusion) I stuck to one eyepiece (13mm Ethos, 92x) for almost the entire session. As it turned out I got more telescope time than expected, but with another moon cycle already underway and more stormy weather forecast, it’ll probably be the last session for a while.

After beginning with a look at the always-beautiful Albireo, I crossed the border into the constellation of Vulpecula.

NGC 6802, open cluster, Vulpecula
Moderately large hazy patch on the eastern end of Cr 399 (Coathanger cluster/asterism). A handful of stars resolved with averted vision, the brightest pair being near the centre; otherwise grainy. Nice to finally get a decent look at this cluster. The “Coathanger” of course looked better in the finder than it did in the eyepiece.

NGC 6882/6885 (Caldwell 37), open cluster, Vulpecula
Loose, large group of medium-bright and faint stars surrounding a bright blue-white star (20 Vulpeculae). The identification of this cluster (or clusters) is a thorny issue which I’m staying well clear of, other than to say this is a rich star-field, so it’s hard to tell where the boundaries of this cluster (or clusters) are.

NGC 7686, open cluster, Andromeda
Small group of faint stars surrounding a bright orange-yellow star. Again, sits in quite a rich star-field, so an easy cluster to overlook if you’re just sweeping through the area.

NGC 7296, open cluster, Lacerta
Compact little cluster in a rich section of the Milky Way. The stars form an outline vaguely resembling (to my eyes at least) a water lily flower on a lily pad.

NGC 7243 (Caldwell 16), open cluster, Lacerta
Large, rich cluster; on first glance vaguely triangular in shape. Over time it started to take on the outline of a rocket in flight, with a wide pair of bright stars near the base (the engines) and a closer double near the centre.

NGC 7209, open cluster, Lacerta
Large cluster of similarly bright stars. Quite rich but also loose and sprawling, not condensed. The stars seem to be arranged in a meandering trail, like a snake or a winding river.

While I was in the area I hopped over the border into Cygnus to look for the Cocoon Nebula, but couldn’t see anything obvious. At this point (23:00) the wind was getting really gusty, so I redeployed the telescope counterweight to hold down my star chart. Next stop, Pegasus.

NGC 7331 (Caldwell 30), galaxy, Pegasus
Quick look at an old favourite. Appeared as a bright streak of light at 92x.

NGC 7217, galaxy, Pegasus
Bright round galaxy, south of Pi Peg in western Pegasus. Brighter towards the centre, particularly with averted vision.

NGC 7662 (Caldwell 22), Blue Snowball Nebula, planetary nebula, Andromeda
Couldn’t resist a quick look at this one - another old favourite. Exquisite little blue-grey disc with a slightly darker centre. Definitely one to revisit with the DeLite on a less windy night.

I drew a blank on NGC 7640 (galaxy in Andromeda, south of the Blue Snowball), but I had more luck with the next three galaxies.

NGC 7457, galaxy, Pegasus
Small, faint round galaxy, north of Beta Peg (Scheat). Brighter core with averted vision.

NGC 7332, galaxy, Pegasus
Small streak of light (edge-on galaxy?) west of Lambda Peg, aligned roughly north-south. Bright, star-like nucleus with averted vision. Field star off the southern tip.

NGC 7177, galaxy, Pegasus
Small round galaxy in western Pegasus; somewhat faint. Brighter extended core with averted vision (not star-like).

I also looked for galaxy NGC 7448 near the bright blue-white star Alpha Peg (Markab), but again, failed to see this one.

NGC 7479 (Caldwell 44), galaxy, Pegasus
Faint streak of light, bar-like core with averted vision. Field stars either end of long axis. I remember seeing this one before; it has faint spiral arms which should be just about visible in my scope on a better night.

NGC 7814 (Caldwell 43), galaxy, Pegasus
Bright oval haze, a little brighter towards the centre with averted vision.

NGC 7619 & 7626, galaxies, Pegasus
Pair of small round galaxies in same fov, close to the Pegasus/Pisces border. The western one (7619) was a little brighter and larger; 7626 is 7’ to the east. Both galaxies showed star-like cores with averted vision. I didn’t know it at the time, but these are the brightest two members of the Pegasus I Galaxy Cluster, some 250 million light years away.

After drawing a blank on NGC 7741 (galaxy in the square of Pegasus), I relocated to Aquarius.

M72, globular cluster, Aquarius
A little condensed, grainy with averted vision. With time some faint stars became visible on the outskirts of the cluster, including two stars south of the core. Two bright field stars east of the cluster.

NGC 7009 (Caldwell 55), Saturn Nebula, Aquarius
Bright, pale aquamarine ellipse. Quite elongated for a planetary nebula.

At this point (1:30) I was almost ready to pack up for the night, but there was one last target rising from the east which demanded my attention (and a higher magnification).

Mars, 171x (7mm DeLite): The red planet is starting to look very impressive now. Still in its gibbous phase, but the SPC was very bright, and appeared to be surrounded by a dark hood. Syrtis Major was prominent and showed hints of finer detail, including a dark feature that appeared to divide as it extended towards the bright limb of the planet. The Baader Contrast filter didn’t show me anything that wasn’t visible in the unfiltered view, but it made it easier to see, and provided a warmer, more aesthetically pleasing image. Despite the wind and the fact it was still only just clearing the fence, this was definitely the best view I’ve had of Mars to date.

Nature note:
More frogs (at least 11); more bloody mosquitoes.

Revisiting Old Favourites

18 – 19 August 2020, 22:00 – 00:30

Conditions: Mild to begin with, but started to turn chilly towards the end of the session. Patchy cloud passing overhead.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Good

I began with a look at the two giant planets of the solar system (both of which are now one month after opposition). Jupiter’s Great Red Spot was visible, along with a very turbulent-looking NEB. Saturn could be seen casting a shadow across its rings and the Cassini Division was showing well. As the seeing was fairly good (considering Jupiter’s low altitude) I swapped the eyepiece for the Canon 80D and captured a few videos before the clouds got in the way.

I didn’t expect to get much else done tonight, so when the sky cleared again I decided to take a quick tour of some old favourites, as well as tracking down a couple of new targets.

Veil Nebula, supernova remnant, Cygnus
50x (24mm Panoptic) + OIII filter. Both sides of the loop and the inner triangle were visible, along with the “hooks” on the eastern veil. Like a lot of deep-sky objects, the more times you look at it, the easier it is to see the fainter details.

M31, Andromeda Galaxy
50x and 171x. Needs to be higher in the sky to get the best out of it, but the usual details were present and correct. Satellite galaxy M32 showed a star-like core.

M33, Triangulum Galaxy
50x. Ditto – needs to be higher in the sky, but quite bright considering, albeit lacking in detail. This is the first time I’ve looked at this galaxy since I got the 9x50 finder, and I’m pleased to say it was faintly visible in the finder – which means I won’t have to waste time sweeping for it anymore. I upped the magnification to 171x to look at NGC 604, which showed just a hint of the extended structure visible in photos, but I think I’ll need to go to a much higher magnification (on a really good night) to be sure.

NGC 404, Mirach’s Ghost, Andromeda
171x. As I thought it might be, the 7mm DeLite is the perfect eyepiece for observing this galaxy. Showed a bright core and the shell-like structure noted on previous occasions.

NGC 663, open cluster, Cassiopeia
171x. Large, rich cluster; visible in finder.

M103, open cluster, Cassiopeia
171x. Rich, condensed cluster. Red star in centre.

NGC 637, open cluster, Cassiopeia
171x. Small, triangular cluster with bright stars overlying an unresolved haze of fainter stars.

IC 1747, planetary nebula, Cassiopeia
171x. Nor far from Epsilon Cas. Very small round disc; perhaps brighter on one side, but hard to be sure even at this magnification. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been specifically looking for it, and I imagine it appears star-like at anything under 150x. Not surprisingly, plotted in SA 2000, but not the PSA.

Nature note:
Not just the usual roaming frogs to contend with, but also plenty of spiders and bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

Open Clusters and Falling Stars

11 August 2020, 22:00 – 23:30

Conditions: Very warm and muggy. Patchy cirrus (especially in the south) and distant flashes of lightning.

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor

A short observing session, curtailed by increasing cloud and mist and what I thought was an approaching thunderstorm. The lightning was flashing every few seconds after 11pm, but I never heard a single rumble, and the expected storm didn’t materialise in the end. I also tried – and failed – to photograph some Perseids, although I did see a couple of bright ones streaking through the haze as I was packing up. Typical meteors!

All observations at 92x (13mm Ethos).

M39, open cluster, Cygnus
Showed well in the finder as a triangular concentration of stars. At 92x it became a loose collection of about two dozen bright blue-white stars barely fitting in the Ethos field of view, plus a scattering of fainter ones blending into the rich Milky Way background.

M29, open cluster, Cygnus
Visible as a partially resolved fuzzy patch in the finder. The eyepiece view showed a compact, basket-shaped little group of eight bright stars and about half a dozen fainter ones (I expect a lot of them were washed out by the hazy sky). As noted before, this cluster is kind of like a pocket Pleiades. Not rich or condensed, but the wide field of view of the Ethos shows it quite nicely in the wider context of the surrounding Milky Way.

NGC 6709, open cluster, Aquila
Fairly rich v-shaped cluster comprised of stars with a mixture of brightnesses. The central region seemed somewhat hollowed out.

NGC 6760, globular cluster, Aquila
Round, condensed blur; very faint – only glimpsed with averted vision (although the sky was getting very hazy by that point). I’d like to try this one again on a better night.

Nebulae in Sagittarius

22 – 23 July 2020, 23:00 – 1:00

Conditions: Breezy, partial cloud cover to begin with – clearing over the course of the session and then returning towards the end.

Seeing: Poor / average
Transparency: Average / poor

I know I’ve spent a lot of time exploring Sagittarius lately, but at the rate the neighbour’s trees are growing and the likelihood of local light pollution returning to its pre-lockdown levels, this might be the last best chance I get to study this object-rich part of the sky. With the nights growing longer again, the wonders of Cygnus and Cepheus will still be well-placed for the next two or three months; the same can’t be said for the southern Milky Way.

NGC 6440, globular cluster, Sagittarius
133x. Faint condensed blur in same field as NGC 6445, brightens with averted vision.

NGC 6445, planetary nebula, Sagittarius
133x (no filter) and 171x (OIII). Quite faint without the filter (one of the consequences of averted vision is that this nebula was easier to see when I was looking straight at 6440). With the filter in place, 6440 disappeared and 6445 became much more obvious. The higher magnification made the misshapen ring structure more apparent (it looked more like a buckled wheel than a box). Most prominent feature was a bright condensation on the northern rim.

M8, Lagoon Nebula, Sagittarius
171x + OIII filter. Obviously M8 loses a lot of its impact at this magnification, but the brightest part of the nebula is easier to study. Hourglass shape apparent, of which the southern component brighter. Smattering of embedded stars visible with averted vision.

M20, Trifid Nebula, Sagittarius
171x + OIII filter. M20 also loses some impact at higher magnification, but the central star system was easier to resolve (when the seeing allowed) as a line of three very close stars. Nebula and dark lanes best seen with averted vision.

M16, Eagle Nebula, Serpens
171x + OIII. Averted vision showed a dark patch at the centre of the nebula, but the contrast was still too low to make out any kind of shape or structure. Lower magnifications are better for this object.

M17, Swan Nebula, Sagittarius
171x + OIII. Nebula still very bright at 171x. This magnification doesn’t really add anything to this object although the dark lanes were a little easier to see, giving it a segmented appearance. The body section does appear remarkably straight, like it’s been “dragged” across the sky with a paintbrush.

NGC 6629, planetary nebula, Sagittarius
171x + OIII. Very small, bright little disc, north of M28. I may have seen the central star with averted vision, but it was tough to separate from the nebula.

I also looked for other Sagittarius planetaries 6537, 6567 and 6644 with this eyepiece/filter combination, but they eluded me on this occasion. Or to put it another way, nothing jumped out at me in the manner that 6445 and 6629 did.

M28, globular cluster, Sagittarius
133x. As per previous observations. Bright, condensed; grainy with averted vision.

M22, globular cluster, Sagittarius
133x. If this is my last look at Sagittarius for the year I had to finish with arguably its most spectacular object. Several dozen stars seen in direct vision. The low altitude can make this cluster look somewhat washed-out at first glance, but it's well worth investing the time to let the magnificent view build up on your retina like a developing photo.

As usual I closed the session with a look at Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter was the stand-out tonight with the GRS on show and all four Galilean moons positioned on one side of the planet. However the seeing was too mushy to bother with an imaging run.

From the Lagoon to the Eagle (in OIII)

21 – 22 July 2020, 23:00 – 1:00

Conditions: Started mild, ended chilly (much like the previous night). Light breeze. Some light pollution spilling over from next door (I’m glad I didn’t leave those last three Messiers until tonight).

Seeing: Poor
Transparency: Average

I’d been hoping to revisit the various Sagittarius nebulae with the Astronomik OIII and tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity to use a filter. Observations at 92x unless otherwise stated.

NGC 6445, planetary nebula, Sagittarius
Conspicuous-sized ghostly disc on the western side of the constellation. Quite bright in OIII. Averted vision transformed the disc into a ring, with brighter segments to the north and south.

M8, Lagoon Nebula, Sagittarius
The nebulosity becomes even more expansive in the OIII filter, filling most of the fov of the Ethos (at the expense of the starlight, which is greatly subdued). The large rift dividing the cluster from the brightest part of the nebula now looks like a dark crescent surrounded by nebulosity. On previous occasions I’ve found it difficult to reconcile the telescopic view of M8 with the familiar one seen in images, but tonight it really did start to resemble a photo (minus the colour of course).

Another bright ISS pass (nearly overhead) at 23:20 – 23:25.

M20, Trifid Nebula, Sagittarius
The Trifid seemed distinctly larger and – while not particularly bright – stood out from the background sky much better in the OIII filter. The dark lanes showed well in averted vision. It took a little more effort than M8, but again, it did start to resemble a black-and-white photo (but without the reflection nebula component).

M17, Swan Nebula, Sagittarius
Very bright in the OIII filter; the elongated swan shape is so distinctive that once you’ve seen it a few times it’s hard to see anything but a swan. It almost appeared to be frozen in the act of gliding through space. The area immediately to the north (directly beneath the “body”) was very dark by contrast, as if the swan is riding on black ice or on the surface of an impenetrably dark lake. The nebula itself was mottled, including a dark band cutting across the neck, although I think these dark features are easier to see at 133x. Also noticed a little detached portion of nebulosity directly above the head.

M16, Eagle Nebula, Serpens
Not especially bright, even in OIII, but the bird-like shape was more apparent. The filter transformed the nebula into a broad, diffuse band of light which appeared to curl (like wings) around the cluster. averted vision showed a wedge of darkness cutting into the nebula from the eastern side, but it was ill-defined, certainly not as dramatic as the photographic appearance.

Subsequent observations at 171x (no filter).

NGC 6717 (Palomar 9), globular cluster, Sagittarius
Small, grainy glow just south of 5th magnitude Nu² Sgr – not hard to spot despite the glare from the star. Condensed with averted vision, which also revealed a second bright spot north-east of the core. An interesting object (the globular equivalent of NGC 404 in Andromeda).

Rounded off the session with a look at Jupiter and Saturn, followed by some imaging of the same. Variable seeing limited the quality of the results.

Completing the Messier Catalogue

20 – 21 July 2020, 23:30 – 2:00

Conditions: Mild to begin with, but got chillier. Very gentle breeze; light condensation towards the end of the session. Proper astronomical dark was back at last (for an hour at least).

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Good

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE continues its progress over the north-western horizon. Becoming harder to see with the naked eye, but still a good sight in binoculars. Definitely fainter now, but the tail is longer.

All observations (apart from the planets) at 92x with the 13mm Ethos. The XT10 was propped on the improvised “Observing table + bricks” platform again – hopefully for the final time. For the last couple of sessions I’ve been using a magnetic 3 lb counterweight to help balance the scope when attaching the camera or heavy eyepieces like the Ethos to the focuser. I’m not sure it’s worth the price Orion charge for it, but it does the job (without marking the scope), so I can’t argue with that.

M8, Lagoon Nebula, Sagittarius
A quick look (sans filter). The Ethos is the best eyepiece for framing this object, showing the nebula, the cluster (NGC 6530) and 7 Sagittarii all in the same field of view.

NGC 6522, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Quite obvious in the Ethos, if faint. Small and condensed; averted vision revealed some faint stars on the outskirts of the cluster – possibly foreground stars.

NGC 6544, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Small, faint globular, south-east of M8; very condensed core with averted vision – almost star-like. Faint star west; three more east.

NGC 6553, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Large, extended globular, south-east of 6544 and M8; brighter towards centre, but not particularly condensed. Faint star just north-west of core.

NGC 6624, globular cluster, Sagittarius
As per previous observation: bright, condensed. A bit more prominent tonight.

M69, globular cluster, Sagittarius
More obvious tonight, but still faint. Quite condensed core with averted vision. Bright star NNW.

M70, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Faint, low surface brightness globular, but clearly visible tonight – though not as obvious as M69. Some sources list M70 as being smaller than M69, but to my eyes it seemed a little larger, perhaps because M69 is more concentrated. Bright field star to west. The cluster appeared condensed with averted vision, which also revealed a faint star north of the core, plus a suggestion of fainter stars east of the core.

At 00:15 there was a very bright ISS pass, almost directly overhead.

M22, globular cluster, Sagittarius
A refreshing change after all those faint globulars: large, rich and expansive – brimming with stars; really fills out with averted vision. I imagine seeing this from the UK must be a bit like seeing Omega Centauri from the southern US states.

M11, open cluster, Scutum
Amazing as always. The lucida is on the eastern corner of cluster. Finely resolved in the Ethos – gives a really crisp view.

M26, open cluster, Scutum
Small kite-shaped cluster with a curving chain of stars to the north and a fainter spray of stars to the east. Central asterism curiously empty.

🍾 M55, globular cluster, Sagittarius 🍾
Very large, low surface brightness globular – like a ghost of M22. No wonder I struggled to see it at the higher magnification last time out, but tonight there was no mistaking it with the Ethos. With time and averted vision, a faint sprinkling of stars began to appear, the brightest one located south-east of the core (not sure if this was a true member or a foreground star). It’s taken a while, but I’ve now seen every single Messier object – all of them from my garden, and all but one of them with the XT10. A modest achievement perhaps, but one I didn’t think was possible until a few months ago (when I saw M83).

I rounded off the session by upping the magnification to 171x and taking a look at a couple of planets, beginning with Saturn at opposition. The view was a little hazy because of the increasing condensation, but the enhanced brightness of the rings immediately stood out (they were so bright they made the closer moons a little harder to see than usual). The Cassini Division was showing well and there was even some brightness variation across the rings (which I’ve only previously seen in photos). The colour contrast between the dusky, slightly tan planet and the very pale blue-tinged rings was also noticeable. The effect was subtle and came and went with the seeing, but at times it really did look like the Saturn I’ve seen in photos.

Mars is gradually increasing in size and phase. Some vague dark markings were visible and the polar cap was bright, but the seeing in this part of the sky is still quite poor. Hoping a dust storm doesn’t obscure the surface at opposition like it did in 2018.

Nature note:
A noisy wader (possibly an oystercatcher) flying around for much of the night provided an atmospheric soundtrack to the session. Also, a frog jumped on my foot (I heard it approaching, so I wasn’t taken completely by surprise).

Exploring Sagittarius

17 - 18 July 2020, 23:30 – 1:45

Conditions: Muggy, mild, breezy. Patchy cloud. Light condensation increasing over the duration of the session.

Seeing: Poor
Transparency: Average / poor

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE has moved further into the evening sky, appearing a little faded since the previous weekend but still a relatively easy naked-eye object. Binocular view still good: the tail seemed longer, perhaps because I was seeing it against a darker sky.

Eyepieces used tonight were the 9mm Nagler (133x) and the 7mm DeLite (171x). The XT10 was balanced on the improvised “Observing table + bricks” platform again.

NGC 6522, globular cluster, Sagittarius
133x. Small, condensed fuzz with star-like core. Near Gamma Sgr. The low altitude and poor seeing made it hard to be certain but the core seemed to double with averted vision, possibly due to a foreground star nearby. Couldn’t confirm neighbouring globular NGC 6528.

M69, globular cluster, Sagittarius
133x. Definitely saw it tonight – visible as a soft round blur just south of an 8th magnitude star (which helps a lot when tracking it down). A little condensed with averted vision. In the brief window of time I had to look at it I was able to make out 2 or 3 speckles of individual starlight – possibly foreground stars, but overall this globular remained very faint.

M70 is harder to locate because there is no comparative star nearby. Again, I’m not confident I saw it this time – confirmation will have to wait for a better night. Likewise, M55 was right on the threshold of visibility; I think I glimpsed it with averted vision along with a few speckles of starlight, but I want to see it again to be sure.

I moved the XT10 to a less precarious spot and looked at Jupiter and Saturn at 171x. Both planets were visibly “rippling” with the seeing, so I abandoned my plan to do some imaging and returned to a couple of deep-sky objects.

M75, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Currently not far away from Saturn in the sky and quite obvious at 171x (though I suppose most DSOs would seem obvious after struggling with the previous three). Small, bright, condensed – swells in size with averted vision. Hint of graininess, but no stars popping out. Suggestion of dark area on the eastern side.

NGC 6818, “Little Gem Nebula”, planetary nebula, Sagittarius
171x. Small, fairly bright green-grey disc, slightly oval. Shows well at this magnification. Suggestion of darker centre. Oddly, with averted vision it seemed more blue-grey than green-grey.

Of Comets and Globular Clusters

12 July 2020, 00:00 – 2:00

Conditions: Mild with a very light wind. Some condensation (not forecast on clearoutside.com)

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor / average

Astronomy is not known for being a hectic pursuit, but this month it’s all been happening: the crowded star-fields of Sagittarius at their best (including my last three elusive Messier targets), Jupiter and Saturn at opposition, and – as if that wasn’t enough – a naked-eye comet that actually lived up to the hype. This was the second of three consecutive clear nights. Nights one and three were devoted exclusively to early-morning comet-chasing; on this night (11-12 July) I popped round to my local park to take some photos before returning home to catch up on some deep-sky observing.

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE itself was too low and in the wrong part of the sky to get my telescope on, but 7x50 binoculars gave a really good view, clearly showing the bright star-like pseudo-nucleus and the long dust tail extending several degrees, gently curving up and away from the horizon. I wouldn’t rank it as a Great Comet like Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp, but it’s certainly the best one I’ve seen for many years.

In a new strategy, I put bricks beneath the observing table to give the XT10 the little extra clearance it needed to reach below -32 degrees declination. The arrangement was more stable than it looked, but it’s not something I want to repeat too many times. All observations at 133x (9mm Nagler).

NGC 6624, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Fairly large condensed blur. Bright core with averted vision. Near Delta Sgr.

Given that I could clearly see NGC 6624 (at -30.3 degrees) you’d think I would have been able to see M69 and M70, but once again those two extra degrees of declination made all the difference. I may have glimpsed M69 as an extremely faint blur, but I need a follow-up observation to be sure.

M54, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Back up to -30 degrees again and this globular was no problem at all. Small, bright, condensed; as noted previously.

Bright ISS pass at 12:50.

M22, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Rich, large mass of stars – a little hazy tonight (its more typical appearance in UK skies, I think). Prominent rift on leading side, west of the core. Seemed quite loose at 133x.

I also tried (somewhat optimistically) for M55, but any chance of seeing it was hindered by the light from the rising last quarter moon. I spent the remainder of the session looking at Jupiter and Saturn, but poor seeing meant I only got fleeting glimpses of fine detail.

Stormy Skies

25 – 26 June 2020, 23:45 – 2:00

Conditions: Very warm and muggy. Distant thunderstorm on southern horizon. Clouding over towards end of session.

Seeing: Atrocious
Transparency: Poor

The universe clearly doesn’t want me to see those last few Messier globular clusters – at least not just yet. As soon as I went out I could see flashes of red-hued light sporadically illuminating a bank of clouds hugging the southern horizon, possibly as far away as France judging by the lack of thunder. A look through the binoculars confirmed my fears: no stars at all visible below about -30 degrees declination, so M69 and M70 would have to wait for another night.

As it turned out, the seeing was the worst it’s been since I got the XT10 – even worse than the previous night. Despite giving the scope ample time to cool down, Antares looked like a bulbous sky lantern no matter how much I tweaked the fine focuser. Objects higher in the sky like M11 looked a little better, but the pin-sharp detail I’ve become accustomed to was only fleetingly visible; most of the time it looked like a rippling, smeared-out mess.

Nevertheless, the scope was outside and the sky was clear (sort of), so I carried on as best I could. All observations at 133x with the 9mm Nagler.

NGC 6712, globular cluster, Scutum
A fuzzy round blob – which, to be fair, is kind of how it looks at the best of times. Still, it showed up fairly well.

NGC 6751, planetary nebula, Aquila
Small, pale disc – brightens with averted vision. Quite prominent despite the poor conditions. While sweeping towards this object I noticed a very distinctive red star which turned out to be the carbon star V Aquilae.

NGC 6638, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Condensed blur just east of Lambda Sagittarii, fainter than M28.

NGC 6642, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Small round blur, west and a little north of M22 (which was pretty washed out again tonight). Condensed core with averted vision.

M71, globular cluster, Sagitta
Rich arrowhead-shaped mass of stars (quite apt considering the constellation it resides in). More condensed than any open cluster, but quite loose for a globular.

From about 1:45 I noticed the first clouds passing overhead, travelling south to north. By 02:00 over half the sky was covered, so I called it quits for the night. The storm itself eventually arrived (with a vengeance) just before 6 AM, waking me up after less than three hours’ sleep.

Nature note:
Stoker, the neighbours’ black cat, silently appearing as if out of nowhere beside my scope in the way that only cats do. And later, after the cat had gone, several frogs noisily roaming the garden in the way that only frogs do.

From the Lagoon to the Eagle

24 – 25 June 2020, 23:30 – 3:00

Conditions: Warm and breezy.

Seeing: Terrible
Transparency: Poor

Once again I set up two telescopes in the garden, but this time, instead of the TV-60 on the Super Polaris mount, I brought my old Vixen 4-inch refractor (below) out of retirement to see if the extra aperture would help me catch those last remaining Messier globulars. As it turned out, the sky transparency was too poor to spot them (if only I’d had this idea before the previous session). The XT10 was, once again, coupled with the 13mm Ethos.

I warmed up with a look at M13 and M11 in both scopes. I didn’t take notes as the conditions were too poor to make a fair comparison. Neither cluster was at its best tonight. That was followed by a dive back into the wonders of Sagittarius.

M23, open cluster, Sagittarius
92x. As noted before: a rich cluster of uniformly bright stars, but better-framed at this lower magnification. The stars seemed to form the outline of a flattened starfish or a magic lantern (although the fluctuating seeing may have been a factor in my interpretation). Bright star north of the cluster.

M8, Lagoon Nebula, Sagittarius
92x. M8 is so large that even the Ethos barely contains it, but it’s a wonderfully complex region at this magnification. Despite the less than ideal conditions, even the unfiltered view clearly showed the key components: the bright star cluster NGC 6530, the nebulosity to the west, and the wide dark lane (the “laguna”) dividing the two. A little further west, the bright star 7 Sgr completes the line up, giving M8 the extended shape which is so distinctive in finders and binoculars. The nebulosity filled out considerably with the addition of the Ultrablock filter, revealing another patch to the south extending along the other side of the laguna into NGC 6530, and a large fainter band of nebulosity to the north, all separated by dark lanes. The brightest segment (the one clearly visible without a filter) was transformed into a dense mottled patch of nebulosity. It’s a shame with it being so low in the sky that I don’t get more time to savour M8, but any view is better than no view at all.

M20, Trifid Nebula, Sagittarius
92x + Ultrablock filter. Considerably smaller and fainter than M8, but shows well with averted vision. Nebulosity split by three dark lanes converging on a tight double star.

M6 and M7, open clusters, Scorpius
42x (SP-102 + 24mm Panoptic, giving a 1.5-degree field)
Both clusters were well-framed in the Vixen and showed a respectable number of stars, although they suffered from the haze and poor seeing. The butterfly shape of M6 was more apparent tonight, and the ring of stars surrounding the core region of M7 gave it a stretched-out appearance, like a spider’s web slowly being pulled apart.

Back to the XT10, and back to the nebulae:

M17, Omega/Swan Nebula, Sagittarius
92x + Ultrablock filter. As noted before: very bright, distinctive swan-shaped nebula. Mottled with averted vision but a lot of the fine detail I’ve seen previously was lost to the deteriorating seeing.

M16, Eagle Nebula, Serpens
92x + Ultrablock filter. Loose, sinuous cluster (NGC 6611) embedded in a faint haze, the size of which increased dramatically with averted vision. The most prominent section was a large band of nebulosity south of the cluster extending SW to NE, filling a large part of the field of view. The edges of the nebula tapered off smoothly into the background sky and it was hard to make out any dark features or other structure.

M24, star-cloud, Sagittarius
92x. As noted last time out, a staggeringly rich star-field, “squared-off” by surrounding dark nebulae. A little smeared-out by the poor seeing, but still a sight to behold.

M25, open cluster, Sagittarius
92x. As pre previous observation: rich, large cluster, well-framed in the Ethos. D-shaped asterism at centre.

I also revisited M22 but, unsurprisingly, the poor sky conditions had turned it into a shadow of the magnificent cluster I saw last time out. Jupiter and Saturn were also afflicted by the mushy seeing.

As noted earlier, I failed to spot M69 and M70 with the Vixen, but M54 was just about visible at 42x.

Nature note:
I had to be careful where I was treading tonight because there were lots of froglets (plus several adult frogs) on the move, as well as all the usual snails and slugs.

Globular Clusters in Ophiuchus and Sagittarius

22 – 23 June 2020, 23:30 – 3:30

Conditions: Very mild, light wind with occasional gusts. No clouds and no condensation tonight.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Quite good considering the time of year

Once again I set up two scopes in the garden: the XT10 with the 13mm Ethos (92x) and the TV60 with the 9mm Nagler (40x). The XT10 was balanced on my observing table, enabling it to point a little further south than usual (and also so I could observe while sitting down).

After warming up with views of M13, M57, M56 and Albireo, I turned my attention south to a selection of globular clusters.

M19, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Bright, condensed globular, about the same declination as Antares. Speckled appearance with averted vision. One star resolved north of the core, another one east of the core.

NGC 6284, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Small, condensed blur, a little north of M19. Swells in size with averted vision. Faint star east of core.

NGC 6293, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Another small, condensed blur. No resolution, but the core seemed particularly bright.

M62, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Large, condensed blur (one of the Messier globulars below -30 degrees). Bright core, a little grainy with averted vision.

NGC 6316, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Very faint round blur, east of M19 and M62, and about midway between them in terms of declination (-28 degrees). Condensed with averted vision. There were also a few stars superimposed over the top, surrounding the core; I assume these are foreground stars and not true cluster members.

M9, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Bright, asymmetric globular. Starts to resolve with averted vision, but really needs a darker sky to get the best out of it. Apparent dark patches southwest of core.

NGC 6342, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Faint, condensed blur, south of M9. Brighter core with averted vision. Faint star SW of core.

NGC 6356, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
92x. Bright, condensed globular, northwest of M9 and only a little smaller and fainter than its M-designated neighbour. No resolution, but some faint stars visible on the outskirts of the cluster.

M6, open cluster, Scorpius
92x (and skimming the neighbour's fence!). Better-framed at this magnification (than at 133x), but still a little too large for the fov. More stars visible, giving it an almost “chunky” appearance. On this occasion its overall outline reminded me a little of M24.

M7, open cluster, Scorpius: 40x (TV60 + 9mm Nagler)
A slightly better view tonight, reinforcing my initial impressions: a large, loose cluster with the dozen brightest stars arranged in a wavy x-shape.

NGC 6520, open cluster, Sagittarius
92x. I picked this up by accident while sweeping the area south of M8. A compact and very distinctive open cluster comprised of bright, colourful stars overlying a rich unresolved haze. Prominent orange star near the centre. This cluster stood out well despite its low altitude (-28 degrees declination).

M21, open cluster, Sagittarius
92x. Rich cluster with bright stars; not particularly condensed. Bright pair near centre.

M28, globular cluster, Sagittarius
92x. Bright, condensed globular. Grainy appearance. Hint of resolution with averted vision. Somewhat overshadowed by its illustrious neighbour…

M22, globular cluster, Sagittarius
92x. Very large “flattened” globular – spectacular in the Ethos. A few dozen stars resolved in direct vision; countless more with averted vision. Appeared to be a dark lane or rift on the western side. Tonight at least, it surpassed even M13 in visual splendour.

M24, star-cloud, Sagittarius
92x. Incredibly rich star-field. Even in the Ethos it covers several fields of view, but this is probably the best eyepiece for appreciating this region’s grandeur and sheer density of stars. I could easily spend an entire session here. The dark dust clouds which give M24 its distinctive sharp-edged appearance are conspicuous by their relative absence of stars. I know this region is actually a window into a deeper part of the galaxy, but the impression I get is of an iceberg of stars caught in the process of calving off from the Milky Way.

M18, open cluster, Sagittarius
92x. Bright little cluster; not particularly rich, but the brightest stars seem to form the shape of a pointy toadstool, or a partially opened umbrella.

M54, globular cluster, Sagittarius
92x. Small, round condensed blur. Prominent bright core, but not even a hint of resolution. Apparently gravitationally bound to the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG).

M69, M70 and M55 (the only Messiers I haven’t yet observed) eluded me tonight. M69 and M70 are only a couple of degrees lower than M54, but that’s a lot of atmosphere to look through, making them too faint for the TV60. They also don't quite clear the fence as viewed from the XT10 - even with it balanced on a table. At -31 degrees, M55 should be viewable in the XT10, but – being further east than the other objects – the sky was too bright by the time it emerged from behind the tree. However, as a consolation, the conditions were just right for viewing the planets (with the 7mm DeLite).

Jupiter, 171x: Possibly my best view yet of the giant planet. Some sustained moments of excellent seeing revealed superfine detail, including festoons trailing from the notably turbulent NEB. Io’s shadow was visible as a perfect little dark spot on the NEB, and I was able to follow Io itself as it nudged across the darkened Jovian limb to begin its own transit. I did briefly add the 2.5x Powermate to increase the magnification to 428x, but the seeing wasn’t quite that good.

Saturn, 171x: Same detail as noted in the previous session, but holding steady for longer. The Cassini Division showed particularly well. Again, despite the brightening sky, Titan, Tethys, Dione and Rhea were clearly visible, along with a nearby faint star masquerading as a moon; I’d have to do a same-night comparison with the 5mm Nagler to be sure, but the DeLite does seem to control light-scatter better than any other eyepiece I’ve looked through.

Mars, 171x: First telescopic view of the red planet for this year. The seeing wasn’t quite as good here (it was still only just clearing the neighbour’s rooftop), but the gibbous phase was obvious along with some vague dark markings that showed a little better when I added the Baader Contrast Booster filter*. Disc still small at 11 arcseconds, but the best is yet to come (barring another dust storm like the one in 2018).

(* I bought the BCB years ago for the Vixen SP-102; I had no idea it was useful as a Mars filter until I read about it recently on Cloudy Nights.)

The Southernmost Messier Object

14 June 2020, 00:30 – 03:30

Conditions: Mild, still (no wind), hazy and humid – heavy condensation. Cloud increasing over the course of the session.

Seeing: Average / poor
Transparency: Poor

I don’t normally observe in the two weeks either side of the summer solstice because the sky doesn’t get reasonably dark until gone midnight – and it doesn’t stay dark for very long. However, if I’m to do justice to the Scorpius/Sagittarius region I figured I should at least try to observe some of the brighter objects this month rather than tackle them all in a mad scramble in July or August. (And of course there’s no guarantee the skies will be clear then anyway.)

Also, encouraged by my glimpse of M7 last time out, I had the TV60 set up on the Super Polaris mount. However I hadn’t taken into consideration just how much the trees and plants can grow in barely a month, so I was contending with foliage as well as the neighbour’s fence. Fortunately, the TV60 is easier to move from side to side than the XT10.

After warming up with a look at M13 in both scopes (it appeared hazy and a little washed-out tonight, despite being nearly overhead), I switched to the main target for the evening.

M7, open cluster, Scorpius, 40x (TV60 + 9mm Nagler)
The scope was almost horizontal, but I was able to get just enough clearance over the neighbour’s fence to centre M7 in the field of view. The object itself appeared faint and washed out, but enough stars were visible to at least give a sense of a very large, splashy open cluster. The brightest stars seemed to form a distorted x-shape with a double star at the centre (although the atmospheric distortion and low magnification made it hard to split). There was also a haze of unresolved stars, plus an incomplete ring of brighter stars surrounding the central cluster. Even if M7 were high enough to be visible in the XT10, the TV60 would still be a better choice of scope to view it simply because of the larger field of view (2 degrees in the 9mm Nagler). By comparison, M6 – which is itself a fairly large cluster – appeared more traditionally condensed at the same magnification.

I also had the XT10 set up in the garden, but another thing I hadn’t taken into consideration was how bad the condensation would be tonight. I had planned to use the 13mm Ethos, but unfortunately the eye-lens misted over while I was looking at M7, so I swapped it out for the 9mm Nagler. The sky was getting hazier too, so I stuck to only the brightest objects. (The fainter stuff could wait for a better night.)

M21, open cluster, Sagittarius
133x. Loose, bright cluster, a little north of M20. Star pattern at centre in the shape of a teacup, or a backwards “3”.

M23, open cluster, Sagittarius
133x. Rich, large cluster. Uniformly bright stars filling the fov. Bright star to north. Concentration of fainter stars at western end of cluster.

M25, open cluster, Sagittarius
133x. Bright, large cluster, with a distinctive “D” shaped pattern of stars at the centre. Unlike M23, the stars come in a mixture of brightnesses.

With the condensation worsening and the sky already starting to brighten, it was almost time to pack up. However while taking the TV60 indoors I noticed that Jupiter and Saturn were starting to emerge from behind the tree, so I (carefully) moved the XT10 and changed the 9mm Nagler for the 7mm DeLite.

Jupiter, 171x: the seeing was variable but in the fleeting moments that it steadied, the DeLite gave a very sharp, comfortable view. All four Galilean moons were on view and I could see the Great Red Spot moving onto the disc, showing its familiar brick-red colour when the seeing allowed.

Saturn, 171x: Titan and three faint moons were visible, despite the brightening sky. Saturn was its usual exquisite self with the Cassini Division showing well in moments of good seeing, as well as the shadow of the planet on the rings, and the dusky equatorial band.

Summer Clusters and Nebulae

18-19 May 2020, 23:45 – 2:30

Conditions: Breezy, relatively mild (first night I haven’t needed my winter coat). After a day dominated by high cirrus, the sky cleared suddenly, with just a few lingering vapour trails crossing the sky. Cloudy later on.

Seeing: Average - poor
Transparency: Poor - average

The nights are so short now that it doesn’t get reasonably dark until after 11pm, which makes for a lot of hanging around in the evening when (like tonight) the clear-sky forecast is ambiguous. With the sky near the northern horizon staying noticeably light, and vapour trails drifting overhead, the seeing and transparency varied considerably from minute to minute and from one part of the sky to another.

After warming up with M12 and M10 (both clusters looked a little hazy tonight), I tracked down another lesser-known globular in Ophiuchus:

NGC 6426, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
133x. Very faint hazy patch; a little condensed with averted vision. Unimpressive.

NGC 6572, planetary nebula, Ophiuchus
133x and 171x. Small, very bright oval disc; almost stellar at 133x. Stands out largely because of its strong green-blue colour. At 171x, the central star or core region (it was hard to tell exactly what I was seeing) overwhelms the surrounding nebulosity in direct vision. In averted vision the opposite is true: the outer nebulosity becomes the dominant feature.

NGC 6633, open cluster, Ophiuchus
133x. Follow-up from previous observation. Loose cluster of bright stars elongated roughly N-S. As noted previously, shows well in finder. Small “arrowhead” asterism of about 8 stars separated from main cluster on western (leading) side. Quite large, but a bit more “telescope-friendly” than the nearby IC clusters 4665 and 4756.

IC 4756, open cluster, Serpens
133x. Not as bright as IC 4665 and NGC 6633, but a very rich, very large cluster – best suited for smaller wide-field scopes.

NGC 6791, open cluster, Lyra
133x. Faint, extended haze. Starts to resolve with averted vision, giving at least a sense of its richness. Not much, if any, improvement on my previous observation, but I am slowly warming to this cluster.

M56, globular cluster, Lyra
133x. A little washed-out compared to previous observation. The triangular core was less apparent tonight, but I did notice a bright star leading the cluster and a long “x” shape of stellar arms.

M57, The Ring Nebula, Lyra
171x. Additional prep work for sketch (first draft below). The transparency must have been good in this part of the sky because I could just about detect a faint 14th magnitude star east of the ring (just beyond the brighter 13th magnitude star).

At 1:20 I was distracted by the unmistakable sight of the ISS passing high overhead.

After quick looks at M27, M4 and M80 I was irresistibly drawn to an old favourite:

M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, Scutum
133x. After all these years it still boggles me that I don’t have to travel any further than my back garden to see something as breathtakingly beautiful as this cluster. I have mixed feelings about the bucket list approach to life, but if you insist on such a checklist, seeing M11 through a telescope should probably be on it.

At around 2 AM the clouds returned with reinforcements, but after I’d taken the scope indoors – wouldn’t you know it – the sky suddenly cleared again from the south, and now it was remarkably free of haze. With only about half an hour of usable dark left, it wasn’t worth carrying it back out again, so all remaining observations were carried out with 7x50 binoculars and the naked eye (the most important instrument of all!).

M24, star-cloud, Sagittarius
I don’t recall ever seeing M24 with the naked eye before (the Milky Way in Sagittarius is always a little washed out from my location), but tonight it was visible as a hazy patch, a little smaller than the Scutum star-cloud further to the north. The binoculars revealed it to be sprinkled with stars, the brightest ones forming a distinctive almond shape.

This part of the sky (the steam rising from the spout of the Sagittarius teapot) is rich in bright clusters and nebulae, many of which showed up well in the binoculars (particularly M8, the Lagoon Nebula). Also visible in the binoculars were M12, M10, M11 and M27.

The binoculars resolved several more stars in M6 tonight, giving a much better view than 17 May. I also got my first glimpse of M7, which was just visible as a faint hazy patch very low in the south. I propped my elbow against a door-frame to steady the view and over time a few faint stars began to pop out. Averted vision also showed the cluster to be larger than was first apparent. From the same vantage point I could also see the bright stars Lambda Scorpii (Shaula), Upsilon Scorpii (Lesath) and G Scorpii through the binoculars (but not with the naked eye), all three of which culminate at less than 2 degrees above the horizon from my location. I don’t think I’ll be able to get the XT10 on M7, but it might be possible in the TV60.

490 Million Light-Years from Home

16-17 May 2020, 22:45 – 3:15

Conditions: no wind; cool (not as cold as previous sessions); some clouds – increasing over the course of the session.

Seeing: Good / average
Transparency: Average

I had no set plan for this session, which was just as well because the clouds largely dictated where I could and couldn’t point my scope.

M97, Owl Nebula, Ursa Major
171x + OIII filter. Large round disc, seemed speckled with averted vision. The dark patches (the “eyes” of the owl) were visible but ill-defined. Faint star north of nebula.

NGC 6058, planetary nebula, Hercules
171x + OIII filter. A third planetary nebula in Hercules; plotted in SA 2000, but not the PSA. Small oval nebula, near the centre of a triangle formed by 2 bright stars and 1 fainter one. The nebula was quite faint even with the filter. Brighter centre with averted vision, but I couldn’t quite tell if this was the illuminating star or a brighter portion of the nebula (immediately surrounding the star).

M61, galaxy, Virgo
Another over-optimistic attempt to look for SN 2020jfo; this time at the higher magnification of 240x, but this part of the sky was really too bright to see any stars west of the nucleus. With averted vision and enhanced breathing I could just about make out the spiral form, but that was as good as it got.

NGC 6166, galaxy, Hercules
Back down to 133x, and back to Hercules, for another object plotted in SA 2000 but not the PSA. Appeared as a very faint ellipse north of 3 field stars, aligned north-south. A little brighter towards the centre with averted vision. A tough object, but the remarkable thing about this galaxy is that it’s the dominant member of the Abell 2199 cluster, whose distance is (according to Wikipedia) a whopping 490 million light years. Other sources put it closer to 400 million light years, but either way it’s the furthest non-quasar object I’ve seen to date (ahead of NGC 4889 at 308 million light years).

From the very faint to the very bright as the ISS made the first of three passes at 23:45.

M92, globular cluster, Hercules
133x. Smaller, more condensed than M13, but still impressive. Appeared to be a couple of dark patches east of the core. If there is colour in this cluster, it’s subtle: a very pale aquamarine.

95 Herculis, double star
133x. Very attractive, bright pair of stars separated by just 6 arcseconds. Pale green primary (that colour must be a contrast effect) and a pale orange secondary (almost as bright as the primary).

NGC 6791, open cluster, Lyra
133x. Rare example of a DSO plotted in the PSA but not SA 2000. I failed to spot this last time out and with good reason: it’s a large, faint misty patch lurking in a rich star field. With averted vision it slowly starts to resolve, and there appear to be some foreground stars overlaying the cluster in direct vision. One for the big scopes, I think.

As more clouds flitted across the sky I swapped one Nagler for another and increased the magnification to 240x for quick looks at M57 and NGC 6543. Not much to add to previous observations although, on evidence of this night at least, the central star of the Cat’s Eye is easier to see in the DeLite.

At 1:20 (shortly after I was distracted by a large frog bumping into the garden shed), the ISS made its second appearance, reaching magnitude -3.3 as it passed overhead.

NGC 7023, The Iris Nebula (Caldwell 4), reflection nebula, Cepheus
133x. Bright star surrounded by an extended haze, elongated in a N-S direction. One of those objects that appears quite obvious once you know what you’re looking for, but could easily be mistaken for condensation otherwise (there are no other bright stars in the field to compare it to). The nebula appeared vaguely mottled with averted vision. There was also a noticeable lack of stars in the space surrounding the nebula.

NGC 6939, open cluster, Cepheus
133x. Better view tonight. Rich, compact cluster; spray of stars overlying an unresolved haze.

NGC 6946, Fireworks Galaxy, Cepheus/Cygnus
133x. Large amorphous haze (as previously described). A little brighter towards the centre with averted vision, but no structure that I could discern.

There was another distraction at 2:10 in the form of 2 bright satellites passing through Aquila. As I was killing time until Scorpius/Sagittarius cleared the neighbour’s tree, I temporarily switched from the Nagler to the Ethos.

M13, globular cluster, Hercules
92x. The Ethos gives an aesthetically more pleasing view of M13, but it’s not quite as easy to resolve at 92x as it is at 133x. The Ethos fov is also large enough to show the two 7th magnitude stars either side of the cluster.

I also had quick looks at NGC 6543, M57 and M4 with the Ethos, before balancing the scope on the table again.

M6, open cluster, Scorpius
133x: Large, loose collection of bright stars. A slightly better view tonight, but still only just clearing the fence, and atmospheric turbulence made it hard to find the best focus. The brightest stars seemed to form the outline of a watering can. At other times the cluster looked like a fat dragonfly or the flapping pages of a book thrown into the air. (Yes I know I'm over-reaching here, but you try finding the right words to describe a shimmering star cluster at nearly 3 in the morning.) The cluster was also visible in binoculars as a faint hazy patch with at least three stars resolved. I still couldn’t see M7, though.

The third and final ISS pass took place at 2:55; this time lower in the sky and at a less bright magnitude of -2.9.

With the clouds gathering again and the sky starting to brighten, I just had time to screw the OIII filter into the 24mm Panoptic (I’d used every other eyepiece tonight, so why not?) and take a very quick look at some summer nebulae (three of which I’d only previously seen years ago in the SP-102).

M8, Lagoon Nebula, Sagittarius
50x + OIII filter. Large and bright (prominent in the finder and in the binoculars). Nebulosity to the west, star cluster to the east, with a very obvious wide dark lane dividing the two.

M20, Trifid Nebula, Sagittarius
50x + OIII filter. Smaller and fainter than M8. Nebula surrounding tight cluster; mottled with averted vision. Needs higher magnification.

M17, Omega/Swan Nebula, Sagittarius
50x + OIII filter. Very bright nebula and quite large. Like a number “2” with an extended tail.

M16, Eagle Nebula, Serpens
50x + OIII filter. Three-pronged cluster of stars with associated haze of nebulosity. (Unlike the previous three objects, it’s the cluster which grabs the eye before the nebula.) Not nearly as prominent as M17, but at this stage the sky was too bright to really do this one justice.

Sagittarius presents a lot of interesting objects to look at in a limited time, so hopefully I’ll get at least a few clear moon-free nights over the next couple of months.

The Cat's Eye Nebula and other Highlights

14-15 May 2020, 22:30 – 3:15

Conditions: Chilly, breezy; sky noticeably lighter along the northern horizon.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Good overhead, average to poor everywhere else

M61, galaxy, Virgo
With the Virgo cluster already sliding past the meridian by the time it gets dark I wasn’t expecting to look at M61 again this year, but I’ve never seen a supernova before so I had to at least try to spot SN 2020jfo. After several minutes of careful observing (at 171x), using averted vision and enhanced breathing and all the usual tricks, I could intermittently see one or two faint stars west of the nucleus. So did I see it or was my mind filling in the gaps? Difficult to say, so I’ll leave that as a “maybe” rather than a definite “yes”. Had it exploded a month or so earlier (away from the Thanet light-dome) I think I would have caught it. (And yes, I know there was a brighter supernova in neighbouring Leo, but I’d like to be able to see the host galaxy as well. There will be other, better opportunities.)

M51, Whirlpool Galaxy, Canes Venatici
Having the galaxy almost directly overhead made for awkward tracking with the dob, but structure was clearly visible at 133x and 171x. The core of NGC 5195 appeared more condensed and stellar than that of M51, with a dark cut-off on the eastern side. The bright area noted last time was more apparent tonight, with a definite clumpiness to the spiral arm east of M51’s core.

M106, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. As per previous sightings. Northern spiral arm brighter as usual; appeared to be a dark lane on the western side of the galaxy, slanting diagonally south. At this higher magnification the core itself seemed slightly elongated in a NW-SE direction.

Using Sky Atlas 2000 I found three of the neighbouring galaxies (two of which I’ve seen previously):

NGC 4346, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. Small spindle galaxy with a bright stellar core aligned E-W. Located east (and a little south) of M106.

NGC 4220, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. Faint elongated galaxy N and W of M106, aligned NW-SE. Brighter towards centre with averted vision.

NGC 4217, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x and 133x. Faint streak of light west of M106, aligned NE-SW. I missed this one last time, mostly because its visibility is hampered by a bright 9th magnitude star to the north and another fainter one west, lying almost on top of the core. Easy to overlook if you’re not paying attention.

NGC 4144, galaxy, Ursa Major
133x. Large, faint smudge of light. Brighter towards centre with averted vision. Close double star to north.

After quick looks at M5 and M13 I then turned my attention to a selection of the summer objects rising into view:

Epsilon Lyrae, “the Double Double”, Lyra
My previous views of this famous multiple system in the XT10 have been hampered by poor seeing, but tonight the stars were clearly split at 133x and 171x. Obviously the better view came at the higher magnification, with lovely contrast and clean space between the respective pairs.

M57, Ring Nebula, Lyra
171x. I was mostly plotting field stars in preparation for a sketch, but I also took a moment to jot down the key features of this famous nebula: bright oval ring of light, elongated NE-SW. Faint 12th or 13th magnitude star just off the NE edge. The NW and SE edges (on the minor axis) are noticeably brighter than the rest of the ring. The central portion of the ring is not completely dark, but has a slightly glazed appearance.

I took a break at 1:20 to watch a bright pass of the ISS, also noticing a few small clouds scudding across the sky. Then I returned to another planetary nebula:

NGC 6543, “Cat’s Eye Nebula”, Draco
Viewed at 133x and 428x (7mm DeLite + 2.5x Powermate) in preparation for a sketch (above). The seeing perhaps wasn’t quite good enough to justify such a high magnification, but the view occasionally came close to the one I got on 20 April. I notice that getting the correct eye placement is a lot more critical at 428x. Key features: pale green oval disc (at 428x); bright and sharp-edged. Seemed to be a hint of a yellow tinge to the central star, but this might be a contrast effect. When the seeing steadied there was also the suggestion of a tiny dark gap between the central star and the nebula, but oddly this seemed more apparent at the lower magnification. The “arm” features weren’t quite so apparent tonight, showing fleetingly as bright fringes, but the western (long) edge of the nebula did seem slightly misshapen, appearing to extend beyond the main disc.

NGC 6826, “The Blinking Planetary”, Cygnus
A beautiful sight at 171x, much improved on the last time I saw it. Bright central star, dominating the view in direct vision. The nebula was very bright in averted vision; rounder and softer-edged compared to 6543. Colour was less intense too, appearing as a pale green-grey.

At 1:50 a lovely meteor flashed through Cygnus, heading towards the eastern horizon.

M4, globular cluster, Scorpius
133x. A little washed out (as usual), but still plenty of stars resolved. The central N-S “bar” was very prominent tonight.

M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, Scutum
133x. A wonderfully rich cluster, one of the very best in the sky (or at least, the part of it that I can see). Bright lucida surrounded by a somewhat squared-off dense mass of stars. The overall impression is that of a fractured globular cluster.

The cloud cover was increasing at this point – and in a haphazard fashion, effectively pushing me from one clear part of the sky to the next.

M26, open cluster, Scutum
133x. Small cluster somewhat overshadowed by M11 to the north. The brightest 4 stars make a kite shape, surrounded by a swarm of fainter stars, although the central part of the cluster seems strangely vacant. I also noticed a curved tail of stars on one side before the clouds got in the way.

M107, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
133x. Follow-up observation. Faint (for a globular) – washed-out appearance. Grainy in averted vision with a brighter, mottled core.

M14, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
133x. Large, reasonably bright globular. A few stars on the outskirts resolved with averted vision, but otherwise unimpressive.

M80, globular cluster, Scorpius
133x. As noted previously: small, bright, condensed and grainy – but not resolved.

The ISS made another dazzling pass at 3 AM, travelling almost directly overhead. With the sky starting to brighten, there was just time for a quick look at a couple of prominent open clusters.

IC 4756, open cluster, Serpens
133x. Large, loose cluster comprised of bright stars. Not really suited for the XT10.

NGC 6633, open cluster, Ophiuchus
133x. Bright, wedge-shaped cluster. Comprised of bright stars, loosely arranged. Shows up very well in finder and binoculars.

I also used the binoculars to look for M7 and Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN), but the sky was too bright to see either. Realistically I think my only chance of seeing the latter is by making a trip to the North Foreland lighthouse (from where I saw Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught), but the latest reports suggest it isn’t bright enough to justify the effort.

Nature note:
The usual pale frog in the pond (surrounded by the ever-growing tadpoles). The local herring gulls were restless tonight, frequently taking off and occasionally calling for no apparent reason. Perhaps their eggs are close to hatching…