Autumn Favourites

29 September 2021, 20:30 – 22:45 (BST)

Seeing: Poor

Transparency: Average

Conditions: A cool, somewhat chilly night; gusty to begin with, but the wind dropped off fairly quickly. Low patchy clouds passing overhead (like fluffy icebergs), joined later on by high hazy clouds (all coming from the west). The sky wasn’t great and the moon was due to rise at 23:00, but with the forecast not looking good for the coming nights I figured I had to make the best of what I had.

After warming up with a look at M15 (at 133x), I popped in the OIII filter and had a somewhat optimistic search for the nearby planetary nebula NGC 7094 (using an article in the November 2018 S&T as a guide). It’s not plotted in the PSA or SA 2000 – and perhaps with good reason; I couldn’t see any trace of it.

I thought about swapping the Nagler for the Ethos to give myself a better chance of finding it, but I didn’t want to waste too much time on a single (very faint) object, so I pushed the scope up to Cygnus to drop in on an old favourite.

Veil Nebula, SNR, Cygnus

133x + OIII filter. 133x is really too high a magnification for this object, but quite a lot of structure was visible in both arcs, including the brighter edges of the Western Veil, and the “talons” extending from the Eastern Veil.

Before leaving the Veil, I tried a quick experiment: removing the OIII filter and holding it over the eyepiece of the 9x50 finder. The two arcs were just about visible using this method, but they were extremely faint – nowhere near as good as the view through the TV60 (15x + filter).

A quick look at NGC 7331 (Pegasus) confirmed that the sky (the part of it that was clear at least) was much better than it had been on 7 September, so I went after some galaxies before it got too cloudy.

NGC 7457, galaxy, Pegasus

133x. I couldn’t remember if I’d seen this one before (turned out I had), but it was fairly easy, showing as a soft oval glow which was brighter towards the centre. Suggestion of a stellar nucleus with averted vision. Two faint 12th magnitude field stars to the south; three brighter ones to the east.

NGC 7662 “The Blue Snowball”,  planetary nebula, Andromeda

133x. (A quick look before tackling galaxy NGC 7640.) Small and very bright, with a distinctive blue-green tinge; it almost seemed like it was sparkling. Even at 133x I could still see a hint of the darker core.

NGC 7640, galaxy, Andromeda

133x. Very faint streak of light, aligned roughly north-south, and “encaged” in a triangle of 11th magnitude field stars which make seeing the galaxy harder than it should be. An easy one to overlook; I can appreciate now why I had trouble spotting it before. The brighter core seemed “clumpy” with averted vision, with two points of light popping in and out of view. Reading about this galaxy later in NSOG I learned that one of these points is a magnitude 13.5 foreground star.

The advancing haze brought the galaxy-hunting to an end, so I pushed the telescope south for a look at Jupiter and Saturn. Sometimes a bit of haze can improve planetary viewing, but not tonight. The seeing was consistently poor with only coarse details visible.

I had expected to pack up at this point, but the sky had cleared over Cassiopeia and Perseus, allowing time for a few bonus objects.

NGC 7789, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. Another old favourite. Rich, large cluster with stars arranged in spiralling “petals”. As noted on previous occasions, the wider field of the Ethos gives the best view of this cluster.

There's an interesting (and very close) double nearby in the shape of Sigma Cassiopeiae. Worth revisiting at higher magnification on a night with better seeing.

M76, “Little Dumbbell Nebula”, Perseus

133x. North of Phi Persei. Easy at 133x despite its reputation, with the bi-lobed structure immediately apparent. The seeing wasn’t good enough to pick out the knots in the brighter lobe. Orange 7th magnitude star in same field 12’ to ESE. With the OIII filter the nebula seemed a little more boxy, with the faint outer loops just about visible with averted vision. The northern one was a little easier to see, but appeared patchy and discontinuous. 

Gamma Andromedae (Almach), double star, Andromeda

171x. Another favourite to round off the session. Golden primary (west), indigo-blue secondary (west); one of the most beautiful double star systems in the night sky.

Also of note: two medium-fast meteors after 10pm, both of similar brightness and both travelling on similar east-to-west trajectories about 10 or 15 minutes apart. Sporadics, or perhaps a pair of Southern Taurids?

The Bubble and the Veil

10 September 2021, 21:30 – 22:15 (BST)

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Average

Conditions: Cooler than the last couple of sessions (though still mild for the time of year), with a gusty wind. Cloud joining up from the west and the northeast, eventually putting an end to the session at 22:15. But the 45 minutes I did get were pretty good.

Czernik 43, open cluster, Cassiopeia

133x. About time I took some notes on this cluster given the number of times I’ve had it in the field of view. Loose, sparse cluster – hard to distinguish from the rich background of Milky Way stars. The view is currently livened up by the presence of Nova Cas 2021 right next to it.

NGC 7635, Bubble Nebula, Cassiopeia

50x + OIII filter. Seemed more “obvious” with this magnification/filter combination, but hard to define any shape on this occasion. Seemed larger too (paradoxically); perhaps I was detecting traces of the surrounding nebulosity. The clouds forced me away before I could try other combinations.

Veil Nebula, SNR, Cygnus

50x + OIII filter. Looked spectacular tonight before the clouds got in the way. The three brightest components were showing up well.

M27, planetary nebula, Vulpecula

50x + OIII filter. Very bright with this eyepiece/filter combination, but hard to make out much detail. The “spinning coin” effect seemed quite pronounced at this magnification.

The clouds were pushing in from all sides by this point, but a gap had cleared over Cygnus, allowing a quick return trip to the Veil before the sky was completely covered.

Veil Nebula, SNR, Cygnus

50x + OIII filter. Quick notes to add to previous observations. The spike of the Witch’s Broom had brighter edges with averted vision. Fleming’s Triangular Wisp is very long – starts farther north than I had previously realised. Couldn’t see any of the other, fainter sections, but I didn’t really have enough time to properly look for them.

Cassiopeia through the Haze

2 September 2021, 21:40 – 23:10 (BST)

Seeing: Average / poor

Transparency: Poor – very poor

Conditions: Patchy cloud with an overlying haze; moderate breeze. The nights are drawing in quickly now. This was the first “clear-ish” evening in several weeks, but the hazy transparency that seems to bedevil autumn skies was particularly bad tonight, ruling out any plans I had of going after faint galaxies.

So instead I took a leisurely stroll along the Milky Way at 92x (Ethos 13mm), starting at M57, and visiting M71, M27, the Veil Nebula (with the OIII filter), before arriving at the rich area of sky near M52 in Cassiopeia.

The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) was visible in the same field as M52 at 92x (with the OIII filter). It was also visible without the filter with averted vision, although the poor transparency made it even more subtle than usual. While sweeping with the OIII filter I also stumbled across NGC 7538 (the Northern Lagoon). Nearby clusters NGC 7510 and Markarian 50 also showed well, sharing the same field of view at 92x (unfiltered).

Collinder 463, open cluster, Cassiopeia

92x. One I’ve been meaning to revisit for a while, but the poor conditions may have compromised it somewhat. Appeared as a misty patch in the finder. In the main scope it showed as a large, sprawling cluster – even in the Ethos it seemed very loose. Comprised of mostly blue-white stars, interspersed with a few red-orange stars. One for smaller wide-field scopes.

With the transparency visibly deteriorating, I gave up on deep-sky targets and rounded off the session with a look at Saturn at 240x, glimpsed through a gap in the neighbour’s jungle. The seeing wasn’t great tonight either, but the planet’s post-opposition shadow was visible on the rings, and the moon Iapetus was showing well (for once).

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.

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.