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).

Goodbye Nova Herculis 2021

13-14 June 2021, 23:40 – 00:50 (BST)

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Poor

Conditions: A mild night with a light breeze. Very slight layer of condensation on the telescope tube after an hour.

All of tonight’s observations were carried out at 92x with the 13mm Ethos.

Nova Herculis 2021 (aka V1674 Her)

I was eager to see if the nova had got any brighter in the last 24 hours, but instead I found it had faded considerably by a good two magnitudes. (It was at a similar brightness to the nearby 8.5m field star HD 175919.) I didn’t notice any colour to the nova last night, but tonight it had a slight orange hue. I’ll be interested to read the explanation for this rapidly evolving nova’s behaviour once the analysis is completed, but in the meantime see:

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/bright-nova-hercules/

Obviously, I’m glad I made the effort to see this nova last night rather than leave it for a day. It’s quite something to see a star change its appearance so dramatically in such a short span of time.

As well as V1674 Her, I also revisited a few other targets from last night. As expected, 61 Cygni looked lovely in the Ethos: a pair of pale orange headlights suspended in a sea of stars.

Open clusters NGC 6755 and NGC 6756 just about fit in the same fov at 92x, but I need a darker sky to really do them justice at this magnification.

But NGC 6709 did look better tonight. The Ethos gave the cluster more room to “breathe” and the v-shape formed by the brightest stars was more prominent.

NGC 6738, open cluster, Aquila

Plotted in SA 2000. Large, sparse cluster with a meandering line of stars running through the centre. Not impressive; I can see why it was left out of the PSA. Some sources don’t even recognise it as a real cluster.

NGC 6940, open cluster, Vulpecula

A long overdue return visit to this underrated cluster (its status isn’t helped by its proximity to the Veil Nebula.) Large, rich cluster of uniformly bright stars – fits nicely in the Ethos fov. A prominent red star (VG (or FG?) Vulpeculae) near the centre and a bright, close double on the western side of the cluster.

NGC 6826, “Blinking Planetary”, Cygnus

In same field as 16 Cygni in the Ethos; it’s hard to stop your eye constantly flicking from one to the other. Pale blue-green disc with a bright central star.

I rounded off the session with a look at the famous black hole Cygnus X-1, or to be more precise, its visible-light companion HDE 226868. It’s not that hard to find if you’ve got a decent map (I used chart 119 from my old copy of Uranometria). It’s the southernmost of a pair of 9th magnitude stars in a rich star-field near Eta Cygni. Like Nova Herculis 2021, this is a view to savour while you contemplate its astrophysical significance. I may not be able to see the black hole, but more I stared at that little patch of sky, the more I felt like it was staring into me.

Also, I wasn’t aware of this at the time, but Cygnus X-1 is right next to the much-photographed Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101).

Hunting Barnard’s Star

10-11 June 2021, 23:50 – 01:40 (BST)

Seeing: Good

Transparency: Average (but only during the “dark” window from 00:30 to 01:30)

Conditions: Similar to the previous night, but with two significant differences: the condensation was back, and so were the mosquitoes...

A succession of late nights (not helped by some ambiguous clear-sky forecasts) were starting to catch up with me, so I spent much of the session just ambling along the Milky Way with the 13mm Ethos (at 92x). Without wishing to sound like a spokesman for Tele Vue, all my TV eyepieces are exceptional, but the Ethos is something else – and not just because of the extra-wide field. There’s a crispness to its image which – coupled with the immersive fov and the slightly longer eye relief (compared to the Naglers) – makes for a really special viewing experience.

The only downside is that I was so wrapped up in the view, I was a bit lax about taking notes (how do you even begin to describe a 100-degree afov of the Milky Way through Cygnus and Vulpecula?), but I did record the following observations:

NGC 6910, open cluster, Cygnus

Pretty y-shaped cluster with two bright stars at either end of the “y” (one of which has an orange hue). Fainter stars showing with averted vision.

M80, globular cluster, Scorpius

As per previous observations, but now I was catching glimpses of another, fainter star roughly due west of the cluster (at 90 degrees to the bright 8.5m field star).

Barnard’s Star, Ophiuchus

Found it at last – after some previous half-hearted attempts. At a distance of six light-years, this is the Sun’s fourth-closest neighbour (after the Alpha Centauri system) and the closest one visible from the northern hemisphere. You need a good finder chart to track it down and fortunately chart A1 in SA 2000 is up to the job. Visually of course there isn’t much to see other than a magnitude 9.5 star in a fairly rich field, but it’s certainly thought-provoking and worthy of contemplation. I expected its redness would make it stand out, but what little colour I could see was subtle: a very slight orange tinge.

I followed that with some enjoyable views of M11, M71 and M27 before relocating to Cepheus. I failed to spot galaxy NGC 6951, but reflection nebula NGC 7023 and the cluster/galaxy pairing of NGC 6939 and NGC 6946 were just about visible through the midsummer murk.

I tried to compensate for the deteriorating transparency by adding the OIII filter, squeezing in views of NGC 7000, NGC 6888 and the Veil Nebula before the end of the session.

Galaxies in Serpens Caput (and a Nova in Cassiopeia)

13-14 May 2021, 23:30 – 00:30 (BST)

Seeing: Average / Good

Transparency: Average

An unexpectedly clear night (for an hour at least), defying every forecast I’d looked at. Cool air, no wind (at ground level), light condensation on the telescope tube after a few minutes, but fortunately the lenses and mirrors stayed clear. Clouds low in the south, moving slowly north.

Anticipating that my observing time would be limited I stuck with just one eyepiece for the session: the 13mm Ethos at 92x.

M5, globular cluster, Serpens Caput

A beautiful sight with 5 Serpentis in the same field. Once again, V84 was at least as bright if not brighter than V42. Otherwise the cluster appeared much as it did on Tuesday night.

5 Serpentis was comfortably split at 92x. The companion star seemed a little brighter tonight; perhaps the transparency was better.

NGC 5921, galaxy, Serpens Caput

Small, faint fuzzy oval next to a y-shaped (or h-shaped, depending on your field orientation) pattern of field stars. Brighter towards the centre with averted vision.

NGC 5970, galaxy, Serpens Caput

Ghostly oval glow just south of a bright field star. Gradually brighter towards the centre with averted vision. Nice yellow-blue double star to the east (identified in NSOG as Otto Struve 300).

NGC 5962, galaxy, Serpens Caput

Round hazy glow with a bright core. Star-like nucleus with averted vision – seemed slightly offset to the east.

M13, globular cluster, Hercules

The 13mm Ethos doesn’t necessarily give the “best” view of globular clusters (in terms of resolving fine detail and pulling out the fainter stars), but it often gives the most beautiful, the Great Globular in Hercules being a prime example. When you see it in such a wide field that the field stop effectively disappears from view, it’s like being out there in space with it. And there’s always something new to see if you look carefully enough. For example, tonight I noticed two lines of stars running through M13 (parallel to the two 7th magnitude stars flanking the cluster). One running straight through the centre, and the other slightly offset to the southeast, adjacent to one of the arms of the propeller feature (adding to the contrast effect). 

By now the patchy clouds advancing from the south had covered nearly half the sky, pushing me farther north.

NGC 6015, galaxy, Draco

One of the galaxies I missed the other night. Appeared as an extended lenticular haze east of a field star. Brighter towards the centre with averted vision.

With the clouds pushing me still farther north, there was just time for a quick look at Nova Cassiopeiae 2021 (aka V1405 Cas), which has brightened dramatically in recent days. (See: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/nova-in-cassiopeia-brightens-suddenly/ )

I didn’t have a finder chart to hand so I had to identify it by comparing the field stars on my atlas to the ones visible in the finderscope. Fortunately it stood out really well at around magnitude 5.5. The Ethos showed it in the same field as rich open cluster M52. A very nice appetiser as I wait for my elusive first supernova.

At this point it seemed like the patchy clouds might leave some clear sky behind them, but then the wind abruptly reversed direction and an even thicker bank of cloud rolled across from the north, putting an end to the session.

Galaxies in Leo Minor and Coma Berenices

​16 April 2021, 22:00 – 00:30 (BST)

Seeing: Good

Transparency: Average

Conditions: Chilly, but not quite as bitter as recent nights. Breezy again, but frequency of gusts declined over the course of the session. A few small patchy clouds passing over.

With a new lunar cycle already underway this is likely to be the last deep-sky session for a while. The eyepiece of choice was the 13mm Ethos at 92x.

NGC 3344, galaxy, Leo Minor

Revisiting an object I first saw in subpar conditions in March 2020. Large amorphous round haze; condensed core with averted vision. Two bright field stars superposed on the face of the galaxy in a line east of the core. This is probably the best of the galaxies in Leo Minor.

NGC 3414, galaxy, Leo Minor

Mottled round haze in a busy star-field (the galaxy is surrounded by several moderately bright stars). Bright core, but not star-like.

NGC 3486, galaxy, Leo Minor

Large round haze, gradually brighter towards the centre. The inner region seemed slightly clumpy with averted vision.

NGC 3504, galaxy, Leo Minor

Small oval galaxy, aligned NW-SE; seemed quite bright. Star-like nucleus with averted vision.

NGC 3245, galaxy, Leo Minor

Extended ellipse, aligned roughly N-S. Bright core with averted vision.

NGC 3277, galaxy, Leo Minor

Small, very faint haze east of NGC 3245 (there’s a bright double star about halfway between the two galaxies). Tough to spot; I saw the core (which shows a star-like nucleus with averted vision) before I saw the rest of the galaxy. 

NGC 4203, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Revisiting one from last year. Small round haze south of a bright 8th magnitude field star. Almost on the border with Canes Venatici. Bright core, stellar nucleus with averted vision.

NGC 3995, galaxy, Ursa Major

(Plotted in SA2000, not the PSA.) Very faint round haze, not helped by a bright 6th magnitude field star to the east hindering its visibility. Brighter towards the centre with averted vision.

At 23:10 I was distracted by some birds calling overhead and looked up to see a v-formation of what I assume were ducks or geese flying in an ENE direction, showing up quite pale against the night sky. The calls sounded higher in pitch than the honking I associate with species like greylags; white-fronted geese perhaps?

NGC 4062, galaxy, Ursa Major

Faint elliptical haze, aligned east-west, near the border with Coma Berenices. Not much in the way of detail other than a slight, very gradual brightening towards the centre.

NGC 4150, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Small oval haze; stellar core with averted vision. Faint field star SW, and a brighter one farther west. Another galaxy (NGC 4136) is plotted to the SW, but I couldn’t see it on this occasion.

NGC 4245, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Another round haze with a condensed core. Distinctive curved line of four 11th magnitude stars to the west.

NGC 4274, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Extended elliptical haze, east of NGC 4245. Aligned east-west. Brighter towards centre with averted vision.

NGC 4274 area in Coma Berenices (Stellarium)

NGC 4278 and NGC 4283, galaxies, Coma Berenices

Small pair of hazy elliptical galaxies separated by 3 or 4 arcminutes; south of NGC 4274 and in the same field (though only NGC 4278 is plotted in the PSA.) Both show star-like cores with averted vision, but the western member of the pair (NGC 4278) is clearly bigger, brighter and more intense than the other.

NGC 4314, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Faint streak of light NE of NGC 4274 (this is a busy part of the sky for galaxies!). Bright core with averted vision and a faint, approximately 13th magnitude star on the NW tip. (I had my hopes up for a supernova, but it is a foreground object.)

NGC 4251, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Bright little lens-shaped galaxy, aligned east-west. Star-like core with averted vision. 13th magnitude field star to east.

NGC 4448, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Oval haze half a degree NE of bright 4th magnitude Gamma Comae Berenices (occupies the same field in the 13mm Ethos). Brighter towards centre with averted vision.

At 00:10, while taking a break from the eyepiece, I saw a slow meteor pass between the bright stars of Lyra and Draco, heading towards the northern horizon.

With fatigue starting to set in I opted for one more galaxy in an under-explored (for me) part of the sky to round off the session.

NGC 6217, galaxy, Ursa Minor

Amorphous round haze, near a loose band of bright stars. Brightens smoothly towards the centre; has the “feel” of a spiral galaxy even if I can’t see the spiral.

Nature note:

As well as the flock of birds noted earlier, I heard a fox barking very loudly on the street and another flurry of late-night singing from the resident dunnock.

Spring Galaxies (Ursa Major to Corvus)

5 April 2021, 21:30 – 00:30 (BST)

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Average / good

A very cold night for April (there was even a light shower of sleet and snow during the day), with a strong gusty wind blowing from the north. No surprise then that I was wearing full winter gear, but at least the grass was dry and relatively mud-free. As I wanted to minimise the time spent taking my gloves on and off, I stuck with just one eyepiece for the entire session: the 13mm Ethos (a proven galaxy catcher) at 92x.

While my eyes were still dark-adapting, I warmed up with a couple of double stars in Ursa Major:

Nu Ursae Majoris (Alula Borealis)

Pale yellow-orange primary with a faint (possibly blue) secondary quite close to the south (10th magnitude at 7 arcseconds). A third (presumably unrelated) star nearby. An attractive sight to begin the session.

Xi Ursae Majoris (Alula Australis)

White “elongated” star, like a filled-in “8”. Not quite resolved at 92x, but enough to tell it’s a double.

At this point, while glancing away from the scope, I spotted two meteors. The first one (at approx. 21:45) passed through Sextans, heading southwest. About five minutes later another one flashed high overhead through Auriga, heading west. The second one was very bright, although not bright enough to leave a trail or be classed as a fireball. 

On a less interesting note, the sky was crawling with satellites tonight, though I suppose we’re entering that time of year when they’re visible for longer.

M81, galaxy, Ursa Major

For once I didn’t allow myself to get distracted by M82 and, after a while, there was a suggestion of a hazy extended halo, doubling the size of the galaxy. The spiral arms themselves remained elusive, but the haze on the eastern side seemed slightly more prominent, separated from the core by a darker area. The effect was so subtle I can’t really count it as a positive identification of spiral structure, but it does illustrate that most of the time when you’re looking at M81 through a small-to-medium scope, you’re really only seeing the galaxy’s innermost regions.

NGC 3079, galaxy, Ursa Major

Rather faint streak of light aligned roughly north-south. Somewhat brighter towards the centre with averted vision. Similar size to M82. Also: colourful orange / yellow-white double star in same field to east.

NGC 3432, galaxy, Leo Minor

Long, very faint streak of light aligned roughly NE-SW between two field stars. At least three faint field stars superposed over the galaxy.

NGC 3294, galaxy, Leo Minor

Large oval blur, roughly aligned east-west. A little brighter towards the centre with averted vision.

NGC 3310, galaxy, Ursa Major

Small, bright round galaxy south of a bright star. Bright core with averted vision.

NGC 3631, galaxy, Ursa Major

Large, round and diffuse; bright core with averted vision. Suggestion of asymmetry in the halo – I’m guessing this is a spiral galaxy. Also: a bright double star to the southwest.

NGC 3938, galaxy, Ursa Major

Another large round blur, gradually brighter towards the centre. Again, like 3631, a very vague suggestion of spiral structure – seemed brighter on the eastern side. This galaxy is a long way from any useful field-stars, making it tough to find via star-hopping.

NGC 4051, galaxy, Ursa Major

Amorphous round fuzz east of a field star. Star-like nucleus with averted vision.

NGC 4013, galaxy, Ursa Major

Small, lens-shaped streak of light aligned NE-SW. At first glance it appears to have an intense star-like nucleus glinting like a diamond, but I strongly suspect this is a foreground star. (Subsequently confirmed when I looked up the spectacular Hubble image of this galaxy.)

NGC 4111, galaxy, Canes Venatici

An oval smudge of light just over the border from Ursa Major. Bright core with averted vision; another double star to the north.

Next, a detour to Coma Berenices for one new galaxy and one old favourite:

NGC 4494, galaxy, Coma Berenices

Round fuzz ball near the Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111). Bright core, stellar nucleus; looks a lot like a stray elliptical from the Virgo Cluster. Surprised I haven’t seen this one before, but there is a very distracting galaxy nearby…

NGC 4565, Needle Galaxy, Coma Berenices

Beautiful edge-on galaxy, a spring favourite. Dark dust lane visible with averted vision, becoming harder to see the farther it extends either side of the core. Field star NE of the core.

This was followed with a few more favourites in the shape of M101 and M51 and a quick trek along Markarian’s Chain in Virgo. I’ve had better views of these galaxies before so didn’t take any notes on this occasion. At this point the constellation of Corvus was emerging from behind the neighbour’s tree, so I made my annual attempt to track down the Antennae galaxies…

NGC 4038 and 4039 (Caldwell 60 & 61), interacting galaxies, Corvus

With the exception of M83, spotting galaxies south of about -15 degrees declination is a real challenge from my location. But after carefully sweeping north-northeast of 5th magnitude 31 Corvi I spotted an extremely faint glow within an upside-down y-shaped asterism of stars. With time and averted vision the glow took on a vague shrimp-like appearance, with the northern component looking slightly brighter. I made a rough sketch of the field just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. Of course, the famous tidal tails would be beyond the reach of my telescope even if the galaxies were overhead, but I was pleased to confirm that the view tallied pretty well with Phil Harrington’s sketch on his challenge page , albeit much, much fainter.

I rounded off the session with quick looks at the globular clusters M5, M3 and M13. Compared to the other two with their tightly condensed cores, M13 looked like a bonbon coated with sugar crystals. (It was late; I was ready for chocolate.)

Open Clusters in Canis Major and Puppis

6 March 2021, 19:30 – 21:30

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Poor / average

A bitingly cold, breezy evening with plenty of large low clouds scudding from northeast to southwest. Some fireworks were going off in the local park while I was setting up; I assume they were for someone’s birthday or anniversary, as I can’t think of anything else (on a national level) worth celebrating at the moment.

As I was uncertain how much observing time the clouds were going to allow me, I stuck to one eyepiece (the 13mm Ethos at 92x) for the entire session. The conditions weren’t great and my eyes weren’t properly “tuned in” for viewing faint objects (like any skill, averted vision can get rusty if you haven’t used it for a while), but it was a relief to do some actual deep sky observing again after what seemed like an eternity. On another plus note, I tightened up the azimuth bolt and the milk washer trick has worked – the scope turned like a dream, with no stiction. I’m not sure how long it will stay like that, but it’s a cheap and relatively easy fix.

After warming up with a look at the Orion Nebula (because it would feel like a crime not to, when you’ve got an Ethos in your scope), it was over to the other side of the sky to mop up some galaxies in Camelopardalis and Ursa Major.

NGC 2655, galaxy, Camelopardalis

Large round blur with a bright core surrounding a stellar nucleus. The PSA plots another galaxy (NGC 2715) nearby, but I wasn’t able to see it on this occasion.

More clouds obscured the view while I was looking for NGC 2366, so I was forced to relocate back to the far southern reaches of the sky, and an old favourite:

NGC 2362, Tau Canis Majoris cluster (Caldwell 64), Canis Major

Stunning as always; there’s no other cluster quite like it. Not much I can add to previous descriptions, but tonight the seeing steadied enough to show two faint companions east of Tau.

h3945, double star, Canis Major

Beautiful golden primary and duck-egg blue secondary. Another highlight I couldn't resist coming back to.

NGC 2367, open cluster, Canis Major

Small, triangular cluster with about a dozen stars visible.

NGC 2384, open cluster, Canis Major

Small, sparse cluster with meandering trail of stars to the northeast.

NGC 2421, open cluster, Puppis

Rich spray of faint stars. Averted vision suggests underlying haze on the brink of resolving into even more stars.

Another cloud pushed me south again, and while in the area I noticed an interesting asterism south of 3 Puppis which looked like a loose open cluster, but wasn’t marked as such in the atlas. Also, to the north, a beautiful bright double star (k Puppis) comprised of twin white stars. (If h3945 is the winter Albireo, this looked like the winter Gamma Arietis).

M93, open cluster, Puppis

Lovely, rich cluster which looked a bit like a butterfly tonight (brighter stars in the western wing). Two prominent red giant stars on the southern edge of the cluster.

NGC 2482, open cluster, Puppis

Sprinkling of medium-bright to faint stars; larger and looser than M93. Appeared to be an isolated knot of stars of the eastern side of the cluster. My initial impression was favourable, but this cluster seemed to get less impressive the longer I looked at it. (With hindsight, it’s possible there could have been a very thin layer of cloud passing slowly across it.)

NGC 2489, open cluster, Puppis

Small haze sprinkled with faint stars. Just north of three distinctive field stars. I didn’t spot it straightaway, but it is somewhat low in the sky.

With another cloud starting to creep across, I pushed north again and (thanks to the silky-smooth azimuth motion) I swung the scope back and forth between M46 and M47, comparing the two clusters. Photographs tend to bloat out the stars and perhaps make them seem more alike than they really are, but visually the difference between the very bright stars of M47 and the fainter but more homogenous stars of M46 was striking. Planetary nebula NGC 2438 on the northern edge of M46 was not quite as prominent tonight as previous viewings, but still obvious.

More clouds pushed me out of this part of the sky, so I resumed the galaxy hunt.

NGC 3198, galaxy, Ursa Major

Faint streak of light, brighter towards the centre with averted vision. Field star off the northwest edge.

Yet another cloud pushed me south to look for NGC 3432 in Leo Minor, but I couldn’t see anything on this occasion. At this point I realised I was fighting a losing battle (with the cold as well as the clouds), so I finished up with quick visits to NGC 2903, the Leo Triplet, and M81/M82 (including NGC 3077 and NGC 2976). None of them were looking anywhere near their best, so I called it a night.

Nature note:

The garden was quiet tonight; the frogs appear to have concluded their “business”, leaving one third of the pond full of frogspawn.

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.

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.

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).

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.)

Galaxies near the Zenith

26 April 2020, 22:00 – 00:30

Conditions: Chilly, very light breeze. Patches of high cirrus and vapour trails lingering across parts of the sky (fortunately not the part I was looking at). Very heavy condensation by the end of the session.

Seeing: Good / average
Transparency: Very good (condensation aside)

Having imaged M101 and its companion galaxies the previous night (see below), I was keen to see how much of this view I could replicate visually in the XT10, especially with M101 nearly overhead after nightfall. I used Sky Atlas 2000 to get my bearings and left the PSA indoors for once (and with hindsight it was just as well I did, because the pages would have been a soggy mess by the end of the session).

The eyepiece of choice for such a large, low surface brightness galaxy was of course the Ethos 13mm (92x).

M101, Pinwheel Galaxy, Ursa Major
This was, without doubt, the best view I’ve ever had of this often frustrating galaxy. With averted vision the spiral pattern was vaguely discernible for the first time, even if it did look a bit like an untidy old spring (and it still didn’t come close to the best views of M51). The eastern spiral arm was particularly loose, though it’s easy to confuse this with the nearby curving line of field stars, which gave the galaxy the appearance of a ragged number 6.

I didn’t have to nudge the scope too far to find the first companion galaxy:

NGC 5474, galaxy, Ursa Major
Visible to the south-southeast of M101 as an amorphous round glow. Gradually brighter towards the core with averted vision, but the core itself appears offset from the centre in the direction of M101.

NGC 5473, galaxy, Ursa Major
Very small, round, condensed galaxy near a bright star, north and a little east of M101. Easy to overlook because of its diminutive size. Bright core.

NGC 5485, galaxy, Ursa Major
Same distance again, roughly east of NGC 5473, but larger and fainter. Brighter towards centre with averted vision. Apparently a background galaxy rather than a physical companion of M101.

NGC 5422, galaxy, Ursa Major
North-northwest of M101, opposite side to NGC 5474. Small needle-streak of light pointing back towards M101. Forms a near-rectangular trapezoid with three field stars of equal brightness. Bright core with averted vision. Most likely another background galaxy.

I’d spent over an hour studying this small patch of sky (and I was impressed by what I’d seen) so I took a break from the eyepiece to check the transparency. Looking directly towards the zenith, the faintest star I could see was 82 Ursae Majoris, which has a listed magnitude of 5.46. This is about as good as it gets for my observing location. Unfortunately the condensation was on its way to becoming about as bad as it gets for my location: the steel tube of the telescope already had a light coating of moisture, and beads of dew were forming on the Sky Atlas.

As I was pushing the scope towards the next target, I saw a bright meteor at 23:25: a late Lyrid burning a trail towards Polaris.

NGC 4236 (Caldwell 3), galaxy, Draco
Emboldened by my success with M101, I thought I’d have another attempt at NGC 4236. Tonight it was visible as a very large (even for the Ethos fov) and long streak of light, of extremely low surface brightness. It was only through tube-tapping that I was able to spot it; had I not known it was there I wouldn’t have seen it at all. After staring at it (and around it) for several minutes I could start to detect a very vague brightening towards the centre, but nothing more than that. Visually, the only thing interesting about this galaxy is its size, and - unless it it plays host to a supernova - I doubt I'll revisit it.

NGC 4128, galaxy, Draco
Small, faint streak of light near a gathering (not a cluster) of bright stars. Bright core with averted vision. Not far from NGC 4236.

NGC 5982 & 5985, galaxies, Draco
As per previous observation: short bright streak (5982) and a round faint glow (5985). No sign of 5981.

NGC 5963 & 5965, galaxies, Draco
Faint round galaxy (NGC 5963) with a field star just southeast of the core. The other galaxy (NGC 5965, in the same fov) is fainter, larger and more elongated. Apparently their proximity is just a chance alignment: NGC 5963 is 40 million light years away; NGC 5965 is 150 million light years away.

NGC 5907, “Splinter Galaxy”, Draco
Large, razor-thin, edge-on galaxy. Not bright (compared to say, 4565) but still an exquisite sight. Brighter towards the centre with averted vision. The eastern side of the galaxy seemed to have a sharper cut-off when I looked at it, even though photos show the dust lane to be on the western side (perhaps in this case it has a feathering effect).

NGC 5879, galaxy, Draco
Faint oval glow south of bright star. Bright core with averted vision.

NGC 5866 (M102), galaxy, Draco
As per previous observation of this object: small and relatively bright spindle galaxy.

With the eye-lens of the Ethos rapidly succumbing to the condensation, I swapped it out for the DeLite, but quick looks at M92 and M13 in Hercules confirmed I was fighting a losing battle, so I called it a night. The scope was dripping wet, the Sky Atlas was heavily beaded with dew and my notebook was almost too damp to write in. With hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t try any imaging tonight. That would not have ended well.

With a new lunar cycle already underway and bad weather forecast for most of the following week, that might be the end of my galaxy season for this year. If so, it’s been better than I could have hoped for, with lots of new observations added to the log, including several (NGC 4889, M83 etc.) I didn’t think were possible from my location. And I’ve probably still only seen a fraction of the spring galaxies that are available to my scope.

Nature note:
Two bats flying over the garden at dusk!

Exploring the Virgo Cluster (Part 2)

22 March 2020, 21:00 – 23:45

Conditions: A very windy night with strong, frequent gusts. Quite cold too by the end of the session.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Average

A challenging night’s observing to say the least, with star-charts threatening to take off in the wind and stray light encroaching from just about every direction (seriously, why don't people draw their damn blinds/curtains anymore?). All observations carried out at 92x magnification with the Ethos 13mm (it was too gusty to attempt anything higher and I really needed that huge field of view so I didn’t get completely lost). Finding a galaxy in the Virgo cluster is easy; the trick is knowing which galaxy you’re looking at.

Comet C/2019 Y4 (Atlas)
Found it at last, lurking very close to the red-hued star Rho Ursae Majoris. On first impression it looked much like one of the galaxies in the vicinity, albeit a little fainter than I was expecting. A stellar nucleus was visible with averted vision, at the centre of a large, extended coma. I couldn’t see any sign of a tail, but the light from Rho UMa made it hard to pick out any kind of structure.

With that out of the way I resumed my expedition into the heart of the Virgo Cluster, this time picking up from near Vindemiatrix (Epsilon Virginis).

NGC 4762, galaxy, Virgo
Small, edge-on galaxy positioned between two field stars. Bright, needle-like core.

NGC 4689, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Large, faint round galaxy, a little brighter towards the centre.

NGC 4654, galaxy, Virgo
Large, amorphous galaxy, a little brighter than 4689. Three bright field stars on western side.

NGC 4639, galaxy, Virgo
Faint, extended galaxy in same field of view as 4654. Stellar nucleus with averted vision and faint star just east of the core.

M90, galaxy, Virgo
Following on from previous observation (it seemed a little fainter tonight). Large, extended galaxy with very bright stellar nucleus. I couldn’t see the “shell” structure noted previously, but there did seem to be a sharper, darker cut-off along the eastern side.

NGC 4571, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Back across the Virgo/Coma border. Very faint galaxy immediately SW of bright star. Barely visible with averted vision.

M91, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Fairly large round galaxy with bright, but not stellar core. Seemed like there was a dark area east of the core, but the wind made it hard to be certain.

M88, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Bright elliptical galaxy with field star NW and two more SE. Slightly extended core. Seemed to be a faint spot east of the nucleus; in some moments it appeared star-like, in others it was fuzzy.

NGC 4474, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Small round galaxy southwest of M88. Brighter towards the centre.

NGC 4459, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Compact little galaxy just west of bright field star. Very bright core, but not stellar.

NGC 4477, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Bright, round galaxy. Stellar core; otherwise featureless. The northern end of Markarian’s Chain, depending on where you take the starting point (some extend it to M88).

NGC 4473, galaxy, Coma Berenices
Elliptical galaxy – smaller than 4477, but with a brighter core.

NGC 4458 & NGC 4461, galaxy pair, Virgo
Close pair of galaxies in Markarian’s Chain. Both small, but 4461 clearly brighter and more elongated than 4458.

NGC 4435 & NGC 4438, interacting galaxies, Virgo
“The Eyes”. Bright, well-matched pair. 4435 has a very bright core, but 4438 is larger, more extended – and also distorted. The core brightness is probably similar to 4435, but less concentrated.

M86, galaxy, Virgo
Large round galaxy. Brightness increases smoothly towards the core; at the centre of which resides a stellar nucleus, but otherwise this galaxy appeared featureless. NGC 4402 suspected with averted vision to the north, but not confirmed.

M84, galaxy, Virgo
Another bright elliptical. Not as large as M86, but has a very bright core.

NGC 4388, galaxy, Virgo
Inclined, narrow galaxy forming an equilateral triangle with M84 and M86 (but not as prominent as those two giants). Brighter towards centre.

NGC 4387, galaxy, Virgo
Faint little galaxy at the centre of the M84/M86/NGC 4388 triangle. (All four galaxies in the same fov at 92x.) Stellar nucleus with averted vision.

NGC 4440, galaxy, Virgo
Bright, round galaxy. Brighter towards core.

M87, galaxy, Virgo
Not surprisingly, the biggest, brightest galaxy observed tonight. Large bright core, but no stellar nucleus that I could see. Large halo extending almost halfway towards NGC 4478. Of course, astronomers have known for a long time about the super-massive black hole at the centre of M87, but now that we've seen it, observing this galaxy takes on a special significance. Truth be told, there's not much to see in the way of detail (you need a very large telescope to glimpse the jet), but that didn't stop me from staring at it for a long time.

NGC 4478, galaxy, Virgo
Companion to M87. Like a smaller, ghostly light echo of its monstrous big brother.

And then, to round off the session, a quick excursion to the southern region of chart B1.

NGC 4665, galaxy, Virgo
Bright little elliptical galaxy. Bright centre; field star to south.

NGC 4636, galaxy, Virgo
Bright compact galaxy with mottled outer envelope hinting at structure (though, looking at online images later, I may have been deceived by an unusual smattering of faint foreground stars). Home of a recent 12th magnitude supernova – though I arrived about a month too late to see it.

There are still plenty more galaxies to see in the Virgo Cluster (and many of the ones I’ve already logged are worth revisiting at a higher magnification), but this feels like a good place to stop for now.

Exploring the Virgo Cluster (Part 1)

18 March 2020, 21:30 – 23:45

Conditions: After a warm sunny day, an evening that started mild and got progressively chillier. Low breeze with occasional gusts of wind. A slight haze in some parts of the sky, and overall the transparency wasn’t quite as good as Monday. But all the neighbours’ lights were off for once, which certainly made a difference in the part of the sky I was targeting. Thin layer of condensation on the scope and on the atlas by the end of the session.

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Average

Gamma Leonis, double star, Leo
Superb sight at 171x. Pale yellow pair of stars.

NGC 188 (Caldwell 1), open cluster, Cepheus
Loose, misty spray of stars – well framed at 92x. Better resolution at 171x, but at this magnification it looks less like a cluster and more like a moderately rich star-field.

NGC 4889 (Caldwell 35), galaxy, Coma Berenices
Follow-up from Monday at 92x and 171x. The two main galaxies of the cluster (4889 and 4874) seemed fainter than they did on Monday, but were still visible at both magnifications. I couldn’t see NGC 4889’s “companion” on this occasion, but curiously there did seem to be a star-like point on the opposite side of the galaxy. Not sure if this was a foreground star or the interacting pair NGC 4898AB.

M64, “Black Eye Galaxy”, Coma Berenices
At 171x this galaxy was bright and large, with a mottled outer envelope and a star-like nucleus. The famous “black eye” was clearly visible with averted vision, appearing as a kidney-bean shaped patch of darkness on the northern side of the core. This feature wasn’t quite so obvious at 92x; nor indeed was the star-like nature of the nucleus.

M53, globular cluster, Coma Berenices
Helpfully visible in the finder, and appearing as a condensed fuzzball at 171x. Resolved fairly well with averted vision, but not a patch on M3. Brightest member of the cluster (assuming it is a member) on the north side of the core (as noted last year). After staring at it for a while the cluster seemed to take on a vague starfish shape. Still no sign of NGC 5053 – even when I dropped down to 92x.

I gave up on NGC 5053 and switched my attention to the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, approaching it from the south rather than the north for a change. I also switched charts to my trusty old Sky Atlas 2000.0. The Virgo Cluster Chart in the Pocket Sky Atlas is extremely useful for small telescopes, but - as I discovered last year - it's a little hard to navigate with a 10-inch scope. Chart B1 in Sky Atlas 2000 shows a greater number of galaxies (but not so many that the chart becomes saturated with information), and the scale is large enough to depict them at their correct size and orientation (making them much easier to identify in the eyepiece). The chart also extends further south than the one in the PSA.

All subsequent observations at 92x (13mm Ethos).

You don’t need a red-dot finder, a 9x50 finder and a 100-degree
eyepiece to tackle the Virgo Cluster … but they really do help.

M61, galaxy, Virgo
Large, round mottled haze. Over time, and with averted vision, a star-like nucleus became apparent, along with a central bar (aligned north-south) and a possible reverse-s spiral. This detail was elusive and I wondered if I was overreaching with my notes, so I was pleasantly surprised the next day when I looked this galaxy up and found that my description matched its appearance. (The last time I looked at it was 15 years ago with a 4-inch refractor.) Maybe I should trust my own eyesight a little more.

NGC 4526, galaxy, Virgo
Another one I haven’t seen for 15 years. A small, bright lens-shaped galaxy with a bright core and a faint star to the south. This one’s easy to find (and identify) because it’s positioned midway between two 7th magnitude stars.

NGC 4535, galaxy, Virgo
Oval-shaped misty patch; not very condensed. Star near northern edge.

M49, galaxy, Virgo
Round, bright galaxy; quite bright towards the centre. Star east of core.

NGC 4608, galaxy, Virgo
Small, round galaxy near Rho Virginis. Bright core; faint star due west.

NGC 4596, galaxy, Virgo
Oval galaxy near 3 field stars. Bright core; brighter than 4608.

M60, galaxy, Virgo
Bright, round galaxy; very bright core. Large hazy galaxy (NGC 4647) immediately north-west of M60. M60 occupies an impressive field in the Ethos – there’s a lot going on.

NGC 4638, galaxy, Virgo
Small, lens-shaped galaxy roughly west of M60. Bright, bar-like core.

M59, galaxy, Virgo
Bright, round galaxy in same field as M60 (but not as bright). Stellar nucleus, star to north.

NGC 4660, galaxy, Virgo
Small, condensed galaxy with bright stellar core.

NGC 4567/4568, “The Siamese Twins”, interacting galaxies, Virgo
Irregular misty patch; on first impression its bi-lobed appearance reminded me of the Crab Nebula. The south-eastern component (NGC 4568) seemed larger and brighter.

NGC 4564, galaxy, Virgo
Small, bright oval located near a very close double star. Aligned roughly east-west. Star-like core with averted vision.

M58, galaxy, Virgo
Large, bright extended galaxy. Tough to make out any detail other than a bright core.

M89, galaxy, Virgo
Very bright, condensed galaxy. Bright core; faint star east.

NGC 4550/4551, galaxy pair, Virgo
Close pair of galaxies in same field as M89. 4550 seemed slightly brighter than 4551.

M90, galaxy, Virgo
Large, bright, extended “Andromeda-style” ellipse with star-like core. The brightness seemed to fall away from the centre in discrete “shells” rather than a smooth gradation, but I’d need a longer look at it to be sure. Regardless, it was noticeably different from the other galaxies I viewed tonight. (The one knock against the otherwise spectacular Virgo Cluster is that it's dominated by bright - and relatively featureless - elliptical galaxies; hence the repetitive descriptions.)

At this point (23:45) the sky rapidly clouded over – but it was in all the forecasts, so I wasn't surprised when it arrived. M87 and the wonders of Markarian’s Chain will have to wait for another night, which is probably just as well. As I discovered tonight, the Virgo Cluster has so many galaxies within range of my scope that you can’t reasonably tackle them all in one session.

Nature note
The frogspawn is no more, but I now have a pond full of wriggling tadpoles.
Also: one cat on the roof.

300 Million Light-Years from Home

16 March 2020, 20:00 – 23:30

Conditions: no wind (at last). Somewhat chilly, but no condensation.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Average

I started the session looking at a selection of double stars in Cancer (at 171x with the 7mm DeLite).

Iota Cancri: as per previous observation – a lovely, colourful double.

Phi-2 Cancri (Σ1223): tight “headlight” pair of equally matched 6th magnitude stars. No colour discernible.

24 Cnc (Σ1224): similar separation to Phi-2, but primary was brighter.

Zeta Cancri: neat little triple star system; the primary pair are so close that they only appeared separated during moments of really good seeing.

Leo 1, dwarf galaxy, Leo
171x. I know I was looking in the right place this time, and with averted vision there was perhaps the merest hint of an extended misty patch. Tube-tapping seemed to help with its visibility, but it was immediately extinguished the moment Regulus strayed into the field of view. It was so faint I’m not even sure I can count this as a positive sighting, but I do think this new eyepiece gives me the best chance of spotting it (under perfect seeing conditions).

NGC 3077, galaxy, Ursa Major
At 92x (Ethos 13mm) this galaxy was clearly visible with just a slight nudge of the scope away from M81. In fact it was so obvious, I’m kind of embarrassed that I never noticed it before 12 March. But, like many DSOs, once you know it’s there… Visually it appeared much as it did on the previous session, albeit a little brighter (and at a smaller scale, obviously).

NGC 2976, galaxy, Ursa Major
92x. Another overlooked member of the M81 family. Appeared as a large, faint ellipse (perhaps irregular?), not as bright as 3077, with a faint star just off the southern edge.

I couldn’t find Comet C/2019 Y4 (Atlas), though I later found out I was sweeping in the area it was heading towards rather than where it actually was. Turns out it was nearer NGC 2976 than I realised, so I can’t have missed it by much. There will be other opportunities.

M101, galaxy, Ursa Major
92x. The core of the galaxy was the only part visible with direct vision. The faint star just north of the nucleus is useful for getting your bearings. This time there seemed to be a hazy patch west of the core, though I’m not sure what – if anything – this corresponded to. Out of curiosity, I added the Ultrablock filter to the Ethos to see if this would bring out any of the HII regions. The core was still just about visible and there was a suggestion of vague mottled patches which seemed to come and go depending on which side I was looking, but (like Leo 1) whatever was there was right on the threshold of visibility.

IC 3568, planetary nebula, Camelopardalis
Failed to find this last year because I didn’t appreciate how tiny it was (though my notes indicate that I did see the nearby double star Sigma 1694). This time I used the Ultrablock filter to help pick it out in the Ethos (it stood out as a prominent green “star”). At 171x it appeared as a bright perfectly round little disc of light with a star right next to it. It’s circumpolar from my location, so now I know where it is, I can observe it on any clear night of the year (though I don’t expect to see much detail, even at very high power).

NGC 3184, galaxy, Ursa Major
171x. Very faint, round galaxy, with a field star on its north edge. Visibility hampered by bright star to west.

NGC 4725, galaxy, Coma Berenices
One of the bright Coma galaxies that I overlooked last year. At 92x it appeared as a large misty ellipse with a bright core and a stellar nucleus.

NGC 4889 (Caldwell 35), galaxy, Coma Berenices
Another one I missed out on last year, but the finderscope helped me to quickly pinpoint the nearby 7th magnitude star HD 112887. Even then I wasn’t sure if I would be able to see the galaxy, but it was almost immediately obvious at 92x as a tiny round fuzz surrounding a bright core. So visually it was unimpressive, but as with 3C 273, the “awe-factor” comes from knowing its distance: a whopping 300 million light-years (a good 5 or 6 times further away than most of the galaxies I typically observe at this time of year). NGC 4889 is the giant elliptical powerhouse at the centre of the Coma Cluster of galaxies. Most of them are beyond the reach of my scope, but I was able to see nearby NGC 4874 as a small, faint hazy patch east of NGC 4889, somewhat hampered by the glare from HD 112887. In fleeting moments of really good seeing NGC 4889 appeared to be doubled, with a tiny companion next to it (in line with HD 112887) perhaps corresponding to NGC 4886.

NGC 3242 (Caldwell 59), planetary nebula, Hydra
No obstructing foliage this time. Very bright at 92x; blue-green disc. Seemed brighter on northern and southern edges.

I spent the rest of the session revisiting a galaxy-rich area of Leo. All observations with the 13mm Ethos at 92x.

M95, galaxy, Leo
Large, brighter towards the core. Stellar nucleus. No detail apparent.

M96, galaxy, Leo
Similar size to M95. Brighter core, also stellar nucleus.

M105, galaxy, Leo
Round, condensed. Bright, stellar core.

NGC 3384, galaxy, Leo
In same field as M105 but smaller. Also has a bright, stellar core.

NGC 3389, galaxy, Leo
In same field as M105 and NGC 3384. Visible with averted vision as a faint ellipse, angled away from M105 towards 3 field stars. Easy to overlook (I missed it last year).

NGC 3412, galaxy, Leo
Small ellipse with a bright stellar core.

NGC 3377, galaxy, Leo
Same again – a little fainter than 3412, but another ellipse with a stellar core. The print-out I was using showed a 3377A galaxy in the same field, but I couldn’t see anything at that location.

NGC 3489, galaxy, Leo
Extended ellipse with a stellar core; suggestion of a dark cut-off along its southern edge.

At this point galaxy fatigue was setting in (although they’re bright and numerous, a lot of the Leo galaxies just don’t have the “wow” factor of the ones in Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices), so I called it a night.