An Extra-galactic Globular

6 September 2021, 22:15 – 00:00 (BST)

Seeing: Poor

Transparency: Average

Conditions: A still night, very warm and mild for the time of year. Some high, patchy cloud which cleared as the night drew on. Thin layer of condensation on the scope by the end of the session.

After allowing time for the scope to reach equilibrium (and my eyes to dark-adapt), I started with a look at the autumn highlight globular clusters M15 and M2 at 171x, although the iffy seeing prohibited me from resolving the fine detail I was hoping for.

After a quick look at Saturn, I then paid a return visit to NGC 7814, which was very faint tonight. Supernova 2021rhu, unsurprisingly, was no longer visible.

However, NGC 404 (Mirach’s Ghost) was quite obvious at 171x, even with Mirach in the field. Mirach itself is worth looking at, as it has a distinctly reddish hue.

M32, satellite galaxy, Andromeda

171x. Small, round and very bright. Condensed core with a star-like nucleus. With prolonged examination there seemed to be just a hint of elongation along the axis pointing towards M31.

Mayall II (G1), globular cluster, Andromeda

171x. Finally tracked down the Andromeda Galaxy’s biggest and “brightest” globular cluster. I reached it via a careful and somewhat complicated star-hop from M32, but it was visible with averted vision as a tiny fuzzy spot flanked by one or two faint foreground stars. Most sources give the magnitude at somewhere around 13.7, but fortunately its light is very concentrated, which helps with its visibility.

G1 was a little more obvious at 240x (still using averted vision), but it was still very challenging. Now I know how to find it, I might try this again on a better night when M31 is nearer the zenith.

I finished off with a look at Jupiter at 240x and 342x (171x + 2x Barlow). All four Galilean moons were west of the planet. Indifferent seeing smeared out most of the fine detail, but one brown barge was visible near the western limb. The orange colour surrounding the NEB appeared to have spread farther into the EZ, and the northern polar region seemed to have a slightly blue-ish tone (compared to the southern region). I’ve noticed this before but I haven’t seen it on images, so I’m wondering if this is an illusion caused by atmospheric dispersion or contrast effects.

Nature (and other) notes:

The frogs were quite vocal tonight. Also, lots of air traffic flying east (out of the country). Oddly, I didn’t see any flying west.

Clusters in Cygnus and Scutum

7-8 July 2021, 23:30 – 02:00 (BST)

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Average/poor

Conditions: A breezy night with patches of high cirrus passing overhead; quite cool for the time of year. England won a major football semi-final tonight for the first time in 50+ years, so there was lots of noise coming from the town centre: people singing and car horns blaring until well after 1 AM.

Light condensation building gradually over the course of the session – mostly on the atlas and the telescope tube; fortunately the optics remained unaffected up until the last few minutes.

NGC 7044, open cluster, Cygnus

133x. I’ve looked at a lot of Cygnus clusters recently, and most of them have been immediately obvious. However, at first all I could see here were two moderately bright stars embedded in a very small and very hazy knot of light. Averted vision showed another faint haze nearby, but it was unclear whether one or both of these belonged to the cluster. At 171x a few stars popped out with averted vision, and a third star joined the two brighter ones to form a triangle. Perhaps not the best object to start a session (I was expecting something brighter).

NGC 7027, planetary nebula, Cygnus

171x. Small but bright blue-green nebula with bi-lobed structure. Bright spot stood out on the western side – as noted on previous occasions.

NGC 7086, open cluster, Cygnus

133x. Rich, compact cluster (visible as a hazy patch in the finder). Stars arranged in a loose, ragged spiral. Orange star on the western side. Underlying haze of unresolved stars.

NGC 7063, open cluster, Cygnus

133x. Large, loose cluster of bright stars with a central asterism shaped a bit like a stick representation of a horse.

I then relocated to the constellation of Scutum and, after spending some time in the company of M11 (the Wild Duck Cluster), I revisited an open cluster and a globular cluster:

NGC 6664, open cluster, Scutum

133x. Large, loose and sparse collection of moderately bright stars, shaped a bit like a partially peeled banana. Slightly washed out by the glare from 4th magnitude Alpha Scuti to the west.

NGC 6712, globular cluster, Scutum

133x and 171x. Grainy round glow in a rich star field – seemed larger than I remember. Bright field star to east. Faint stars visible with averted vision; even more so at 171x, though the field is so rich it’s hard to tell which ones belong to the cluster and which belong to the Milky Way. The cluster itself appeared “lumpy” at this power, with a prominent knot of stars south of the core. I’ve been underwhelmed by this object in the past, but tonight it really came to life – the best view I’ve had to date.

I spent quite a lot of time looking at this cluster, and at one point a slow-moving MEO satellite crossed the field on a southerly trajectory, its brightness oscillating slightly as it rotated.

NGC 6934 (Caldwell 47), globular cluster, Delphinus

171x. Small, compact globular; more condensed than 6712, with a brighter core. Bright 9.5m star leading 2’ to the west. Grainy with averted vision, but harder to resolve than 6712. The most prominent members appeared to be south of the core, with another one just northeast of the core.

M27 (Dumbbell Nebula), planetary nebula, Vulpecula

171x (no filter). Large and boxy at this power; no obvious colour. Brightest field star on the western corner, with a couple more visible through the northern half of the nebula. The central illuminating star wasn’t immediately obvious against the nebulous background, but was visible with averted vision, popping in and out of view with the seeing. It's not particularly difficult, but you have to make a conscious effort to seek it out, which is probably why I haven’t seen it before. Sources seem to vary on the brightness of this star: some have it at 13th magnitude; others have it nearer 14th magnitude. Based on my observation, I would put it nearer 13 than 14.

I rounded off the session with a first look at Jupiter for the year, starting at 171x, before moving up to 240x and then 333x. (Saturn is still low and currently behind the neighbour’s fast-growing tree for most of the night, but Jupiter looks like it might just clear it.) All four Galilean moons were on view (one west, three east) and the Great Red Spot was on the meridian, looking a bit faded compared to the last time I saw it. By contrast the NEB had a very dark core and a distinct orange-brown hue. I was almost tempted to get the laptop and capture some videos, but the condensation started to interfere at this point. Bodes well for the next couple of months though.

Exploring Ophiuchus

1-2 June 2021, 23:45 – 02:00 (BST)

Seeing: Poor – Very Poor

Transparency: Poor to average (varied from one part of the sky to another)

Conditions: Mild again, although it started cooling noticeably from 00:45. There was no wind to speak of for much of the session, but it picked up suddenly towards the end, becoming quite breezy. No condensation. Overall the transparency was still poor, but slightly improved compared to the previous two nights.

I had planned to revisit some planetary nebulae and globular clusters at high power, but the seeing was so bad (even after allowing plenty of time for the scope to cool down) I ended up leaving the 9mm Nagler (133x) in the focuser for the entire session. After warming up with a last look at M5 before it disappears into the summer murk, I moved east to Hercules and Lyra, where the sky seemed like it might be dark enough to track down some faint targets.

NGC 6703, galaxy, Lyra

Small, faint round haze in a rich star-field in northern Lyra. Brighter core with averted vision. Plotted in SA2000 but not the PSA.

NGC 6482, galaxy, Hercules

Condensed round haze (fairly small) with a bright, star-like nucleus. Forms an isosceles triangle with two 12th magnitude field stars. 

M4, globular cluster, Scorpius

At least I could see it tonight, but the view was far from impressive. Some stars resolved when the seeing allowed, including the distinctive central bar, but most of the time it looked mushy.

M107, globular cluster, Ophiuchus

Large and faint as globulars go. Brighter towards the core, but not particularly condensed. Grainy with averted vision, but no stars popping out (the seeing didn’t help in this regard). The cluster is surrounded by five field stars which make up a distinctive kite or cruciform shape.

M14, globular cluster, Ophiuchus

Quite large and bright, but again – not particularly condensed. Speckly with averted vision. A few stars resolved on the outskirts – most prominent of these were two on the WSW side of the cluster (part of a possible chain of four or more stars leading away from the core).

NGC 6284, globular cluster, Ophiuchus

Round fuzzball with a condensed core. No stars resolved, but quite prominent despite its low altitude (-25 degrees declination).

M19, globular cluster, Ophiuchus

Large and bright; grainy with averted vision, but poor seeing prohibited resolution of individual stars.

NGC 6287, globular cluster, Ophiuchus

Faint round blur; some brightening towards the centre. Hint of graininess with averted vision.

NGC 6369, planetary nebula, Ophiuchus

Faint round disc of light, modest in size (listed at 28 arcseconds). Seemed brighter on the western side, with a hint of annularity, but the detail was smeared out by the poor seeing. At -25 degrees this is one of the most southerly planetary nebulae I’ve looked for, so I was pleasantly surprised I was able to see it without a filter.

NGC 6517, globular cluster, Ophiuchus

Faint round haze. Bright core with averted vision; seemed slightly elongated on the north-south axis.

It was at this point that the breeze started picking up, shuffling the pages of my notebook and threatening to do the same to my sky atlas. There are two other globular clusters plotted near NGC 6517 (NGC 6539 and IC 1276), but I couldn’t see either of them – presumably because of low surface brightness. But I did have better luck with another globular cluster farther north.

NGC 6535, globular cluster, Serpens Cauda

Soft round glow residing in a rich star-field. Seemed slightly misshapen on closer inspection. Not very condensed, but about half a dozen stars popped out with averted vision, the brightest one on the southwest side. If I didn’t know better I would have thought this was a very rich open cluster rather than a globular (given that in most NGC globular clusters I’m lucky if I resolve one or two stars). I’d like to see this one again under a darker sky. A nice note on which to end the session.

3 Open Clusters and 3 Globulars

31 May 2021, 00:10 – 01:20 (BST)

Seeing: Poor

Transparency: Average – Poor

A mild night to begin with, but cooled gradually over the course of the hour. Also a little breezy. As the temperature dropped, the condensation grew, collecting on the telescope tube and softening the pages of the notebook. The absence of true astronomical darkness was also apparent, making me wonder how I managed to see so much last summer (perhaps the light pollution from the town centre is starting to return to pre-2020 levels).

I started with a look at three open clusters in western Cygnus, two of which I’ve seen before (but only in passing, judging by the brevity of my notes).

NGC 6811, open cluster, Cygnus

133x. Large mass of similarly bright stars near Delta Cygni (and within the Kepler space telescope field of view); shaped vaguely like a fat spinning top, or an arrowhead. Hard to separate from the rich Milky Way background at this magnification; would probably look better in the Ethos.

NGC 6866, open cluster, Cygnus

133x. Compact group of about two dozen bright stars arranged in winding chains, with an underlying haze of fainter members. Quite pretty.

NGC 6819, open cluster, Cygnus

133x. Another compact cluster, shaped a bit like a wishbone or a pair of pliers. Comes alive with averted vision; revealed as a rich spray of faint stars with what looks like a dark lane cutting through the centre of the cluster. The wishbone suddenly becomes a flying squirrel(!), gliding through the Milky Way. Very pretty cluster; worth revisiting at a higher magnification on a better night.

M80, globular cluster, Scorpius

133x. Grainy round glow with a bright core; averted vision appears to expand the size of the cluster. 8th or 9th magnitude field star to the north-east. At 171x the impression remains much the same: a very condensed core and a few “speckles” with averted vision. The most prominent of these speckles (and the only one I was able to hold in view for a significant amount of time) was roughly halfway between the core of M80 and the aforementioned field star.

M12 and M10, globular clusters, Ophiuchus

133x. Both clusters looked a little washed-out tonight, and even increasing the magnification to 171x didn’t make much, if any, improvement to the contrast. (I think to see them at their best you really have to stay up very late on an April night.) Of the two, M10 looked better from an aesthetic point of view, appearing rounder and more condensed. M12 appeared unruly (almost “messy”) by comparison, with 2 particularly bright stars south of the core. As noted last year, the southernmost of the two is so prominent I wonder if it might be a foreground star.

With a waning gibbous moon starting to rise in the southeast, this was always going to be a truncated session, so I rounded off with a quick look at M11, which still looked superb despite the brightening sky. See my article on Love the Night Sky for more on this magnificent cluster.

With a similar forecast for the following night I took the scope out again (31 May, 23:45 to 1 June, 01:00), but, despite the moon rising half an hour later, the sky transparency was even worse. M4 (which looked so good last year) wasn’t even visible above the background glow.

Given the unfavourable conditions, I didn’t bother taking detailed notes, but I did look at M56 in Lyra, plus M80, M12 and M10 again (at 133x). I also looked at M57 and M13 at 333x (9mm Nagler + 2.5x Powermate), but the seeing wasn’t really good enough for such a high magnification.

As usual for this time of year, the sky was alive with satellites, including two bright ones which raced through the field of view while I was looking at M10 and M57.

Globular Clusters in Hercules and Galaxies in Draco

11-12 May 2021, 22:45 – 01:15 (BST)

Seeing: Average

Transparency: Average

A breezy night with occasional gusts. Some high cirrus cloud early on; this blew away and the sky remained clear until about 1 AM. It had been a warm day, so the temperature was relatively mild at the start of the session, but it soon fell away and became quite chilly by the end. No condensation though.

Satellites and space junk everywhere I looked (including through the eyepiece). More planes than last year too.

At this time of year I always find myself drawn irresistibly towards globular clusters (no matter how many times I’ve seen them before) so I began the session with a tour of some of the season’s best.

M5, globular cluster, Serpens Caput

133x and 171x. As per previous observations: lovely, well resolved cluster with a bright, condensed core. Its stars seemed to have a considerable spread of magnitudes, with the most prominent member lying just southeast of the core. Another slightly less bright star is offset to the SW, forming a tight triangle with two other fainter stars. Reading up on M5 the next day I learned that both of these bright stars are variables: V84 (an RV Tauri star) and V42 (a Cepheid) respectively.

See: https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/hunting-bright-variables/

Another distinctive feature was a chain of stars curling around the NE side of the cluster, like a spiral arm. Not a great deal of difference between the two magnifications, but the stars did seem to “pop out” more at 171x. No colour to the cluster (or its individual stars) that I could perceive on this occasion.

While at 171x I also had a look at the nearby double star 5 Serpentis, comprised of a bright white primary and a dim secondary roughly NE. The secondary seemed to have a pale violet/indigo(?) hue, but it was very subtle and mostly likely caused by a contrast effect with the primary.

M13, globular cluster, Hercules

171x. Tonight M13 looked like a sprawling sea monster compared to M5. No individual stars stood out from the crowd, but there was good resolution across the face of the cluster. It took me a few minutes to “get my eye in” before I could spot the Y-shaped propeller feature, but once I did it was quite obvious. Nearby galaxy NGC 6207 (with its false nucleus) also showed well at 171x.

NGC 6229, globular cluster, Hercules

171x. Small and ghostly compared to M13. With averted vision the cluster swelled in size, and the core glowed with a soft intensity. After a few minutes of observing the cluster started to look a little mottled around the centre and grainy on its outskirts, but no stars were resolved other than a very faint star trailing to the east, of which I had only fleeting glimpses. (Most likely a foreground Milky Way star.)

M92, globular cluster, Hercules

171x. A bright, underrated globular with a very condensed core. Lots of stars resolved at 171x, but the oval shape noted previously starts to break up, although the area around the core still appears somewhat elongated. Other distinctive features include two straggly arms of stars roughly trailing to the north and south, and another tighter one folding back on itself east of the core.

NGC 6543, Cat’s Eye Nebula, Draco

171x and 133x. Another late spring/summer favourite. Impression much the same as last year: vivid, pale green ellipse – slightly misshapen. The central 11th magnitude star wavered in and out of view using direct vision, sometimes holding steady for several seconds at a time depending on the seeing. The view at 133x was similar, but the green colour was more intense.

NGC 6503, galaxy, Draco

133x. (The one that Herschel missed.) As per previous observations. Extended ellipse; not much brightening towards the centre, other than a vague impression of mottling/clumpiness.

NGC 6340, galaxy, Draco

133x. Round fuzz (fainter than 6503), roughly east of a double star. Star-like nucleus with averted vision.

NGC 6643, galaxy, Draco

133x. Faint streak of light east of and parallel to two field stars. A little brighter towards the centre with averted vision. This one looked like a ghost of NGC 6503.

While in the area I noticed a very distinctive W-shaped asterism in the finder, near 44 Draconis and later identified as Kemble 2. The eyepiece view revealed a few more stars in addition to the core five, but the best view was through the 9x50 finder.

Psi Draconis, double star, Draco

133x. One I’ve been meaning to revisit for a while (I always get distracted by the Cat’s Eye Nebula). A really lovely, bright double – at 30 arcseconds, wide enough to split (barely) in the 9x50 finder. In the main scope it appeared as a pale yellow-white primary with a pale blue-white secondary.

I couldn’t find galaxies NGC 6412 or NGC 6140 for some reason, though I suspect some high hazy cloud was starting to interfere with the transparency. With more clouds gathering low in the southwest (and a fox barking very loudly from the same direction), I decided to round off the session with another old favourite at a very high magnification.

M57, Ring Nebula, Lyra

428x (7mm DeLite + 2.5x Powermate). At this magnification the target crosses the field of view so quickly you need to get the scope ahead of it to give yourself time to have a decent look. The inner part of the ring looked a little ragged at this power, but unsurprisingly there was no sign of the central star, not even a hint of a glint. I think I’d need an equatorial platform (and near-perfect conditions) to stand even a chance of picking it out from the gauzy central region.

As the bright clouds pushed across the sky there was just time for a quick return visit to M13 at the same power. The sheer volume of stars was a little too much to take in during the short time available; at this magnification it looked less like a sea monster and more like a hanging basket brimming over with bright and unruly flowers; the entire field of view clotted with ancient starlight.

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.

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.)

Night of the Globular Clusters

14 -15 April 2020, 23:30 – 02:45

Conditions: Slight breeze, hazy bands of cloud receding low in the southeast.

Seeing: Poor
Transparency: Average

I was in the mood for something different after all those faint galaxies, so I started a bit later than usual with a session devoted (mostly) to globular clusters. All observations carried out at 133x with the 9mm Nagler. In the XT10 this eyepiece seems to hit the sweet spot for framing and resolving globulars; also, sticking to one magnification for the entire session makes it easier to compare one cluster to another.

M13, globular cluster, Hercules
What better place to start? (I returned to this cluster several times during the session as it rose higher in the sky.) Stunning as always, and for the first time I clearly saw the dark Y-shaped “propeller feature” adjacent to the core. Like the nearby galaxy NGC 6207, I suspect it’s one of those things that becomes fairly obvious after you’ve seen it once. No overall colour to the cluster that I could see – at least not on this occasion.

M92, globular cluster, Hercules
Smaller than M13, but an impressive globular in its own right. Well resolved. Oval shape. Slight blue tinge.

NGC 6229, globular cluster, Hercules
The “baby bear” of the three Hercules globulars. Small, condensed, quite bright. Grainy, but no stars resolved.

M104, Sombrero Galaxy, Virgo
A “stop-off” on the way to M68. Long, saucer-shaped galaxy with central bulge and bright stellar core. Dark lane clearly seen offset to the south.

M68, globular cluster, Hydra
Large, faint misty patch of light, all but washed out by its low altitude and atmospheric haze. With averted vision it seemed a little mottled, but that was all I could make out. A tough object – I lost it a couple of times and had trouble relocating it.

NGC 4565, Needle Galaxy, Coma Berenices
Very long and thin compared to M104, extending almost halfway across the field of view. Star-like nucleus embedded in slightly bulging core. Dark lane cutting across core; with averted vision it can be seen extending further out across the galaxy.

NGC 5634, globular cluster, Virgo
Small, round unresolved fuzzball, not very condensed. Faint star to west, bright one to east.

M5, globular cluster, Serpens Caput
A lovely, rich condensed cluster, rivalling M13. Well resolved most of the way to the core. (It’s such a stunning cluster I completely forgot to check for colour.) Stars appear “swept back” to the east. Particularly prominent star just southeast of the core. Further away, just out of the field to the southeast, lies a bright and closely paired double star (5 Serpentis).

M83, Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, Hydra
Took a while to track down, and when I did it was literally grazing the neighbour’s fence (culminating at less than 9 degrees above the horizon!). The galaxy itself was just visible as a condensed fuzzy core, with a distinctive line of 3 stars to the south and east. Averted vision revealed a very faint surrounding haze. A minor miracle that I’m able to see a galaxy this far south (I only searched for it on a whim because the haze had cleared and all the neighbours’ lights were off). That I was able to see it all illustrates that it must be a spectacular object when viewed from more southerly latitudes.

M12, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
Unusual, spidery cluster with a pear-shaped core and two long straight “arms” of stars forming a flattened “X” shape. Also a seemingly detached clump of stars to the west and a bright (foreground?) star southeast of the core, reminiscent of the one in M5. A straggly cluster, quite well resolved, with lots of intriguing detail.

M10, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
A more “conventional” globular than M12, appearing as a rich, condensed ball of stars. Most distinctive features are a wavy arm of stars to the north and an opposing one extending south (like the integral sign or the f-hole on a violin). Well resolved.

M56, globular cluster, Lyra
Small, condensed globular residing in a rich Milky Way field. Bright star to west. Distinctive triangular core. Resolved fairly well with averted vision.

M14, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
Large, grainy, condensed cluster. Very few stars resolved – not sure if this was due to haze, interstellar dust extinction, or tiredness creeping in.

M107, globular cluster, Ophiuchus
A relatively faint, condensed cluster, smaller than M14. Grainy with averted vision. Again, possible haze/dust/tiredness affecting the view.

IC 4665, open cluster, Ophiuchus
Loose, boxy cluster of bright, blue-white stars of similar magnitude. Too large to fully appreciate at 133x, but looked very good in the finderscope and in 7x50 binoculars.

As tempting as it was to wait around for Scorpius (another constellation typically lost to the midsummer continuous twilight) to clear the neighbour’s tree, I’d been outside for over three hours, so I called it a night.

Galaxies, Globulars and a Comet

23 March 2020, 20:30 – 23:30

Conditions: Another cold, breezy night. The wind wasn’t as excessive as it was on Sunday, but still too severe for astrophotography. After the rigours of the Virgo Cluster this session was somewhat unstructured, and it took me a long time to properly get going. Though with hindsight I think my eyes hadn’t fully recovered from the previous night. Peering at faint galaxies can be surprisingly tiring.

Seeing: Good
Transparency: Average

Comet C/2019 Y4 (Atlas)
Viewed at 133x (Nagler 9mm) and 171x (DeLite 7mm). Other than having moved near a different star it appeared much the same as it did the previous night. Though without the glare of Rho UMa affecting it, there did seem to be a hint of a stubby tail to the southeast.

While I was in the area I took another look at M81, M82 and NGC 3077 at 133x and 171x. Nothing to add to previous notes. I think I’ve reached the point with these galaxies (particularly M81 and M82) where I’d need one of those rare nights of excellent transparency to eke out any more detail.

M94, galaxy, Canes Venatici
171x. Bright core; mottled outer envelope. Again, not much to add to previous notes.

The Leo Triplet, as imaged on the following night (24 March)

M65, galaxy, Leo
133x. Large, extended galaxy with bright core. Suggestion of dark and light bands on eastern side (dust lane and spiral arm).

M66, galaxy, Leo
133x. Initially appears smaller than M65, but with time the fainter outer regions became more apparent and the overall shape seemed more irregular than M65. Stellar nucleus, but the surrounding core region seemed larger than the one in M65.

NGC 3628, galaxy, Leo
133x. Third member of the Leo Triplet. A large, faint, boxy galaxy. The dust lane was just about visible with averted vision, but this galaxy really needs a night of excellent transparency to get the best out of it.

NGC 3521, galaxy, Leo
133x. Large oval galaxy, aligned north-south. Bright stellar nucleus. With averted vision it seemed more elongated and elliptical, with a suggestion of a dark lane on the western side. Quite an impressive galaxy tucked away in the southern reaches of Leo.

NGC 4429, galaxy, Virgo
133x. A quick sweep along Markarian's Chain and then south to pick up a galaxy I missed last night. Bright smudge of light, aligned east-west, just south of bright star. Core seemed slightly offset to the east.

M53, globular cluster, Coma Berenices
133x. Subtle, very pale blue tinge. Quite well resolved with averted vision. Large outer halo of faint stars at this magnification; loses starfish shape noted previously. Still no sign of NGC 5053!

M3, globular cluster, Canes Venatici
133x. Bigger, brighter, bolder than M53. Lots of stars resolved with direct vision. Averted vision revealed a roughly triangular pattern of star chains pointing west.

NGC 5466, globular cluster, Boötes
133x. A first foray into the hinterlands of Boötes. After drawing a blank on NGC 5053 I wasn’t confident of finding this one, but it showed up without too much difficulty, appearing as an extended misty patch. Rich sprinkling of faint stars with averted vision, but no sign of the central condensation typically seen in globular clusters. Not striking as globulars go, but certainly unusual and worth tracking down.

NGC 5248, galaxy, Boötes
(Caldwell 45) 133x. Faint oval, brighter towards the centre. Faint stars SW and S of core.

NGC 5866 (M102?), galaxy, Draco
Viewed at 133x and 171x. Bright little lens-shaped galaxy forming a triangle with two field stars. Symmetrical shape and no detail that I could see (I think I’ll need higher power to stand a chance of spotting the central dust lane), although the 7mm DeLite seemed to show fainter “extensions”, increasing the length of the galaxy. Worth seeing, regardless of its disputed Messier status.

Finding Neptune

5 September 2019, 21:30 – 00:15 BST

Conditions: a near first-quarter moon low in the southeast ruled out observations in that part of the sky. A few small clouds passing overhead, air cooling noticeably, otherwise good for observing.

Albireo, double star, Cygnus
At 92x in the 13mm Ethos this presented as a golden primary and pale blue secondary suspended in a sea of stars. This might be the most beautiful view I’ve ever had of Albireo – certainly one worth savouring.

NGC 7027, planetary nebula, Cygnus
Revisiting one of last year’s targets. In the Ethos it resembled a defocused star. At 240x with the OIII filter it was very bright with a tantalising hint of structure. Quite small.

NGC 7039, open cluster, Cygnus
Looks good in the Ethos. A rich band of stars framed by a rhombus of brighter stars. Not far from the North America Nebula.

NGC 7048, planetary nebula, Cygnus
Just visible without the filter at 92x as a faint smudge of light with a star to the west. In the OIII it appeared as an elongated cone of light with a star at the apex. Unusual shape for a planetary nebula, but I think the star probably caused it to appear more distorted than it really is.

NGC 7000, North America Nebula, Cygnus
With the Ethos and the OIII filter, the “gulf coast” region of the nebula was clearly visible as a milky glow, resembling a large question-mark melting into the starry background. I didn’t think I’d be able to see it as well as this in the XT10.

M2, globular cluster, Aquarius
At 240x, the asymmetry noted before appears to be caused by two wings of stars sweeping back towards the west. The foreground star on the eastern side of the cluster seems to sit in its own pool of darkness, adding to the asymmetry. The cluster resolved really well with averted vision.

M15, globular cluster, Pegasus
Also observed at 240x. Member stars brighter than those of M2. Long loose “tail” of stars to north. Bright, dense core. The (rare) opportunity to view these globulars multiple times over the course of a fortnight really makes a difference – the more you look at them, the more you see.

Neptune 
Helpfully very close (maybe a little too close) to 4th magnitude Phi Aquarii, so (unlike last year) very easy to find. Viewed at 240x (5mm Nagler) and 333x (9mm Nagler + 2.5x Powermate). I need to try this again when the seeing is better, but Neptune was a tiny blue-grey disk (like a defocused star), contrasting nicely with the orangey-red Phi Aquarii. No sign of Triton.

M30, globular cluster, Capricornus
Small condensed blur, very low in the sky (-23 degrees declination). Bright leading star to west. Amazingly, with averted vision I could begin to resolve the cluster despite its low altitude: the most prominent features were a straight line of stars to the north and another fainter one (not radial to the core) to the northwest, giving the cluster a very distinctive lopsided, spiky appearance.

Just for fun, I also viewed M57 and M27 at 333x. Despite being on the light-polluted side of the meridian the Ring Nebula looked rather impressive at this high magnification (like a black-and-white photo); the Dumbbell not so much (it's large enough already that it doesn't really benefit from the extra power). But it's good to know I can use this magnification on some deepsky objects.

Exploring Delphinus

1 September 2019, 21:30 – 01:00 BST

A cold night, and too breezy for imaging. Instead, for a change, I put the TV60 to use as an observing scope while the XT10 cooled to ambient temperature.

Transparency: not as good as 30 August
Seeing: Good to begin with, but worsened as the night progressed.

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TV60 + 24mm Panoptic (15x)
It’s a treat to just ramble along the Milky Way at this magnification, but the most noteworthy observations came when I added the OIII filter:

Veil Nebula, supernova remnant, Cygnus
Both arcs were visible (albeit faintly) in the same field of view. (This wasn't a surprise to me as I'd already tried this some years ago using the Ultrablock filter, although my notes from that time state that the western segment 6960 was only just on the threshold of visibility.) I think from a really dark site, Pickering’s/Fleming's Triangle might even be possible with this combination. Something to bear in mind perhaps the next time I take the TV60 on holiday.

NGC 7000, North America Nebula, Cygnus
Large and prominent at this magnification, and the OIII filter confirmed it as clearly nebulous in nature and not just a star-rich section of the Milky Way. The brightest section was the part adjoining the “Gulf of Mexico.” (Again, this replicated an observation made some years previously using the Ultrablock filter.)

NGC 281, Pac-man Nebula, Cassiopeia
Showed up well as an amorphous little glow, albeit devoid of detail.

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Other observations for the night were carried out with the XT10, using (unless otherwise stated) the 9mm Nagler (133x).

NGC 6716, open cluster, Sagittarius
Tight, boxy little cluster, shaped a bit like a backwards “2”.

Cr 394, open cluster, Sagittarius
Sprawling cluster, larger than 6716.

NGC 6818, Little Gem Nebula, Sagittarius
Tough to find (in a bright part of the sky with no naked eye stars nearby), but when I did track it down, it presented as a bright little disc, becoming even brighter with the Ultrablock filter (the OIII was still on the TV60). Prolonged examination revealed a dark core – a typical summer planetary. I also looked for the nearby Barnard’s Galaxy, but (as expected) it was hopelessly lost in the light pollution.

M75, globular cluster, Sagittarius
Grainy little fuzzball, washed out by light pollution. No stars resolved. Seemed quite small compared to other globulars, but perhaps I was only seeing the core region.

NGC 6934, globular cluster, Delphinus
Another grainy, unresolved glow. Appeared to have a slight bluish tinge. Bright field star to west.

Gamma Delphinus, double star
Impressively bright and close double star with an equally close (but fainter) pair of stars to the north. Reminiscent of Epsilon Lyrae.

NGC 7006, globular cluster, Delphinus
Faint round glow, brighter towards centre, but lacking the grainy appearance of the previous two globulars viewed tonight. Looked more like a comet than a globular cluster.

M72, globular cluster, Aquarius
Weak round glow, very faint for a Messier globular.

NGC 6891, planetary nebula, Delphinus
Very small disc of light, almost stellar (which explains why I overlooked it on 25 August). Needed the Nagler 5mm (240x) plus the Ultrablock to confirm its nature. Seemed slightly elongated at high magnification.

Couldn’t find NGC 6886 (I’m guessing it’s even tinier than 6891), but NGC 6905 (the Blue Flash Nebula) showed up well at 240x. Smoke ring of asymmetric brightness sitting in a triangle of stars.

NGC 185, galaxy, Cassiopeia
An exercise in frustration (the sky conditions didn’t really justify the amount of time I spent on this and 147), but eventually I located NGC 185 (one of M31’s outlying satellite galaxies). Soft round glow – very faint and featureless. No sign at all of NGC 147. Not a night for faint galaxies.

NGC 7293, Helix Nebula, Aquarius
A little more washed out by light pollution / poor transparency compared to Friday, but still impressive. With the Ultrablock I could make out several field stars surrounding the helix.

Three Globulars and a lot of Galaxies

26 February 2019, 19:15 – 22:15

Very mild for time of year, a little hazy; some condensation, but not as bad as the last few sessions. All observations with the 9mm Nagler at 133x.

M79, globular cluster in Lepus
Grainy fuzzball – small and condensed, but quite distinctive despite the light pollution in this part of the sky. A single faint star resolved on northern edge (and it is a cluster member, not a foreground star; see the DeepSkyVideos take on M79). I was amazed I could see it so well given its declination (-24 degrees = about 15 degrees above the horizon at culmination).

NGC 2355, open cluster in Gemini
The “leaf” cluster, as described previously. Looked a little hazy tonight.

NGC 2266, open cluster in Gemini
Rich little cluster. Shape resembles a triangle with caved-in sides. Brightest star at southern apex.

NGC 2129, open cluster in Gemini
Two bright stars with a retinue of fainter stars in two lines arranged roughly east-west (southern line straight, the northern one wavy – like an approximation symbol).

M35, NGC 2158, open clusters in Gemini
Latter partially resolved with averted vision; M35 fills the field of view at 133x.

NGC 2419, globular cluster in Lynx
Found it at last (on the third attempt!). The so-called “intergalactic wanderer”. Faint round blur in line with two bright stars. Averted vision increases its size but little else. A few faint foreground stars sprinkled around the cluster, but obviously not associated with it.

NGC 2841, galaxy in Ursa Major
Elliptical shape, stellar nucleus embedded in what looked like a bar-shaped core region. Faint foreground star on western end. Dark lane on southern edge of galaxy?

NGC 2681, galaxy in Ursa Major
Small, round galaxy, fainter than 2841. Stellar nucleus with faint outer envelope. Two stars on western side of galaxy and a fainter one to the east.

M108, galaxy in Ursa Major
Large, extended, seems “mottled” with averted vision. Foreground star near nucleus and another one to the west.

M109, galaxy in Ursa Major
Hazy round blur. Seems kind of faint for a Messier object (albeit a belated entry), especially given all the much more obvious NGC galaxies in and around the same constellation.

NGC 3613, galaxy in Ursa Major
Faint round blur midway between two field stars. Bright, bar-like core. This area (in the bowl of Ursa Major) is one that would benefit from a 50mm finderscope alongside the EZ finder (I was actually looking for 3619).

NGC 3898, galaxy in Ursa Major
Another one inside the body of the Bear. Bright, stellar core; faint outer envelope. Overall, similar in brightness to 3613.

At this point I took a temporary break from galaxies to revisit some familiar double stars:

Mizar / Alcor, Ursa Major
Famous double star in Ursa Major: Both stars well-framed at 133x; Mizar resolves into a pair of icy blue stars.

Cor Caroli, Canes Venatici
Nice split at 20 arcseconds (similar separation to Mizar). Pale yellow secondary?

Gamma Leonis
Closely-paired double. Narrow separation and variable seeing made it tough to discern colours but the primary seemed pale orange and the secondary seemed pale yellow.

Back to the galaxies...

NGC 3607, NGC 3608, galaxies in Leo
Another Leo pair, fairly close together in the field of view. The smaller one (3608) forms a triangle with two stars. Both with stellar cores. Seemed like there were other galaxies in vicinity, but transparency and condensation (and tiredness) made it hard to be sure.

NGC 4565, Needle Galaxy in Coma Berenices
Well this one snapped me out of my tiredness in a hurry. I may have been hasty in stating that M82 was the best edge-on galaxy. After star-hopping to what I hoped was the correct region, it suddenly appeared as a long stiletto of milky light sliding into the field of view. The central bulge was clearly visible with a field star just to the north. The dark dust lane was visible without too much difficulty using averted vision, offset slightly to the north. Easily the night’s highlight despite the conditions and the less than optimal placement. On this evidence, much better than NGC 891, the other well-known edge-on galaxy in Andromeda.

NGC 4631, Whale Galaxy in Canes Venatici
Large, extended. Western end brighter and fatter. Star on northern edge of central region.

NGC 4656/7, Hockey Stick Galaxy in Canes Venatici
Extended blur, smaller and fainter than its neighbour (4631). Tired eyes prevented me from seeing more detail.

I started the evening with a globular, so it seemed apt to finish with one:

M3, globular cluster in Canes Venatici
Rising into view out of the east. A dense fuzzball of stars, well resolved with averted vision despite conditions/tiredness and other factors. After all the colourless galaxies, it seemed to have a distinctly bluish tinge. Weather (and moon) permitting, I’ll be coming back to this object, so it will be interesting to see if this is a real effect (over-abundance of blue stragglers perhaps?).

As I was starting to pack up, the night was capped by a slow meteor which left a brief trail as it descended past Polaris towards the northern horizon.