Planetary Nebulae in Cygnus (again) and Cepheus

15 – 16 September 2020, 21:30 – 00:30

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

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor

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

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


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


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


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

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

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


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

Planetary Nebulae in Cygnus

13 – 14 September 2020, 22:30 – 01:30

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

Seeing: Average
Transparency: Poor

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

The Cat's Eye Nebula and other Highlights

14-15 May 2020, 22:30 – 3:15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The Helix Nebula and other Highlights

30 August 2019, 22:30 – 01:00 BST

Much better transparency tonight – ideal for photographing my primary target for the autumn: M33. And the previous sessions had given me enough confidence in the imaging and autoguiding rig to leave it alone while it captured two hours’ worth of data. (With no bright stars nearby, the hardest part was getting the galaxy centred in the camera’s field of view.)

After idly touring the Milky Way while my eyes fully adapted to the dark, it seemed only right that I open the session with a closer look at the object I was imaging:

M33, Triangulum Galaxy
Viewed at both 50x and 133x; challenging as always. The northern spiral arm was easier to see than the southern one. The nucleus was star-like, with a faint star close to it (in line with NGC 604). Some of the other HII regions were suspected with averted vision, but not to the point where I could say I was confident of detecting them. I used a finder chart to pinpoint the location of the globular cluster C39 but, not surprisingly, it was below the threshold of visibility.

NGC 7331, spiral galaxy, Pegasus
Viewed at 133x and 240x. At the higher magnification there was perhaps a hint of one of the companion galaxies, but it was extremely subtle. Likewise, there was a very vague suggestion of a misty glow in the region where Stephan’s Quintet is supposed to be, but not convincing enough for me to call it.

NGC 7009, Saturn Nebula, Aquarius
Bright ellipse at 133x. At 240x with the OIII filter it became very bright, albeit devoid of detail. I couldn’t see the ansae directly, but with averted vision I could tell there was something “Saturn-like” about its shape. The nickname is well-deserved; at first glance it does look a lot like a ghost image of the ringed planet.

M2, globular cluster, Aquarius
Best view yet of this globular. Large, slightly elongated, well resolved, particularly with averted vision. The brightest member is just to the east-northeast of the core (though this may be a foreground star).

M15, globular cluster, Pegasus
Viewing one globular straight after another really allows you to appreciate the differences. M15 is brighter than M2 and clearly more condensed. Easier to resolve too (more stars visible in direct vision).

NGC 7293, Helix Nebula, Aquarius
With a declination of -21 degrees and a reputation for having a low surface brightness, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to see this planetary nebula, but a sweep of the area at 133x with the OIII filter quickly brought it into view. It showed up surprisingly well, looking not unlike its familiar photographic representation (albeit minus the colour). Even though I’d read about it before, I was still unprepared for just how big it appeared in the field of view. Overall it resembled a pair of large, ghostly overlapping smoke rings, with a darker cavity on the northwest edge and a hollowed-out interior. At 50x (still with the OIII filter) it was brighter still. The only other planetary nebula I can think of that vaguely resembles it is the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major, but the Helix is superior in every way (not just size). Easily the highlight of the evening. Afterwards, I removed the OIII filter to test if I could see it unaided, but it had left the field of view by the time I put the Panoptic back in and I couldn’t find it again. I’m pretty certain I was sweeping in the right area, so file that as another success for the OIII filter.

Nature note:
At least 10 frogs in the pond, including several of this year’s froglets and the large pale “telescope-hopper” from Monday night.

A Bow-tie in Cepheus

27 August 2019, 22:00 – 23:00 BST

The third clear night in a row, although the transparency was rather poor. The imaging target for the evening was the globular cluster M15.

Observations of M15, M71, M57 and NGC 7662 were affected by the conditions and so not really worthy of note-taking, although the latter (7662) did show a hint of a darker core at the higher magnification of 240x. However there were a couple of other highlights:

M103, open cluster, Cassiopeia
Triangular cluster with prominent red star at centre. While sweeping the scope towards Epsilon Cas I stumbled upon a tiny little cluster of stars, the four brightest stars of which formed an almost dead straight line. Not plotted in PSA, but confirmed in Uranometria as Trumpler 1.

NGC 40, The Bow-tie Nebula, Cepheus
Medium sized planetary nebula; faint envelope surrounding central star (not unlike the Crystal Ball Nebula in Taurus). The addition of the OIII filter gave a hint of a lobed structure, at the expense of the central star (which was swamped by the nebulosity). Worth revisiting under better sky conditions.

Other notes
Saw another late Perseid streaking through Lyra towards the end of the evening.

Three Summer Planetaries

25 August 2019, 22:00 – 23:00 BST

The main objective for the evening was photographing the Veil Nebula (West) using 3-minute subs. This is twice as long as anything I’ve attempted before, providing my first real test of the autoguiding set-up. After the inevitable faffing around with polar alignment etc., I got about an hour’s worth of data before my target crossed the meridian.

Conditions: A very mild, still evening (perhaps a little too mild, judging by the sensor temperatures). Once the imaging rig was up and running, I sat down with the XT10 to look at three familiar targets and one not-so-familiar.

M15, globular cluster, Pegasus
Viewed at 240x and 133x (the latter giving the best view on this occasion). Takes a little longer to “get your eye in” on this globular compared to M13, but very rewarding once you do. Nicely resolved, particularly with averted vision.

M27, The Dumbbell Nebula, Vulpecula
9mm Nagler + OIII filter. Very bright with this filter – the apple-core fills in to become a football. But hard to make out detail other than a sharp edge on one side.

NGC 6905, The Blue Flash Nebula, Delphinus
A new object for me; it helps that there’s a large arrow in the sky (the constellation Sagitta) pointing towards it. At 133x it was obvious as a medium to large-sized, round planetary nebula, though I can’t say there was anything particularly blue about it. Appeared to be some brightness variations across the disc, including a slightly darker core. Field star to the north and a fainter one to the east.

M57, The Ring Nebula, Lyra
Beautiful ethereal ring of light. So bright in the XT10 that I can’t really compare it to a smoke-ring anymore; it’s closer to the photographic representation (minus the colour of course). With the OIII filter it was brighter still, and seemed slightly more elongated compared to the unfiltered view.

Nature note
3 frogs in the pond … and 5 tadpoles!

Orion in Forty Minutes

30 January 2019, 19:00 – 19:40

One of those frustrating nights where you collimate the mirror, extricate a spider (a real spider, not the structure that holds the secondary mirror in place) and its web, take the scope outside, let it cool down, and then – just as you’re ready to begin observing – the clouds start rolling in. That said, I did manage to see a few new targets through the ever-narrowing gaps, although the observations were brief and my eyes weren’t fully dark-adapted.

All observations with the Nagler 9mm (now established as my eyepiece of choice for this scope).


NGC 2169, open cluster in Orion
A small, condensed grouping of bright stars. Not particularly rich, but visually pleasing – worth a longer look under more favourable conditions. Begs the question: at what point does a multiple star system become a cluster?

NGC 2022, planetary nebula in Orion
Appeared as a small faint annulus at 133x, like a diminished version of M57. Suggestion of brightness variations – Ultrablock and/or higher magnification should give an improved view.

NGC 1999, reflection nebula in Orion
Small patch of nebulosity roughly south of M42. (I noticed this on the uncropped frames of my December image and thought it might be bright enough to detect visually.) The central condensation looked stellar, but I suspect that higher magnification may prove otherwise. Suggestion of dark patch/hole with averted vision. I wonder how many other DSOs are neglected because of their proximity to the Great Nebula?

Rigel (Beta Orionis)
Close double, easy split at 133x even though the companion coincided with one of the diffraction spikes. Cloud starting to interfere, but used this as an opportunity to fine-tune the alignment on the EZ Finder.

NGC 1788, reflection nebula in Orion
Very faint patch of light north of Beta Eri. Faint star at centre? Literally had less than two minutes to look at this before the clouds finally put an end to the session.

A Crystal Ball in Taurus

2 November 2018, 19:45 – 21:45 GMT

Cold, very light wind, transparency improving over the course of the session.

Double Cluster, Perseus
Viewed at 50x (24mm Panoptic). Comparing against recent photo (above). The lower magnification is better for framing the clusters – at the expense of some contrast – but the eyepiece view always beats the photographic representation. Red giant stars showing well.

Cr 466, open cluster in Cassiopeia 
Large and loose, would probably look better in a wide field refractor.

vdB 1, reflection nebula in Cassiopeia
First entry in O’Meara’s Secret Deep book. Despite its obscure designation it stood out reasonably well as an extended, if subtle, haze surrounding three stars. Not surprisingly the Ultrablock did nothing to improve the view (other than damping the glare from Beta Cas). Probably worth revisiting at higher magnification on a darker night.

M76, Planetary Nebula in Perseus
Prolonged averted vision (+ Ultrablock filter) seemed to reveal the faint “loop” extensions on either side of the main nebula (brighter on one side). Starting to wonder whether an O III filter might make a significant difference on this and similar nebulae.

NGC 1501, Planetary Nebula in Camelopardalis
133x + Ultrablock filter: green-grey disc which seemed to subtly change shape depending on which side of it I was looking. Otherwise, same details seen as on 9 October.

NGC 1514 (The Crystal Ball Nebula), Planetary Nebula in Taurus
The undoubted highlight of the session – a very pretty planetary nebula flanked by two nearby 8th magnitude stars (which help make the nebulosity obvious even at 50x). At 133x it appeared as a 9th magnitude star peering out from a cocoon of light. Obvious without the filter, but the Ultrablock really enhanced the view. The edges didn’t have a sharp cut-off (unlike other PN I’ve looked at recently), but the nebula had a certain indefinable quality about it that distinguished it as a Planetary Nebula rather than an Emission Nebula (like the difference between smoke and mist). It seems from my notes that I never tried for this with the 4-inch scope, but it doesn’t deserve its reputation as a difficult object. Having two similar-brightness stars in the same field-of-view really helps to “lock in” the averted vision.

Other notes: failed to find NGC 1275 (galaxy, Perseus), but did spot a lovely close double-star pair in the vicinity. Looked a little bit like a condensed facsimile of Eta Cas.

NGC 1342, open cluster in Perseus
133x. Fairly loose at this magnification. The “starfish” shape started to become apparent when I nudged the scope around, so would probably look better at 50x.

Also, a first look at M38 and NGC 1907, pair of open clusters in Auriga: very nice, well resolved at 133x. Two rich clusters presenting very different aspects – would definitely make a good imaging target for the TV60.

Condensation wasn’t so much of an issue this time, being noticeable only on the red dot finder.

Cassiopeia – Camelopardalis

9 October 2018, 22:00 – 23:45 BST

Conditions: Transparency not great again, but still plenty of bright objects to look at.

NGC 281, nebula in Cassiopeia
Ultrablock filter helped a lot to improve the contrast at 50x (Panoptic 24mm). Central portion bright, contrasting against dark “maw”. Some mottled detail visible - dark lanes cutting through the nebula. Hard to determine overall size – nebula faded smoothly into background sky with no obvious cut-off.

Scanned the Cassiopeia/Perseus region for nebulae. Nothing popped out, but did sweep past some attractive open clusters, including Stock 23.

Gamma Arietis, double star in Aries
Pleasing blue-white pair of stars, equal brightness - like headlights.

NGC 1501, planetary nebula in Camelopardalis
Fairly bright medium-size PN, almost round. Slightly darker core revealed with averted vision, but not a “smoke-ring” like M57. Holds brightness at 240x (Nagler 5mm); appeared clumpy/mottled at higher magnification, seemed slightly brighter on north/south edges.

NGC 1502, open cluster in Camelopardalis
Viewed at 133x (Nagler 9mm); bright, rich cluster, pairs of stars running through middle. Triangular or wedge shape – like a racing yacht.

Double Stars and Double Clusters

16 September 2018, 22:00 – 00:00 BST

First quarter moon adding to the light pollution in the south-west, but at least the seeing was good.

M15, globular cluster in Pegasus
Examined at all three available magnifications. The sky background was too bright to resolve stars at 50x; there was an improvement at 133x, but on this occasion the best view came at 240x – pleasing contrast, lots of faint stars resolved.

Veil Nebula, supernova remnant in Cygnus
Hindered a little bit by moonlight, but with the Ultrablock to filter most of it out, plenty of detail still visible. The nebula had a winding, braided structure. Brightness held up well at 133x with the two main arcs extending across several fields of view. Pickering’s Triangle suspected, but not confirmed – if so, it was right on the threshold of visibility.

A quick tour of the open clusters in northern Lacerta was a little disappointing. The sky was too bright to do justice to the 24mm Panoptic, and at 133x the field of view was too small to properly frame the clusters. For the most part, they just looked like sparse associations of bright stars.

A similar tour of the Cassiopeia clusters at 50x fared better due to the richer clusters and the darker background in that part of the sky. An intermediate magnification might help with some of these NGC clusters.

Eta Cassiopeiae, double star 
Looked very nice at 133x, with the secondary appearing to have an unusual purple hue.

Double Cluster in Perseus
The red giant stars stood out more at 133x, but the two clusters lose some of their impact at this magnification. However, higher magnifications might be useful for separating close pairs and picking out fainter cluster members at 240x.

The following observations were all carried out with the Ultrablock filter.

M76, planetary nebula in Perseus
Holds brightness very well all the way up to 240x. Bi-lobed, boxy shape, with the brighter lobe appearing almost rectangular. No colour apparent. Prolonged examination suggested one or two knots/condensations within the brighter lobe.

NGC 404 (Mirach’s Ghost), galaxy in Andromeda
Only a quick look, but this little galaxy showed up surprisingly well. It seemed the Ultrablock dimmed the glare from Mirach more than it dimmed 404, but I’ll have to try this again without the filter to verify.

NGC 604, emission nebula in M33, Triangulum Galaxy
Perhaps it stood out a little more through the filter, but the difference seemed marginal at best.

NGC 1491, emission nebula in Perseus
I actually meant to look for a different nebula, but this one stood out surprisingly well as an extended misty patch with a single reasonably bright star offset from the centre. Suggestion of mottled structure at higher magnification. Faded smoothly into the background sky, unlike some of the nebulae I’ve been looking at recently.

Cygnus Planetary

2 September 2018, 22:00 – 23:00 BST

Conditions: Poor transparency, hazy, fully clouded over by 23:00.

Sensing that time was against me, I took a quick look at M71, the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), the Coathanger cluster/asterism (could barely see NGC 6802), M15, Mars. These are all objects I've seen before under better conditions, but the evening did have one new highlight:

NGC 7027, planetary nebula in Cygnus
Observed at 133x (9mm Nagler) with and without Ultrablock. Small, but bright and conspicuous with a greenish hue. At first the nebula seemed round and featureless, but prolonged scrutiny showed an elongated oval shape. Brighter at one end, suggestion of shell structure. Possible bright knot masquerading as central star. Definitely worth revisiting at 240x on a better night.