Equipment ||| Astrophotography

Objects

This list contains the objects I have observed so far. The descriptions refer to the visual impression, not photography; magnifications in binocular or Starblast 4.5, unless otherwise noted. Abbreviations are used similarly to the comments by Dreyer in the NGC: v = very, l = little, L = large, C = compressed, B = bright, F = faint, Ri = rich. OC = Open Cluster, GC = Globular Cluster. Only for GC: r = resolvable i.e. not resolved, rrr = resolved E.g. lC = little compression (in open cluster), vF = very faint
Flex 10 = Skywatcher Flex 10 inch, SB = Orion Starblast 4.5, 8x40 = Nikon Action Extreme binocular

Solar System

The Moon

When the moon is up you cannot properly observe deep sky. But you can observe the moon, and it's actually quite interesting, once you get to know it better. It shows us the same side all the time, but the terminator, the line separating light from dark, wanders a little bit every night, and this is the best area for observation, since the shadows are most pronounced. So, in a way, the moon actually does present a new picture every night. Our own satellite has oceans (of solidified lava), mountains, valleys, and of course lots of craters. Fascinating in its own way.

Sometimes you see weird shapes that may look e.g. like bridges over craters, or similar unexplainable things. The cause is the irregular shape of the crater walls that throw unexpected patterns on the crater floor when the light strikes them at the proper angle.

Mars

Difficult, not yet seen any surface detail at all, even in Flex 10 at 120x. Sometimes a hint of blue/white pole cap, but hard to tell.

Saturn

Nice rings, but have yet to see the Cassini division. Two cloud bands are easily visible even in small instruments like the Starblast; in Flex 10 red spot and occasional moon shadows.

Jupiter

Even a binocular shows the planet and the Galileian moons. The Starblast reveals two cloud bands and the red spot. In the Flex 10 I have observed the occasional shadow transits of the moons on the surface. Always a rewarding target.

Comet C/2014 E2 (Jacques)

On Aug 24 I did another constellation shot of Cassiopeia, one of several within the last couple of weeks; however, this time I discovered a suspicous pale blue fuzzy ball in the stacked image. Naturally I checked with Cartes du Ciel for the date and time and found that I had also imaged comet Jacques! It even happened to be close to the image center, where the quality is best. Below is a crop; here is the whole image, if you want to find the comet yourself.

Nikon D5100 mounted on standard camera tripod, no tracking. Nikkor 50mm 1:1.8D, 30 frames, f/2.8, 2 sec, ISO 6400. Generally f/4 and 4 sec is a better combination, lense imperfections towards the image border are much less apparent when stopped down two steps, and so close to the celestial pole star trails are not noticeable at 4 sec exposure and 50mm focal length. Aligned and stacked with hugin and imagemagick tools under Linux (align_image_stack, convert -evaluate-sequence median).

Northern Deep Sky

M1

disappointing, no structure at all

M3

GC in CVN at 13:43 +28:18, mag 6.3, 18'
nice, almost resolved in 6mm

M4

GC in Sco at 16:23 -26:31, 5.9, 26'
very easy to find about 1 deg E of Alf Sco (Antares)
nice even in 8x40

M5

good at 75x, B, easy

M6 Butterfly Cluster

OC in Sco at 17:40 -32:13, 4.2m, 25'
easy to find about 6 deg ESE of Gam Sgr, and 4 deg NE of M7
nice and rich, actually looks like a butterfly

M7

OC in Sco at 17:53 -34:47, 3.3m, 80'
very conspicous about 5 deg SE of Gam Sgr
huge open cluster, most southern Messier object! vL, lC, only good in 8x40 or similar, looks to me like a mountain with glowing heart

M8 Lagoon Nebula

C+N in Sgr at 18:05 -24:23, 5.0m, 45'
very conspicuous about 6 deg N of Gam Sgr; steam coming out of the teapot!
Magnificent object with a beautiful eerie glow, nicely framed with M20 in 8x40


M8 at bottom, M20 and M21 above

M9

S, F, not res in SB

M10

several * resolved at 75x

M11 Wild Duck Cluster

OC at RA 18:52 DE -06:15 Mag 5.8 Dim 14'
4 deg WSW of Lam Aql, the tail of the eagle
magnificent object, almost a GC, square shape with dark lane in the middle, still good at 75x

M12

very similar to M10

M13 The Great Hercules Cluster

Easily found in 8x40, dozens of * at 75x. Even small binoculars for daytime use like 8x20 or similar show the object for what it is. Excellent to introduce people to the marvels of space.

M14

vF, S, not res in SB

M15

GC at
S but B, bright core

M16 Eagle Nebula

C+N at 18:20 -13:46, 6.0m, 7'
4 deg N of M24
Nice object for large aperture instruments; wedge shape, nebula filter reveals more faint nebulosity.


From top to bottom: M16, M17, M18

M17 Swan Nebula

C+N at 18:22 -16:10, 6.0m, 11'
2 deg NNE of M24
Interesting object that looks like an edge-on galaxy at first glance, but the check-mark shape gives it away

M18

OC at 18:21 -17:07, 6.9m, 9'
1 deg NNE of M24, close to M17
Small and rather unimpressive open cluster

M20 Trifid Nebula

C+N at 18:04 -22:58, 6.3m, 28'
1 deg N of M8, the Lagoon Nebula
A beautiful nebulous area that would be the prime attraction in this region of sky were it not for the even more impressive Lagoon nebula close by.

M21

OC at 18:05 -22:29, 5.9m, 13'
very close NW of M20
very unimpressive and small open cluster

M22

Large and bright globular cluster, even small instruments resolve dozens of stars

M23

A large and pretty rich open cluster, good binocular target.

M24

Not a true deep sky object, but a Milkyway patch seen through a chance window in interstellar dust. Looks like a very big cluster. Fine binocular target, highest number of stars in a single binocular field of view, about 1000

M25

Large but only moderately rich open cluster

M26

OC at 18:46 -09:23, 8.0m, 15'
7 deg SW of Lam Aql
Good open cluster in its own right, but fails to impress compared to close-by M11

M27 The Dumbbell Nebula

PN at 20:00 +22:46, 7.3m, 8'
3 deg N of Gam Sge, the tip of the arrow
big enough to find in 8x40, elongated at 26x, distinct dumbbell shape at 75x

Here is a little challenge: find it in this image

M28

Globular cluster that somewhat disappoints compared to close-by M22

M29

not spectacular, but funny space invader shape

M30

GC at 21:41 -23:06, 6.9m, 9'
easy from Zet Cap
S, F

M31 The Andromeda Galaxy

Gx at 00:44 +41:21, 3.4m, 180'
4 deg NW of Mu And, which is 4 deg NW of Bet And
Isn't it most unfortunate that the biggest galaxy we can see from the northern hemisphere is also among the visually most unappealing? Why can't M51 or M101 be as close as M31? The Andromeda galaxy is too big for most telescopes, it is best viewed with a 10x50, or even an 8x40, and yet it remains just a smudge, although a big one. Visually no spiral arms or any structure other than the bright core with my equipment. Disappointing! Yet, of course, I keep returning.

M33

Gx at 01:35 +30:44, mag 5.7, 68'
about 4 deg W from Alp Tri; or in an almost straight line SW from Perseus cluster: M34, NGC 752, M33
large and bright (for a galaxy), easy with 8x40

M34

vL, lC
go from Perseus cluster SW towards Triangulum, very conspicous
In the image below M34 is shown on the left, with NGC 752 in the middle, and M33 on the right

M35

L, lC, very conspicous in 8x40 coming from M36/7/8

M36

lC, small but still about 10-15*

M37

Ri, C, wedge with bright middle * at broad end

M38

L, F, lC, looks like a bird in flight

M36, M37, and M38 are easy to find in Auriga with an 8x40 or similar. Interesting because they are so close together: you can sweep up and down across them with your binoc. The image also shows (among other things) IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula.

M39

OC at 21:33 +48:30, 4.6m, 32'
easy to find about 9 deg NW of Deneb

large but loose open cluster, good in 8x40, too big for telescope

M41

OC at 06:46 -20:46, mag 4.5, 38'
easy to find about 5 deg S of Sirius

L, lC, good binocular target

M42 The Orion Nebula

C+N at 05:36 -05:22, mag 4.0, 90'
Middle 'star' in the sword of Orion.
Probably the most famous deep sky object. A lot has been said about it already. I see a ghoul, spreading its wings around an empty shell.
Visually very easy and rewarding, spectacular in every instrument. Photographically difficult because of huge range: middle with trapezoid very bright, outer regions faint. Nice view in wide field with Flame nebula.

M43

BN at 05:36 -05:15, mag 7.0, 20'
detached part of Orion nebula

M44 The Beehive Cluster

Also known as the Praesepe, this object in the most unconspicous constellation of Cancer is easy to find from the Gemini twins. With its 3.7 visual magnitude and generous dimension of 95 arc minutes this is a very good target for binoculars. It is possible to see this cluster from city locations with considerable light pollution. Even with such hinderance it is still a nice view. The image below shows M44 and M67 with Jupiter.

M45 The Pleiades

Always beautiful with an 8x40 or similar. There is some nebulosity, but I have not seen it yet. The shape for me looks like a wheel barrow, or a squeezed version of the big dipper. Very rewarding photographically, probably the best DSO to start with in the northern hemisphere.

M46

easy, small core, B

M48

in 8x40 distinct but little detail; easy to find below M44

M49

Gx, S, B, bright core

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

two cores usually visible, no arms seen yet but sometimes hint of whirl; on good nights better in 6mm

M52

OC at 23:25 +61:40, 6.9m, 13'
follow the line from Alf to Bet Cas for about the same distance
F, S, many * res at 75x. A small and rather unimpressive open cluster.

M53

easy to find near Alp Com, bright, no details except core

M56

F, not resolved

M57 The Ring Nebula

This object is easy to find in the conspicous constellation Lyra. It is small, but sufficiently bright to show clearly when magnified even in small instruments. The amazing thing about it is of course its shape: it actually is a ring. For me it looks a bit out of place; you don't expect to see a shape like that in the sky, but there it is.

M61

Gx, S, no bright core

M64

easy, small core, bright

M65

S, B, M66 and 3628 in same field, looking like eyes and mouth

M66

S, B, elongated at 45x

M67

good in 8x40; small, pC, crescent, what looks like dark lanes, nice object on good nights

M68

GC, F, S, not res

M69

GC at 18:32 +32:21, 7.7m, 7'
about 2.5 deg NE from Eps Sgr
vS, vF

M71

GC at 19:54 +18:50, 8.3m, 6'
between Gam and Del Sge
r, S, F, velvety look.
With a globular this small and faint my method of astrophotography really reaches its limits; one can just make out a small fuzzy patch between Gam and Del Sge.

M80

GC in Sco at 16:17 -22:59, 7.3m, 5'
about 4 deg NE of Alf Sco
S

M81 and M82

My first galaxies, viewed with my first scope, the Starblast, and still amazing. To see other worlds so huge and yet so remote with your own eyes remains a kind of thrill, although visually one has to admit that even with a 10 inch scope there is not much detail to see, at least for me. It is more of an intellectual thrill. These two are easy to find from the Big Dipper. You can spot them in an 8x40 or 10x50, but you need at least about 20x to appreciate them fully.

M85

Gx, S

M92

resolved a few * in 6mm. Smaller and less impressive than neighbor M13. Would be a good target if M13 was not so close.

M97 The Owl Nebula

Easy to find in the Big Dipper, and amazing in small instruments, because of the striking difference in appearance: on the one hand, the gray patch of M97, and on the other the bright Dipper star Merak nearby. Unfortunately, I cannot see any structure even in my 10 inch. Maybe need better conditions.

M101

big faint speck with Flex 10, smaller and equally faint in SB at 26x, usually no structure, sometimes very faint brighter core

M103

OC at 01:34 +60:43, 7.4, 6'
1 deg NNE of Del Cas
small but nice triangle shape

M104

S, bright core; Sombrero Gx, dark lane not seen

M105

small, no detail except bright core

M106

Gx, slightly elongated

M107

vF, S, not res in SB

M108

vF edge-on

457

OC at 01:20 +58:21, 6.4m, 13'
2 deg SSW of Del Cas, close to Phi Cas, which is not a member
ET or Owl cluster, looks like a figure with big eyes and arms streched out; good target

654

OC at 01:45 +61:57, 6.5m, 5'
1/2 deg NNW of 663, and about halfway between Del and Eps Cas
small and rather unimpressive, lC, 20-30 *

663

OC at 01:47 +61:19, mag 7.1, 16'
very conspicous between Eps and Del Cas
still nice at 75x, small, many faint *; on some nights almost as good as h+x

752

OC at 01:59 +37:44, 5.7m, 50'
3 deg NW of Bet Tri, the short edge
vL, lC

869/884 The Double Cluster

OC at 02:20 +57:12, 5.3m, 30' (869)
7 deg SSE of Eps Cas
Also known as h+x; obvious naked-eye, very easy to find from Cassiopeia, and splendid in just about every instrument; circumpolar at 48 lat, but best in Winter. Very good binocular object.

1245

OC at 03:16 +48:17, 8.4m, 10'
Close to Mel20, the huge Perseus cluster, about half-way to Kap Per. In the above image the cluster is right in the center.
Easy to spot with binocular, but need higher magnification to resolve stars. Nice velvety background.

1647

OC at 04:47 +19:07, 6.4m, 45'
Above the left eye of Taurus
Unremarkable in itself, but nice when viewed in wide-field with the Hyades, such as in this picture which also shows the Pleiades.

2024 The Flame Nebula

EN at 05:42 -01:51, 30'
Next to Alnitak, in the Belt of Orion
Surprisingly easy photographically. Even a hint of the Horsehead can be seen.

2237 Rosette Nebula

C+N at 06:32 +05:02, mag 5.5, 80'
with UHC filter very slight neb aroung * of 2244

2244

poor cluster

2903

Gx mag 9, 12', easy to find, but no detail except bright core

3184

Gx mag 9.8, 7.6', easy to find halfway between the front of the Dipper and Leo's sickle, but very faint, no structure

3628

Gx S, bright core, same field with M105

6633

OC at 18:28 +06:32, 4.6m, 27'
3 deg W of bigger neighbor I4756
L, B, lC, ~30 bright *, good at 26x, better at 14x (32mm with 450mm SB)

6712

GC at 18:54 -08:41, 8.2m, 4'
5 deg SW of Lam Aql, close to M11 and M26
S, F, r, very small patch at 75x, really fails to impress compared to its Messier neighbors

6826

small disk, almost star-like, does not blink

6939

vF GC, not resolved

6940

OC at 20:35 +28:20, mag 6.3, 31'
About halfway between M27 and Zet Cyg
Big open cluster, compare with close-by M29

6960 Veil Nebula Western Part

BN at 20:46 +30:47, 7.0m, 210'
with UHC filter easy to find from Eps Cyg
UHC renders the Veil nicely, without filter only 52 Cyg visible

6992 Veil Nebula Eastern Part

BN at 20:57 +31:47, 7.0m, 60'
close to Eps Cyg, easier than 6960
large and spectacular object, but filter essential; very easy in 10 inch f/5 reflector at 40x with UHC filter, lots of structure, truely fascinating; invis without filter

7000 North America Nebula

BN at 21:02 +44:16, 4.0m, 120'
Close to Deneb in Cygnus
Photographically no problem, but somewhat challenging visually; becomes easier once you have seen it from a reasonably dark site

7209

OC at 22:06 +46:34, mag 7.7, 25'
go from Deneb to M39 and a little further towards Lacerta
nice open cluster in rich and beautiful Milkyway patch, pan slowly to make it stand out

7243

OC at 22:16 +49:59, mag 6.4, 21'
same field with 7209 in 8x40, towards Alp Lac
nice cluster, a little smaller than 7209, but conspicous

7789

OC in CAS at 23:57 +56:42, 6.7m, 16'
about 3 deg SE from Bet Cas
diffcult to resolve in small scopes


The image shows more detail than my 8x40, where the cluster is just a big but faint fuzzy patch

I1396

C+N at 21:39 +57:34, 3.5m, 89'
easy to find from Alp and Zet Cep
OC vL, vlC, binocular target

I4665

very conspicous OC near b Oph, p, 15 *, lC, L, B, better in 8x40

I4756

OC at 18:40 +05:28, 4.6m, 39'
10 deg SW of Zet Aql
vL, vlC, ~100 *, good in 8x40, nice at 18x, still OK at 26x. Look for neighbor 6633 3 deg W

Mel 20

OC at 03:25 +49:55, mag 1.2, 185'
Perseus cluster around Alp Per
beautiful in 8x40

Mel 25

OC at 04:28 +16:02, mag 0.5, 330'
Hyades, The head of Taurus the Bull
Huge cluster; Aldebaran is not a member. Very big target, but still nice in 8x40.

Mel 111

A huge open cluster in Coma Berenices, spanning about 4 degrees. Big target even for 8x40.

Southern Deep Sky

3372 The Eta Carinae Nebula

I have the good fortune of being able to spend some time a year in Australia, and the skies down under are much clearer and darker than in Europe. The Eta Carinae nebula remains the most appealing object visually, even with the stiff competition in this part of the sky. The nebula is an easy naked-eye object, very large, and truly spectacular in even a small telescope like the Orion Skyscanner, in an almost mystical way. From really dark sites the nebula appears like a one-eyed giant bird, with a big flaming head, and wings that just barely hint of dark red color. For some reason the image in the eyepiece seems almost three-dimensional. I know, I am looking at it with only one eye, so there - but still, no other object creates this impression of actual depth in space like this nebula. I took a lot of pictures of this object, but none do it any justice; they come nowhere near the visual experience.

3114

OC 50-100 *, somewhat loose, small wedge shape, looks a bit like a shower head

3293

OC small but distinct, easy to find, 10-12 *

3532

OC, impressive, rich, very beautiful, 100+ *

I2602

Aka Southern Pleiades; nice but a little too lose, the original (M45) is better

The Large Magellanic Cloud

It really is large. It fills several fields of view with the Skyscanner, and the amount of detail to be seen from a dark site seems to be endless. You can watch the LMC for an hour and feel that you still just began looking at it. It is that great. However, truth be told, in terms of purely aestetic appeal I must say that it cannot stand against the Eta Carinae nebula. The LMC is great, with lots of detail and structure, easily resolved even with a small scope like the Skyscanner, but is it as curiously present and mysterious like the ECN? I don't think so. Its interest lies more in the intellectual domain. Where the ECN is uncanny, almost magical, the LMC presents a clear picture, much more accessible. Having said that, the joy of sweeping across this impressive object is still enormous, much like the LMC itself.