13" f/5.6 unless noted\n\n''NGC 181'' Pretty faint, pretty small, round, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. Very near to Epsilon AND. Several other galaxies are marked on U2000 chart #90. They are very tough and I am could not hold them with any certainty.\n\n''NGC 205'' (''M 110'') 8" Bright, large, not compressed , dimmer than M 32 Sentinel 8/10 S+T 11X80 -- just seen as an elongated blob. 60X in 13" bright, large, much elongated 3X1 in PA 165, much, much brighter middle, there are three level of brightening within the galaxy. 150X makes it look like a little version of the Andromeda Galaxy itself. Covers the field of view from edge to edge. Bright, very large, much elongated, very much brighter middle, with a stellar nucleus.\n\n[>img[M31 (also M32 and M110) in a Telrad Finder Circle|m031-2.png]] ''NGC 224'' (''M 31'') 8" //f// /4.5 Very very bright, very very large, very bright nucleus, spiral structure obvious, two dark lanes, one nearer to the core . 17.5" What can you say, 5 eyepiece field wide with a 20mm. Finder chart will allow observing at least 10 globulars. I spotted 5. 13" at Cherry Rd. very much elongated in PA 35, many stars involved, all three galaxies fit within a one degree field of the 38mm Giant Erfle eyepiece at 60X.\n\nBuckeye 7/10 S+T -- Easily naked eye, direct your vision between AND and Dbl Cl, both about same brightness and size, PA of Dbl Cl a little more E-W. Elong 2X1, much brighter middle, not quite the size of the Pleiades. 11X80 -- spans entire FOV, much, much brighter in the middle with a bright nucleus. Both companions obvious, M110 easier. No dark lane, but M 31 cuts off on N side, where lanes are located. Elongated 5X1 in PA 30.\n\n10X50 binocs -- more prominent in binocs than in 11X80s, a "bow tie" effect has the galaxy appear narrowed around the core and thicker out in the arms. M110 obvious, M 32 just barely there.\n\n13" with 38mm Erfle -- Spans 3 1/2 fields, each FOV 1 degree. Very, very bright, very, very large, very, very elongated, very much brighter in the middle, has a bright nucleus. Two dark lanes on North side are there, but contrast is mediocre in this eyepiece.\n\n22mm Panoptic -- Best view, wide and contrasty. Dark lanes very prominent, an optical illusion of viewing through the dark lanes to see stars "on the other side". A blazing core compresses\nto a bright, stellar nucleus. Body of galaxy is smooth, very little mottling, except around NGC 206, the star cloud on SW end.\n\n8.8mm Ultra Wide -- 220X much faint outer arm detail disappears at this power, but the core and NGC 206 are fascinating. NGC 206 is pretty faint, pretty small, elongated 2X1 in PA0, not brighter in the middle and very mottled. This star cloud stands out from the galaxy moderately well. The Core is a smooth progression of brightness down to a small very bright section in the middle, approximately 2 arcsec in size. There is a 14th mag star about one arcmin south of the core, it\ncomes and goes with the seeing at 220X.\n\n6.7mm Ultra Wide -- going to 330X shows the stellar core about 20% of the time as a tiny, bright point.\n\n6" //f// /6 Dugas S=5 T=6 22mm all 3 fit in field. Very, very bright, NGC 206 seen, better with averted vision. The 2 dark lanes are also better with averted vision. There are several other bright markings in the arms and a lovely pearlescence of the entire galaxy.\n\n10X50s Backyard pretty bright, pretty large, core easily seen, it is 2X1 elongated. Averted vision make it a little larger.\n\n\n''NGC 221'' (''M 32'') 8" Bright, large, somewhat elongated, bright nucleus, near to spiral arm of M31. At Sentinel with 13" it is bright, pretty large, round, much brighter in the middle and has a stellar nucleus at 150X on a 8/10 night.\n\n''NGC 389'' Very faint, pretty small, round, not brighter in the middle, there is a 12th mag star 1' NE, averted vision helps with object at 165X.\n\n''NGC 393'' Faint, pretty small, little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 0, little brighter middle at 165X.\n\n''NGC 404'' Pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat elongated, somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. Very near to Beta AND.\n\n\n''NGC 708'' Pretty faint, round at 135X. This is one of the centers of the Abell 262 galaxy group, there are three other galaxies in the field of view, all very faint.\n\nUltimate Star Party, McDonald Obs., Oct. 95, S=7, T=9, 36" //f// /5 -- ''Abell 262'' in AND 36" 20mm; Absolutely gorgeous, NGC 708 and 40 galaxies in THAT field; total count at least 100, 20 of which are pretty large and have some obvious size. Much of the main body is elongated into a line of galaxies.\n\n\n''NGC 752'' 8" Bright, large, not compressed, many nice chains of stars 13" Buckeye 6/10 Very bright, very large, round, not compressed, and rich at 60X in the 38mm Giant Erfle eyepiece. I counted 55 stars as members, this huge cluster has stars of 10th to 13th mag. It is naked eye and 10 stars where resolved in the 11X80 finder scope.\n\n6" //f// /6 at Sentinel 8/10 Very bright, very, very large, 78 stars counted with 22mm Panoptic, not compressed, several nice chains, two pairs of stars are yellow and blue. 16 stars resolved in the 10X50 binoculars. Many bright and pretty bright members.\n\n6" backyard bright, large, not compressed, somewhat rich, 22 stars counted with several nice chains and a fuzzy background. There is a bright triple star on the south side.\n\n\n''NGC 753'' Pretty bright, pretty large, little brighter in the middle and little elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 110 at 135X.\n\n''NGC 785'' This is the other center to Abell 262, there is an edge on very close to NGC 785 and two other faint galaxies nearby.\n\n''NGC 818'' Pretty faint, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 110, considerably brighter middle at 135X.\n\n''NGC 828'' Pretty bright, pretty small, round, bright middle at 135X.\n\n''NGC 891'' 17.5" Pretty bright, pretty large, very elongated, central bulge obvious, outer arms show sculptured detail at 200 X. 13" Sentinel 8/10 Bright, large, very much elongated 5X1 in PA 20. Thin dark lane is easy at 150X, it is better with averted vision. The central bulge of this galaxy stands out.\n\n''NGC 956'' Pretty faint, pretty small, somewhat compressed, not much,two pretty bright stars and a few companions.\n\n''NGC 7640'' Faint, pretty large, much elongated, somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. This object is not much and the 10.9 magnitude is much too high according to the surface brightness of this object.\n\n\n''NGC 7662'' 17.5" Pretty bright, pretty small, round, a greenish dot at 100X. Using 320X it appears annular or ring-like, central star suspected in good seeing.\n\n13" Dugas Rd. 8/10 Lovely blue-green disk at 100X. Going to 270X with the 15mm and barlow shows several rings around a central star that makes it look like the "CBS eye".\n\nSentinel 8/10 13" 150X-bright, pretty small, round, light blue. 330X - great view!! Internal detail shows turbulent swirls, central star comes and goes about 30 percent of the time, the blue color is not as obvious at high power. 440X - no new detail seen.\n\n6" //f// /6 Backyard, checking HP 48 program -- It Works! S+T=5 Recognized as PN with 22mm Panoptic, going to 8.8 shows it as bright, pretty large, brighter middle, aqua in color, the central star is seen 10% of the time.\n\n\n''NGC 7686'' 17.5" Pretty bright, pretty compressed, round, surrounds a yellow 8th mag *, reminds of Tau CMA and NGC 2362. Another observation with the 17.5" from a better site, I called the star orange and commented on lovely chains of stars within the cluster.\n\n13" from Cherry Rd. 8/10 night; Pretty bright, large, not compressed, 37 members counted at 100X. One pretty bright member. The beautiful chains of stars form a spiral pattern outward from the center.\n\nBuckeye 4/10 S+T 13" 100X -- pretty bright, little compressed, not rich, stars mags 8...12, 28 stars counted. The Milky Way does not have a very high star density here, so it is well detached. There is a nice 8th mag yellow star in center. 150X brings out 5 more very faint members, but that seems to be all there is to see. Also brings out a nice star chain and another triple star near the bright central star. More power does not help.\n\n\n''IC 65'' Very faint, pretty large, much elongated 3 X 1 in PA 135, somewhat brighter middle at 135X.\n\n''IC 239'' Very faint, pretty large, round, somewhat brighter middle, low surface brightness at 135X.\n\n''UGC 2034'' Extremely faint, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 0, not brighter in the middle at 135X. There is a 10 mag star on the Eastern end and a faint double star to the north. Averted vision helps this difficult object.\n\n''~PK110-12.1'' Could not see at Sentinel, Az. Good nite, even using the UHC filter did not bring it out.\n\n''Abell 347'' Galaxy Cluster 13" Sentinel 8/10; 2 members faint, pretty small, round and not brighter in the middle. 6 other seen all very faint and small. Not a rich grouping, several pretty bright stars involved among the galaxies.\n\n\n''Multiple Stars''\n\n''Gamma AND'' 8" Yellow and pale green. Easily split in any scope I have ever owned, it has been a favorite for years, I always see it as yellow and sea green.\n\n''Pi AND'' Split at 100X, white and royal blue\n\n''Struve 3042'' Nice matched pair, two cream colored stars.\n\n''Struve 79'' Almost match white pair, easy split at 100X.\n\n''h 1947'' Easy at 100X, white and gray.\n\n''Grb 34'' Easy at 135X, white and light blue\n\n\n''Red Stars''\n\n''VX AND'' Orange pretty bright star at 100X.\n

It is Fall and that means it is time to bundle up, even when observing in Arizona. So, here are a few of my favorite tips for keeping warm. First, put on the warm clothes ''BEFORE'' you get really cold. Trying to warm up after letting yourself get cold in tough. Next, make certain that the head and feet are especially comfortable. I wear a stocking cap and muffler for the head and "Moon boots" to keep toes warm. Many different types of warmly padded boots are available, try some on and remember you will be standing in them for a long while.\n\n''NGC 6981'' (''M 72'') is at 20 hr 53.5 min and -12 deg 32 min. It is bright, pretty large, round, much compressed, and much brighter in the middle. I easily resolved it at 150X in my old 17.5". There is a inner bright region with a well-resolved outer section which showed 20 stars resolved on a night I rated 7/10 for seeing. It was seen in 10X50 finder. I also observed M 72 from Buckeye with my 13" f/5.6. I saw a an overall triangular shape to this globular and resolved 12 stars at 220X.\n\n''NGC 7009'' is at 21hr 04.2 min and -11 deg 22 min. This is the ''Saturn Nebula'', a famous planetary with outer ansae (wing-like projections) and a bright inner disk. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1782 but Lord Rosse was the first to see the extending ansae. The projections reminded him of the planet Saturn and he gave this object its' nickname. Amateurs have been trying to duplicate that observation ever since.\n\nUsing the 13" at Cherry Rd. on a 8/10 night; Bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 75, at 220X the central star and ansae are obvious and the nebula is light green.\n\nThis observation of the Saturn Nebula is made with Helen and Richard Lines' 20" f/6 Newtonian in Meyer, AZ. The nebula is bright, small, somewhat elongated and light green at 150X. Raising the power to 225X will show the ansae as faint projections from the bright central section. At 400X the central star is obvious and the ansae stand out more clearly. One of the bright spots along the ansae (Helen Lines calls them wing tanks) is visible at this higher power. All these observations are on a night I rated 7/10 for seeing and transparency and I found that the UHC filter did NOT help with either the central disk or the ansae detail. Several observers, myself included saw the nebula as light green, without the UHC filter installed.\n\n''NGC 7088'' is faint, large and elongated 2x1 ~E-W. This star cluster is 26' North of ''M 2''. It took a 38mm eyepiece which gives a one degree field to get some contrast surrounding this cluster. It is just a faint glow with some mottled structure and 6 stars superimposed across the face. I have heard this object called ''Baxendell's Unphotographable Nebula'', probably because it could be seen but not photographed with older technology. In the era of long focal ratio scopes and slow emulsions, this was "unphotographable". It certainly would be fun to try a picure of this object with a modern lens and film, just to see if you could shoot the "unphotographable" nebula.\n\n''Double Stars''\n\nThere are lots of nice double stars in Aquarius, and several of them will provoke a discussion of colors in binary stars. One evening a group of people observed Tau 1 Aqr (69 AQR) and here are the results of these observations:\n\n''Tau 1'' (''69 Aqr'') at 22 47.7 -14 03 with 17.5" at 150X:\nA.J. Crayon - white and pale blue,\nGerry Rattley - yellowish and orange\nDave Fredericksen and Me - blue-white and green\nGene Lucas - blue-white and pale blue\nGeorge deLange - white and yellowish\n\n''Binocular fields''\n\nI have always loved to sit back in a lounge chair and just enjoy the sights of Our Galaxy with a pair of binoculars, it is very relaxing and just plain fun. There are several places in Aquarius that are worth some time scanning with binoculars. I recommend the areas near Psi and Omega AQR. These areas contain some beautiful curved chains of stars that cross each other and form interresting patterns in my pair of 10X50's. I would highly recommend looking at the sky with both eyes for a while.

Aquila is a constellation that has always presented a puzzle to me. That is: why isn't there a nice, bright Messier object located within its' borders? Here is a fairly large constellation that straddles the Summer Milky Way and does not have a real showpiece object that it can claim. Aquila shares borders with Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Hercules and Aquarius, one of those grand constellations should be able to spare a nice cluster of some type. But no, Aquila must be content with what it has; several nice planetary nebulae and a few mediocre clusters. I guess someone must block for the star quarterback.\n\n''NGC 6709'' is a nice open cluster in the 13"; large, pretty rich and not compressed at 100X. I counted 59 member stars, including several nice chains of stars. There is a wide blue and gold double on the western edge of the cluster. This cluster was seen in 11 X 80 finder at 18 hr 51.5 min and +10 21.\n\n[>img[Starchart for Aquila|aquila1.png]]''NGC 6751'' is a very nice planetary nebula at 19 hr 05.9 and -06 00. In the 13" it is pretty large, bright, somewhat elongated, and greenish at 135X. This is on a night I rated 8/10 for seeing and 9/10 for transparency in the central Arizona mountains. On that very nice evening, this object appeared to me as one of the best objects in Aquila. There are two stars of about 12th magnitude embedded within this bright planetary, one in the center and one on the eastern edge, both can be seen at 220X.\n\n''NGC 6755'' is an open cluster at 19 hr 07.8 min and +04 14. It is large, not compressed, irregular in shape and has nice chains of stars at 100X in the 13". 50 members were counted. This object and NGC 6756 both fit in the one degree field of my giant 38mm Erfle eyepiece. I called it the Double Cluster in Aquila. Both clusters are just visible in the 11 X 80 finder.\n\n''NGC 6756'' is pretty small, much compressed, elongated, a compact cluster at 165X. I counted 15 members resolved.\n\n''NGC 6760'' is a nice globular cluster. I saw it as bright, pretty large, round and somewhat brighter middle at 100X. I resolved 4 stars at 270X, but the globular is grainy at all powers. I estimate its magnitude as 10.5, size as 5 arc minutes. This cluster is located at 19 hr 11.2 min and +01 02.\n\n''NGC 6804'' is a planetary nebula at 19 hr 31.6 min and +09 13. I have two observations of this object which make it clear for me that it shows different shapes with direct and averted vision! The first time I observed this nebula I saw it as bright, pretty large and comet shaped at 100X. Using 200X shows a star at the tip of the comet shape and another dimmer star involved to the west. A nice object at high power. Another observation with the 13" from Dugas Rd on a 7/10 night; pretty bright, pretty large, and round at 135X. At 220X, 4 stars are involved including a 12th magnitude star on the eastern edge. Averted vision elongates the nebula, the pretty bright star involved also makes the nebula appear comet shaped. Using direct vision it is round in shape. I observed this nebula with a 36 inch recently and I am afraid that I didn't completely solve the mystery. I saw 7 stars involved with the central star held for 20 percent of the time, central bright region is mottled and shows lots of fine detail, bright and dark regions that are small, but held steady, a unique object. There is a brighter diamond-shaped central region and then fainter outer region which makes the entire object round. So, I assume that the brighter inner section is diamond or comet shaped and the outer, faint envelope of nebulosity makes it appear round to my eye. A weird object, see for yourself.\n

The Sign of the Ram happens to be my astrological sign, so I would like to take a little space to say a couple of nice things about astrology. First of all, it is often the first place where people hear the language of the constellations. Knowing that someone is an Aries or a Gemini might not provide an insight into their psyche, but it can at least have you hear the terminology associated with things in the sky. Also, let's stop deriding the ancient astronomers for also being astrologers. It was the real reason that the ancients started studying the sky, they thought Marduk (God to the Sumerians) was providing a huge puzzle that could be solved and allow the priests to predict the future. An interesting idea that should not hold up our ancestors to ridicule. Well, even though I don't believe the stars can portend the future, I do believe there are some nice deep sky goodies in Aries, so let's take a look.\n\n''NGC 680'' is pretty bright, pretty large, round and much brighter in the middle at 165X in my 13" //f// /5.6. This galaxy is at 1 hr 49.8 min and +21 58.\n\n''NGC 697'' looks pretty bright, pretty large and is elongated 3 X 1 in a PA of 110 degrees. This galaxy is much brighter in the middle at 165X and it displays very obvious mottling in the spiral arms. It is located at 1 hr 51.3 min and +22 21.\n\n''NGC 722'' shows up as faint, pretty small, little elongated in PA 90 and is not brighter in the middle at 135X. This galaxy is close to Beta Aries at 1 hr 54.8 min and +20 41.\n\n''NGC 772'' is the most obvious deep sky object in Aries. The 13" shows it as bright, large and little elongated in PA 135 degrees. The arms of this face-on spiral are very mottled. The core is much brighter than the arms at 165X and the very center has a stellar nucleus in moments of good seeing. It is at 1 hr 59.3 min and +19 01.\n\n''NGC 821'' is pretty bright, small and somewhat elongated (1.5 X 1) in a PA of 30 degrees. There is a very bright middle at 165X. This nice galaxy is located at 2 hr 08.4 min and +11 00.\n\n''NGC 877'' is pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 0 and a little brighter in the middle at 165X. This galaxy is located at 2 hr 18 min and +14 33.\n\n''NGC 972'' shows up as pretty bright, pretty small, much brighter in the middle and elongated 3 X 1 in PA 145 at 165X. This galaxy really grows with averted vision. It is at 2 hr 34 min and +29 19.\n\n''NGC 1012'' is not easy in the 13", even on a night I rated 7 out of 10 for transparency. I saw it as faint, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 30 and much brighter in the middle at 165X. There are several stars involved on the east side. It is at 2 hr 39.3 min and +30 09.\n\n''NGC 1156'' is pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 30 and somewhat mottled at 165X. It is at 2 hr 59.7 min and +25 14.

The northern part of the Winter Milky Way is at its best in Auriga, the Charioteer. Spend some time with a pair of binoculars or a small scope with a wide field eyepiece and you will see a wide variety of chains of stars and nebulae zoom past the eyepiece. So, let's stop and observe a few of these goodies at a more leisurely pace. If you are looking to take on the Messier list, here is a constellation that will provide you with three Messier clusters.\n\n''NGC 1857'' is a bright and rich cluster that is located at 5 hr 20.2 min and +16 deg 42 min. Very nice at 165X, an 8th mag yellow star with several nice star chains radiating out from it. 45 members were counted using the 13" scope within 12 minutes of cluster size.\n\n''IC 410'' Without UHC filter it is faint, large and irregular. Using the UHC, it is pretty bright and obvious at 100X. In either case this nebula surrounds the cluster NGC 1893 and is more easily spotted on the south and west sides. Its' position is 5 hr 22.6 min and +33deg 31min.\n\n''NGC 1907'' is pretty bright, pretty small, much compressed and resolved at 165X. This cluster is at 5 hr 28 min and +35 deg 19 min. Just seen in the 11X80 finder, I counted 22 stars in 13". This cluster has a dark lane down the middle. It is near M 38 and reminds me of M35 and NGC 2158 somewhat.\n\n''NGC 1912'' (''M 38'') Bright, large, not compressed, seen in finder. The stars are arranged in the Greek letter "Pi". 50 stars counted at 100X. It is located at 5 hr 28.7 min and +35 deg 50 min.\n\n''NGC 1931'' Bright, pretty large and somewhat elongated. Looks like a small comet at very low powers. There is a triple star in the center, it is resolved at 200X. It is positioned at: 5 hr 31.4 min and +34 deg 15 min. Try high power on this small emission nebula.\n\n''NGC 1960'' (''M 36'') Bright, large, rich and round. Easy in finder, several double stars are involved, they are all split at 135X. This excellant cluster is at 5 hr 36.1 min and +34 deg 08 min.\n\n''NGC 2099'' (''M 37'') Very Bright, large, very rich. Naked eye at my best sites in the mountains of Arizona, it is obvious in the finder. This cluster has always seemed a winter version of M 11 to me for several reasons: it is triangular in shape, there is a bright, yellow-orange star involved and both clusters are cut into sections by dark lanes. M 37 is in a very rich section of winter Milky Way and at 135X in the 13" I have estimated 200 members by counting 50 in one quadrant. This is one of my favorite clusters in the sky. It is located at 5 hr 52.4 min and +32 deg 33 min.\n\n''B 34'' is an easy dark nebula at 60X in a surplus 38mm Erfle with gives the 13" a one degree field. The dark area is about 1/2 degree in size and is roundish with several dark lanes winding out of the field to the west. Raising the magnification does not help the view. This field of dark lanes is at 5 hr 43.5 min and +32 deg 39 min.\n\n''IC 2149'' Pretty bright, small, little elongated. The central star comes and goes with the seeing at 270X. The planetary is a greenish dot elongated 1.5 to 1 east-west. 5 hr 56.3 min and +46 deg 07 min is the position of this lovely, light green dot afloat in a rich Winter Milky Way field of stars.\n\n''UV Aur'' is a carbon star paired with a B type giant, the ultimate red-blue pair. It is a pretty faint pair, but well worth it. At 165X in the 13" this pair is a gorgious burnt orange and blue, it exhibits some of the best color I have ever seen in a double star even though the stars are not bright. 5 hr 21.8 min and +32 deg 31 min.

I have been using Position Angle (PA) to mark the angle of elongation of deep sky objects for several years. I find it useful to make certain that I am observing the same object seen by Herschel or other observers. It is also useful for objects which generally do not have an angle of elongation given in the data. For instance, gaseous nebulae and open clusters rarely have a value of PA given if they are elongated. So, the system works like this: mark North as 0 degrees and move clockwise through 360 degrees to provide a value for the PA of that object. Therefore, a galaxy which is elongated from NE to SW is at a PA of 45 degrees. If the angle is just a little South of East, then the PA will be approximately 100 degrees. If you use an equatorial mount, move the scope to the North and then to the East a little bit and the stars will enter the field of view from the direction you are moving the scope. So that as you move the tube to the North, stars appear on the North or 0 PA side and you move East, stars enter from the East or 90 degree PA side of the view. Now, let's use this system on some elongated galaxies in Cancer, the Crab.\n\n''NGC 2545'' is faint, small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 165 degrees and is brighter in the middle at 100X in my 13" scope. It is located at 8 hr 14.2 min and +21 21.\n\n''NGC 2562'' shows up as pretty faint, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 135 and has a bright middle at 165X. This little galaxy is at 8 hr 20.4 min and +21 08.\n\n''NGC 2565'' is faint, small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 0 and much brighter in the nucleus at 100X. Going to 220X will split a bizarre double nucleus in this galaxy, the two nuclei are about 12 th mag and separated by 2 arc seconds. See if you can see the twin nucleus in this galaxy at 8 hr 19.8 min and +22 02.\n\n''NGC 2608'' is pretty faint, pretty small, somewhat elongated (1.5 X 1) in PA 60 and much brighter in the middle at 100X. It is located at 8 hr 35.3 min +28 28.\n\n''NGC 2672'' seems pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 45 and much brighter in the middle at 220X. There is a companion galaxy superimposed on the east side of NGC 2672, it is NGC 2673 and it is pretty faint, small and round. This interacting galaxy pair can be seen at 8 hr 49.4 min +19 04.\n\n''NGC 2749'' is pretty bright, pretty small, much brighter in the middle, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90. Two very faint companions in the field of view at 100X, both at small and round. See if you can spot them at 9 hr 05.4 min and +18 19.\n\n''NGC 2775'' is bright, large, elongated 1.8 X 1 in PA 165 and much brighter in the middle at 220X. The arms of this galaxy are nicely mottled and the central core is elongated 2 X 1 in the same PA as the main body of the galaxy. See if you agree at 9 hr 10.3 min and +7 02.\n\n''Red Stars''\n\n''chi CNC'' Medium Orange star in a fairly rich field at 8 hr 20min and +27 13.

Canis Major is one of those constellations that denotes a change in the seasons for me. Once I see Sirius and the other stars that make a pretty convincing stick figure dog, I know that cool weather is here for a while. It has never been difficult for me to imagine Orion as the hunter, with his faithful canine companion, wheeling across the sky. So, let's take a look at what is available to telescope owners within the boundaries of Canis Major.\n\n''NGC 2204'' is at 6hr 15.7min and -18 degrees 39 min. In my old 17.5" //f// /4.5, this cluster is bright, pretty large, compressed, and rich. In a later observation, I counted 54 stars using the 13" //f// /5.6 at 220X. Several nice chains of stars with a background of fainter members, are easily seen at 100X. Both scopes show a "K" shape, and a somewhat milky background of stars with an orange 9th mag star to one side.\n\n''NGC 2207'' is at 6 hr 16.4 min and -21 degrees 22 min. It is pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90 degrees and much brighter in the middle at 150X in the 13" scope. A 12th mag star is just west of the nucleus, the star is involved within the galaxy. ''IC 2163'' is interacting with NGC 2207, it is pretty faint, pretty small, round and not much brighter in the middle. The two galaxies were never seen as two distinct objects even at 220X. It is quite unusual to have a galaxy this easily seen so close to the plane of the Milky Way.\n\n''M 41'' is also ''NGC 2287'' it is at 6 hr 47 min and -20 deg 44 min. This excellant cluster is bright, large, somewhat compressed, and I can count 60 members with the brightest being an orange star near the center of the cluster. There are many curved lines of stars at 100X. Easily seen in a finder scope at most any observing site. I have spotted M 41 naked eye from the best locations away from the city.\n\n''NGC 2359'' is at 7 hr 18.6 min and -13 deg 12 min. This nebula is petty bright, large, and has an irregular shape. Nebulosity extends out of the 30 minute field at 100X in the 17.5 inch scope. The UHC filter helps the contrast of this object a lot. I have always heard this object called the ''Duck Nebula'' because the shape includes a side view of a duck head, complete with a bill.\n\n''NGC 2362'' is located at 7 hr 18.8 min and -24 deg 57 min. It is pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat compressed, and round at 165X in the 13" scope from the beautiful skies of Sentinel, AZ. This unique cluster consists of ''Tau CMA'' and about 45 stars. Tau has a dark band around it, then the cluster members begin to fan out from this bright star. Tau has two companions that form almost a straight line. Tau is white, the two comes are bluish and both are on opposite sides of Tau. Having a bright triple star in the center of a cluster is rarely seen and I return to this object often.\n\n''Sharpless 301'' is at 7 hr 9.8 min and -18 deg 29 min. The nebula is pretty bright, pretty large, and irregular in shape at 100X on a night I rated 8/10 for seeing and transparency in the mountains of central Arizona. My first observation of this object was from a somewhat light polluted site and I called it faint. All these observations are with the UHC filter, it helps a lot on this object. This nebula has a three branch structure with many stars involved. There are a few detached sections of nebulosity that are larger than the 30 minute field in the 17.5 inch Dobsonian. This object is an unmarked green box on the Tirion Atlas.

Capricorn is one of those parts of the sky that does not have a lot to offer in the way of deep sky objects. At a light polluted site the arrowhead shape of the "Sea-goat" is also tough to pick out. So, if it were not for two facts, Capricorn would be generally ignored. First, it is a constellation of the Zodiac and so the planets move through this area for one twelfth of their trip around the sky. Second, there happens to be a Messier object with the boundaries of Capricorn. So, Messier certificate hunters have learned of this region as part of their quest to follow in Charles Messier's footsteps. Let's start with M 30 and see what else is available in Capricorn.\n\n''NGC 7099'' or ''M 30'' is bright, large and much brighter in the middle. I counted 45 stars resolved in this globular cluster at 220X using my 13" //f// /5.6. This nice globular is easy in the 11X80 finder. It is elongated 2X1 ~E-W and there are several nice chains of stars on the south side. There are many faint stars that form a background glow.\n\nThese three galaxies get progressively fainter and more difficult in the 13". All these observations are from the SAC site at Buckeye Hills on a night I rated 6/10 for seeing and transparency.\n\n''NGC 6903'' is faint, small, elongated 2X1 in PA 45 and somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. A 10th mag star is on the NE edge.\n\n''NGC 6907'' is pretty faint, pretty large, round and somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X.\n\n''NGC 7131'' is extremely faint, pretty small and not brighter in the middle at 100X. Rocking the telescope tube helps some, but it is just a dull glow.\n\n''NGC 7158'' is given as a triple star in //NGC 2000//. Sure enough, there is a triple with two members about 9th mag and one 11th at this location. They are separated by about 30 arc seconds in a straight line at 100X. This multiple star system must have been included in the NGC because of its appearence at low power, using 60X this group is nebulous. It is marked as a galaxy on //Uranometria 2000//.\n\n''Double Stars in Capricorn''\n\n''Sigma'' Easily split at 100X, light yellow and light blue.\n\n''Pi'' Elongated at 100X, split at 200X, white and blue.\n\n''Omicron'' Easy at 100X, blue-white and blue.

So far all the deep sky objects I have discussed in What's up have generally had either Messier or NGC (New General Catalog) numbers associated with them. This month I wish to introduce you to some of the other designations you will bump into as you find your way around the sky beyond our Solar System. Many different surveys of the sky have been conducted over the years and therefore there are lots of names associated with deep sky objects. I will use the constellation of Cassiopeia to demonstrate a variety of objects with different designations.\n\nLet's start with the (IC) Index Catalog. The IC was a continuation of the NGC, also complied by J.L.E. Dreyer. These two listings where published to catch up with findings made after the NGC was published. One of the things it proved what that the observers who had contributed to the NGC had done a good job of finding the brightest objects in the sky. All my observations are with the 13".\n\n''IC 10'' is extremely faint, pretty large, elongated 2X1 in PA 90 with a somewhat brighter middle. At 100X it grows with averted vision. It is in a very rich field, including an 11th mag star on the western tip of this galaxy, it is located at 00 20.4 +59 18.\n\n''IC 166'' displays 47 stars counted at 135X. I see it as bright, pretty large, compressed and pretty rich. This nice cluster has a wide dark lane that splits the cluster into 1/3 and 2/3 portions. There are many lovely delicate pairs. This much-ignored cluster is one of the best IC objects I have ever observed. It is at 01 52.5 +61 50.\n\n''IC 1795'' is pretty faint, pretty large, irregular in shape and the west side is brightest at 135X. There is a dark lane through this nebula which almost cuts it in half. There are six stars involved within the nebulosity. It was just seen at 100X without the UHC, but going to a little more power with the filter makes it much more noticeable. This nebula is at 02 26.5 +62 04, it is the brightest part of the huge nebulosity IC 1805.\n\n''IC 1848'' is pretty faint, pretty large, pretty compressed, 18 stars counted at 135X. Two stars are 11th mag and 16 others of mags 13 and dimmer make up the cluster. There is a nebula associated with this cluster, it was just seen at 100X without the UHC filter. It is more contrasty with the UHC and consists of two faint, very large streamers of nebulosity that pass north and south of the cluster. This combination cluster and nebula is at 02 51.2 +60 26.\n\n''Harvard 21'' is an open cluster that was discovered on the patrol plates shot at Harvard University around the turn of the century. I imagine light pollution has halted this project. I counted 12 stars with a fuzzy background at 100X. About 5' in size and pretty compressed with two stars of 10th mag. H 21 is located at 23 54.1 +61 46.\n\n''Melotte 15'' is an open cluster which I saw as bright, pretty large, pretty rich and pretty compressed. I counted 20 stars at 135X, some form a circular ring. Some of the nebulosity IC 1805 forms an arc on the south side. This cluster is also Collinder 26 at 02 32.6 +61 27.\n\n''PK 114-4.1'' is one of the many planetary nebulae spectroscopically discovered by Perek and Kohoutek in the 1950's. It is faint, pretty small, round, not brighter in the middle at 135X with the UHC filter. It is only suspected without the filter. The size from the P-K list is 94" and I am only seeing about 10" of this object. The outer layers that showed up on the survey photos must not be prominent visually. It is at 23 45.8 +57 04.\n\n''PK 136+4.1'' is also ''Abell 6''. In the 13" I saw it as extremely faint, pretty small, round, just a faint blob with averted vision at 135X. Higher powers make it almost disappear. Only seen with UHC filter and dark hood covering my head. This is from a site 50 miles from Phoenix, on a night I rated 5/10 for seeing and 6/10 for transparency. This tough object is at 02 58.9 +64 30.\n\n''Stock 2'' is on a list of open clusters published in the 1930's. I counted 88 stars in this cluster at 60X. It is very bright, very large, not compressed and very rich. This cluster takes up the entire one degree field of the 38mm Giant Erfle eyepiece. There are many beautiful chains of stars and dark lanes across the face of this group. In the 11X80 finder or binoculars there are 18 stars involved with a very grainy Milky Way background at 02 15.0 +59 16.\n\n''Stock 12'' is pretty bright, pretty large, pretty rich and little compressed. This cluster is just seen in the 11X80 finder. There are 22 stars resolved at 100X, including a lovely blue and gold double star on the south side. This nice grouping is at 23 37.2 +52 26.\n\n''Trumpler 1'' is the first on a list of open clusters published by one of the leading experts on clusters, Robert Trumpler. I see Tr 1 as containing 12 stars at 135X. It is pretty faint, pretty small, somewhat compressed and pretty rich. 4 stars form a straight line across the center of the cluster. Lots of unresolved stars are in the background at 01 35.7 +61 17.\n\n''Trumpler 3'' has 31 stars counted at 100X. Bright, pretty large, not compressed and pretty rich. It could be seen in the 11X80, this is one of the best Trumpler or Harvard clusters I remember seeing. It is at 03 11.8 +63 15.

I have always loved a good view of a globular cluster. No other object for me seems so three dimensional as a these beautiful globes of stars. They are also somewhat an enigma for modern studies of galaxy formation. This is because they are known to contain the oldest stars, those that formed first as the huge galaxies congealed out of the dust and gas that formed most everything in the Universe. Therefore, any theory of formation must take this into account.\n\nObviously, the reason I am mentioning these clusters is because this month's constellation, Centaurus, contains the best of the globular clusters - Omega Centauri. Unlike any other deep sky object, it is so obvious with the naked eye it was given a Greek letter designation by celestial map makers from hundreds of years ago.\n\nThese observations are from one of my best observing nights ever. On the 27th of April, 1984; my observing buddies, Bill Anderson, A.J. Crayon and I went to visit the MMT on Mt. Hopkins and set up at about 6000 ft. The lights of Tucson where to the north, so I observed the southern constellations of Centaurus and Scorpius until I dropped from exhaustion. I rated the night 9/10 for seeing and transparency, a rare and beautiful combination. A.J., was it really over ten years ago?\n\n''NGC 4945'' is at 13 hr 05.4 min and -49 28. I saw it as pretty bright, very large, elongated and much brighter in the middle at 100X in my gone, but not forgotten, 17.5" //f// /4.5 Dobsonian.\n\n''NGC 4976'' is pretty bright, pretty large, little elongated at 100X. It is located at 13 hr 08.6 and -49 30.\n\n''NGC 5102'' shows up as pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle and elongated at 100X. This galaxy reminds me of a miniature version of M 31 in Andromeda. See if you agree by looking at 13 hr 22.0 and -36 38.\n\n''NGC 5128'' is bright, large, round and has a bright middle at 100X. The dark band across this galaxy is easy at 135X. There are several stars superimposed across the face of this object. This bizarre galaxy has been photographed many times because of the tormented shape of the dark lane across the bright body of this object. On that clear, sharp night so long ago, I was able to pick out some of that structure in moments of good seeing at 135X and 165X. You might hear this galaxy spoken of as Centaurus A, because of it is also a strong radio source and it got that designation from a radio survey done in the 1950s at Cambridge University in Britain. Wait for a great night then see if you can observe some of that fine detail at13 hr 25.5 min and -43 01.\n\n''NGC 5139'' is ''Omega Centauri'', I saw it as very bright, very, very large, extremely rich and very compressed at 100X. What can be said about the KING of the Globulars? This fantastic object was overwhelming from Australia when I went to visit Jim Barclay while Halley's Comet was at its best in 1986. The globular filled the field at 140X in his 12.5" //f// /6. There were chains of stars that meandered outward in all directions from a blazing core. A dark area was seen on the south side of the central section. It can be seen from even mediocre skies, but if you need to dial it up then go to 13 26.8 and -47 29.\n\n''Double Stars''\n\n''Alpha Centauri'' does not come above our horizon in Arizona and that is too bad. This is a unique object in the entire sky, two easily separated first magnitude stars blazing in the eyepiece. This view cannot be found by observing any other binary I know about. I was mesmerized by our nearest stellar neighbor in Jim Barclay's 12.5" using 200X. If you ever get a chance to observe this spectacular binary, don't pass it up. Located at 14 hr 39.6 and -60 50.

Coma Berenices is one of the constellations that was added "later" by cutting off the Lion's tail. What used to be the tuft at the end of Leo's tail has become the Hair of Berenice. The most obvious object in this area is the Coma Star Cluster, an extremely large cluster that is best in binoculars. I can count 32 members in my 10X50 binocs, the scope does not help much, there are few fill in stars. However, it is not stars that offer the real show in this part of the sky, but galaxies. Because looking in this area is straight out of the Milky Way, little gets in the way of the ~Coma-Virgo Galaxy Cluster. This huge area contain swarms of galaxies external to our galaxy. But, let's not start with the obvious:\n\n''NGC 4147'' is bright, pretty large, round, and has a bright middle at 165X in my 13" Newtonian. This is a nice globular cluster to break up all these galaxies it is at 12 hr 10.1 and +18 33. Using 165X, I can resolve five stars here on a 6/10 night.\n\n''NGC 4162'' is at 12 hr 11.9 and +24 07. It is pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2X1 in PA 25, and is brighter in the middle at 100X. There are two stars on either side oriented ~E-W, one star is 10th the other 12th magnitude.\n\n''Messier 98'' is also ''NGC 4192''. I see it as pretty bright, large, very elongated, and somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. It has a companion to the south that is faint, small and somewhat elongated. This is one of the few galaxies in the ~Coma-Virgo area that does not show a red shift in its spectrum. It is at 12 hr 13.8 and +14 54.\n\n''NGC 4274'' is bright, pretty large, much elongated, brighter middle at 100X. This nice galaxy has three companions in the 40' field of my old 20mm Erfle. The brightest of the three is 4278. At 12hr 19.8, +29 37.\n\n''M 100'' is also ''NGC 4321''. This beautiful galaxy is bright, large, round and much brighter middle at 100X. It is immediately obvious that this is a big face-on galaxy. I see it as a small version of M 33. This is a faint, elongated companion galaxy in a 40' field. The repaired Hubble Space Telescope took a magnificent image of this object as one of the images to prove it was repaired correctly. This amazing image shows very fine detail in the core of this beautiful whirling galaxy. It is located at 12 hr 22.9 and +15 49.\n\n''NGC 4414'' is pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 3X1 and much brighter in the middle at 100X. Going up to 165X, the stellar core comes and goes with the seeing. This nice spindle is at 12 hr 26.4 and +31 13.\n\n''NGC 4498'' is located at 12 hr 31.7 and +16 51. It is faint, pretty large, little elongated and much brighter in the middle at 100X. The NGC description says BIN which I assumed to mean binary nucleus. Therefore I tried 200X with the Barlow to see if the core is double. The seeing was 6/10 so my view was not conclusive, however the core did appear elongated at high power. I will try and observe this galaxy again in better seeing to try and "split the core".\n\n''NGC 4565'' is one of my favorite objects in the sky. It is very bright, very large, extremely elongated 10X1, and very bright in the middle at 135X. There is a beautiful dark lane that stretches from end to end of this spectacular edge-on galaxy. The dark stripe is easy to spot at a good site, it can be held with direct vision. At 200X some fine detail within the dark lane is visible in moments of good seeing at my best sites in the mountains of northern Arizona. It has always looked like the classic flying saucer. At a SAC star party someone called it "God's Frisbee." If you have never seen this beauty, you have a treat waiting at: 12hr 36.3 and +25 59.\n\n''Double Stars in Coma Berenices.''\n\n''24 Comae'' is a beautiful double star, it is easily split at 100X and shows a nice, bright yellow and blue pair. This springtime Alberio is at: 12hr 35.1 and +18 23.\n\n''35 Comae'' is easily split at 100X, the intriguing thing is that this pair appears yellow and purple! This is one of the few doubles I have ever seen with a purple star, look for yourself and see if you agree. You can try it out at: 12hr 53.3, +21 14.

|>|>|>|>| !Constellations |h\n| [[Andromeda]] | [[Centaurus]] | [[Fornax]] | [[Musca]] | [[Sculptor]] |\n| [[Antlia]] | [[Cepheus]] | [[Gemini]] | [[Norma]] | [[Scutum]] |\n| [[Apus]] | [[Cetus]] | [[Grus]] | [[Octans]] | [[Serpens]] |\n| [[Aquarius]] | [[Chamaeleon]] | [[Hercules]] | [[Ophiuchus]] | [[Sextans]] |\n| [[Aquila]] | [[Circinus]] | [[Horologium]] | [[Orion]] | [[Taurus]] |\n| [[Ara]] | [[Columba]] | [[Hydra]] | [[Pavo]] | [[Telescopium]] |\n| [[Aries]] | [[Coma Berenices]] | [[Indus]] | [[Pegasus]] | [[Triangulum]] |\n| [[Auriga]] | [[Corona Australis]] | [[Lacerta]] | [[Perseus]] | [[Triangulum Australe]] |\n| [[Boötes]] | [[Corona Borealis]] | [[Leo]] | [[Phoenix]] | [[Tucana]] |\n| [[Caelum]] | [[Corvus]] | [[Leo Minor]] | [[Pictor]] | [[Ursa Major]] |\n| [[Camelopardalis]] | [[Crater]] | [[Lepus]] | [[Pisces]] | [[Ursa Minor]] |\n| [[Cancer]] | [[Crux]] | [[Libra]] | [[Piscis Austrinus]] | [[Vela]] |\n| [[Canes Venatici]] | [[Cygnus]] | [[Lupus]] | [[Puppis]] | [[Virgo]] |\n| [[Canis Major]] | [[Delphinus]] | [[Lynx]] | [[Pyxis]] | [[Volans]] |\n| [[Canis Minor]] | [[Dorado]] | [[Lyra]] | [[Reticulum]] | [[Vulpecula]] |\n| [[Capricornus]] | [[Draco]] | [[Mensa]] | [[Sagitta]] ||\n| [[Carina]] | [[Equuleus]] | [[Microscopium]] | [[Sagittarius]] ||\n| [[Cassiopeia]] | [[Eridanus]] | [[Monoceros]] | [[Scorpius]] ||\n\n

The previous two months I have discussed constellations which are not very prominent: Lynx and Sextans. I am doing Corvus for this month and it has always been quite noticeable to me. Once I learned where Corvus is located, its stars formed a memorable pattern for me. Once I started chasing deep sky objects, then the Crow became more prominent; it shares a Messier object with Virgo, it has a nice planetary nebula and lots of pretty bright galaxies. Like so many constellations, however, it never looked like what it is meant to represent to me. If someone can point out the "Crow" within the stars of Corvus, I would love to see it. Unless otherwise noted, all observations are from a 13.1" //f// /5.6 telescope.\n\n''NGC 4027'' is pretty faint, large, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 110 and much brighter in the middle at 220X. This galaxy exhibits some nice mottling in the outer section. What I found bizarre is that the central core of this galaxy is elongated in PA 75, much different from the angle of elongation of the main galaxy. I cannot think of another example of an object with a bright core that is skewed in relation to its main body. It is located at: 11hr 59.5min, -19 16.\n\n''NGC 4038-9'' shows up as pretty bright, pretty large, irregularly round and somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. Going to higher powers reveals some of the bizarre nature of this extraordinary galaxy pair. The "shrimp" or "comma" shape of these two interacting galaxies is evident at 165X and 220X. There are several small dark features seen and the entire galaxy pair is very mottled, almost like a sponge, at high power. There are several nice photographs in //Burnham's// on pages 720 and 721. The gravitational interaction of these two galaxies spews out two thin lines of material that can only be photographed with large scopes, but it did give this pair the name "The Antennae." This pair of colliding galaxies are at: 12hr 01.9min, -18 52.\n\n''NGC 4050'' is pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat brighter in the middle. This galaxy is elongated 1.8 X 1 in PA 90 at 165X.\n\n''NGC 4361'' is a very nice planetary nebula. My notes say it is bright, large, somewhat elongated (1.5 X 1) in PA 90, and grey in color at 135X. The central star is obvious at all powers. Going to 220X brings out a lumpy, almost "mottled" effect across the face of this planetary nebula, a strange effect for this type of object. Most planetaries I have seen appear smooth at high powers, this one does not. Look for yourself at: 12hr 24.5min, -18 48.\n\n''NGC 4594'' is also ''M 104'', and to be perfectly honest, it has precessed over the border into Virgo since its discovery. But hey, it's my article, and I like it in Corvus. Besides, Virgo has enough bright galaxies, she can spare one. In the 13" this object is bright, large, much elongated and has a very bright middle at 135X. Going to 220X brings out the dark lane across the center of this galaxy even more and shows some mottling across the face. There is an 11th mag star to the north of the nucleus. Only long exposure photos show that the dark lane is part of a flattened ring of material around this object that gives it the name "Sombrero Galaxy." It is at: 12hr 40min, -11 37.\n\n''NGC 4783'' is pretty bright, pretty small, round and brighter in the middle at 220X. This galaxy is in contact with NGC 4782 and that pair looks like a figure 8. NGC 4783 is a little dimmer than 4782. This pair is at: 12hr 54.6min, -12 34.\n\n''Double Stars in Corvus.''\n\n''Delta Corvus'' is an easy split at 135X, I see these stars as white and grape-red in color. They are at: 12hr 29.9min, -16 31.\n\n''Struve 1669'' is split at 135X, these two sixth magnitude stars are a nice matched white pair. They are located at: 12hr 41.3min, -13 01.

While some constellations have only a few deep sky objects worth chasing, some have much more than their share. It seems that Capricorn, Libra and Eridanus have few showpieces; while Sagittarius, Virgo and Cygnus are over-stocked. One or two good nights and a diligent observer has cleaned out one of the sparse constellations, but I can never seem to get to the bottom of the barrel for this month's treasure trove - Cygnus. Let's skip the obvious examples in The Swan and look over some of the less-observed goodies.\n\n''NGC 6819'' is a bright, pretty large, much compressed and very rich open star cluster. Showing 92 stars counted at 165X in the 13"; there are many close groupings. A nice "oatmeal" background of un-resolved stars is seen, even at higher powers. A light orange star of 11th mag in on the east side. It is located at: 19 41.3 +40 11.\n\n''NGC 6834'' is another nice cluster, at 19 52.2 +29 25. I described it as pretty bright, pretty small, pretty rich, compressed and somewhat triangular in shape at 165X. I counted 38 stars, including a nice dark yellow 10th mag star that is dead center.\n\n''NGC 6857'' is a planetary nebula at 20 01.8 +33 31. My description reads: pretty bright, pretty large, irregularly round. Averted vision makes it grow at 165X. The 14th magnitude central star was pretty easy, I estimated it a full magnitude brighter than that the catalog value. This nice nebula is in a very rich star field.\n\n''NGC 6866'' is bright, large, rich, considerably compressed, has 62 stars of mags 10 and dimmer, well resolved at 165X. This cluster is easily seen in the 11X80 finder. There are several nice triple stars involved in this star grouping. Located at 20 03.7 +44 00.\n\n''NGC 6871'' is an open cluster at 20 05.9 +35 47. It is bright, pretty large, not compressed, and pretty rich at 100X. I observed 29 stars including at triple star on the northern edge with one white and two blue companions.\n\n''NGC 6883'' is pretty bright, pretty large, pretty rich and not compressed at 100X. I counted 22 stars in 3 clumps that are broken up by dark lanes which criss-cross the field of this cluster. There is a nice yellow and white double star in one of the groupings. It is at 20 11.3 +35 51.\n\n''NGC 6884'' is a planetary at 20 10.4 +46 28. I observed it as pretty bright, very small, round, little brighter in the middle; a grey tiny disk at 220X. It is about 4 times the size of the Airy disk. The central star was observed in good seeing. This is not an easy nebula to pick out of the Cygnus Milky Way, even on a 8/10 night.\n\n''NGC 6888'' is a faint, large and irregular nebula at 100X. It looks like a donut with a bite taken out. It can just barely be seen without the UHC filter. The filter helps this object a lot. There are 14 stars involved within the nebula. This observation was made using my old 17.5" from Sedona, in Maynard and Jean Clark's front yard. This nebula is at 20 12.8 +38 20.\n\n''NGC 6894'' is a nice planetary which I called pretty bright, pretty large and annular at 220X. This planetary was recognized at 100X. However, the annularity was only seen at higher powers. On a night I rated 6/10 for seeing and transparency the annulular structure was only seen with averted vision. On a much better evening at nearly 7000 ft in the central mountains of Arizona, the ring feature of this nebula was immediately obvious. It is at 20 16.4 +30 34.\n\n''BD +30 3639'' is ''Campbell's Hydrogen Star''. It was discovered by W.W. Campbell at Lick Observatory with a spectroscope on the 36" because it has a compact, bright line spectrum. At the telescope, it looks much like an 11 magnitude planetary about 5" in size. The problem is that it is embedded in a dense Milky Way field near Alberio. It looks easy, since it forms a triangle with 9 and 12 Cygni. However, that is the heart of the Cygnus Star Cloud and it will take a while to fish out this object. Because this is a ~Wolf-Rayet star with a shell and not a planetary it can be detected by its bizarre reddish-orange color. On a great night in the mountains of Arizona at 200X in the 17.5" it is obviously non-stellar and displays a reddish hue. This bizarre object was given another designation, used on Uranometria, that is ''PK 64+5.1'', located at 19 34.8 +30 31.\n\n''Double Stars in Cygnus''\n\n''h 1470'' is an easy split at 100X, lovely dark yellow and deep blue, a dimmer version of Alberio. Located at 20 01.8 +38 11. The "h" designation stands of John Herschel.\n\n''Red Stars in Cygnus''\n\n''U Cyg'' About 10th mag, but VERY RED, lovely field with a glowing\ncoal embedded in a field of sparkling stars. At 20 18.1 +47 44.

[[The Year]]

I would like to take a moment to tell you what writing this column has provided me over the years. Obviously, I get practice writing about astronomy and that is certainly the reason that I have been fortunate enough to have articles published in a variety of magazines. The ego boost of being recognized when at an astronomical get-together is no small thing, either. I will be the first, or at least the second, to say that having my ego boosted is a grand feeling. For myself, this organized presentation of what I have seen at the eyepiece has allowed me to stay on track when it comes to using my telescope and observing carefully, so as not to make any large errors in "What's Up." So, thank you for allowing me to practice on you. Thanks for the time you have taken to read and use these materials. As always, if you have a favorite deep sky goodie that I should see, get me over to your scope and let's have a look. So, for this month, let's have a look at Flipper frolics in the Milky Way, the constellation of Delphinus.\n\n''NGC 6891'' is bright, pretty small and somewhat elongated at 100X in the 13" telescope. It is a little difficult to find in a rich Milky Way field at 20 hr 15.2 min +12 42. The 11th magnitude central star of this planetary comes and goes with the seeing at 270X. It is very nice aqua or blue-green in both the 13" and my old 18" //f// /6 Dobsonian.\n\n''NGC 6905'' is bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5 X 1, central star is easy at 100X. Moving up to 270X with a Barlow lens reveals that the east and west sides are brighter than the rest of the [>img[Starchart for Delphinus|delphinus2.png]] nebula. This planetary is pale green at all powers. I have heard NGC 6905 called the "Blue flash nebula" but I have never seen blue in this object. Look for color in this nebula at 20 22.4 +20 06.\n\n''NGC 6934'' is a nice globular cluster. I see it as bright, pretty large, much compressed, round and has a much, much brighter middle at 100X. It can be seen in the 11 X 80 finder or 10 X 50 binoculars at 20 34.2 +07 24. This is the type of object that responds with a much better view on a clear, transparent night. On a night I rated 6/10 for seeing and transparency, down on the floor on the desert near the Organ Pipe Cactus National Forest, I could only resolve 3 stars with a mottled core at 165X. At the same power on a beautiful night in the Red Rock country near Selena at 5000 ft, this globular sparkled with 40 stars resolved, 6 of them in the core area. This distant globular is very grainy at all powers in the 13" Newtonian scope. This is the kind of observation to postpone until those rare 9/10 evenings when stars twinkle very little and the Milky Way blazes overhead.\n\n''NGC 6956'' is a little galaxy beside the Milky Way at 20 44.0 +12 30. I saw it as pretty faint, small, very little elongated 1.2 X 1 in PA 90, very little brighter middle at 150X. There is a nice double star involved on the east side; it is 11th and 13th mag, separation about 8 arcseconds in a PA of 90 degrees.\n\n''NGC 7006'' is pretty bright, pretty small, round, very bright middle and very compressed at 100X. This very distant globular is one of the most mottled objects I have ever seen in the 13" at 180X. This extremely grainy globular has only shown me stars on its face one time. Using my old 18" //f// /6 at 210X, I saw 3 stars superimposed on the surface of NGC 7006. One was held steady, the other two appeared and disappeared with the seeing. This was on a night I rated 8/10 for transparency and 7/10 for seeing. While viewing this deep space wanderer, think of the view of Our Galaxy you would be seeing from a planet in this cluster at 180,000 light years away. It is located at 21 01.5 +16 11.\n\n''~PK59-18.1'' is also ''Abell 72'', a planetary nebula. I saw it as extremely faint, pretty large, irregularly round at 100X. There are two stars involved within the nebulosity and a 9th mag star on the western edge. This object could not be seen on a good night without a filter in the eyepiece. Choosing between the Oxygen III and the UHC, the O III seems to do the best job on bringing out some contrast in this dim nebula. Averted vision helps this object stand out as well. There is a narrow dark lane on the north side. If you are looking for a challenge this one is at 20 50.1 +13 34, good luck.

I have had a chance to take a look at the //Cambridge Atlas of Galaxies//, thanks to Gerry Rattley for bringing this two volume photographic atlas to the ~Deep-Sky meeting. A.J. Crayon and I were both struck by the wild variety of galaxy shapes. From the smooth and almost bland ellipticals to beautiful and symmetrical spirals and strange shapes that challenge astronomers to determine how gravity created this form. I am increasingly fascinated by the abundant variety of Nature. Whether looking at animals, molecules, planets or galaxies; it seems that the wide-ranging list of possible shapes and sizes never ends. The same can be said for telescopes, so let's haul out that scope, regardless what it looks like, and view the variety of galaxies that lie on the eastern side of the constellation Draco.\n\n[>img[Starchart of Draco|draco1.png]]''NGC 5985'' is pretty bright, large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 15, little brighter in the middle, and very mottled at 150X in my 13" scope. This large galaxy has a pretty low surface brightness. It is located at 15 hr 39.6 min and +59 20.\n\n''NGC 6015'' is pretty bright, pretty large and much brighter middle. At 135X there is a faint star involved in the south side. It is at 15 hr 51.4 and +62 19.\n\n''NGC 6140'' is at 16 hr 20.9 and +65 23. I saw it as faint, pretty small, little elongated in PA 90, and very little brighter in the middle. The little galaxy is not much at 100X.\n\n''NGC 6290'' and ''6291'' are an interacting pair of galaxies. They are at the limit of the 13" even at the best of sites. They can be detected at 135X, but no definite shape can be determined, just a shapeless glow. If you are looking for a challenge, try 17 00.9 +59 00.\n\n''NGC 6340'' is pretty faint, pretty small, round, much brighter in the middle at 135X. There is a double star on the north side. Look for it at 17 10.4 +72 18.\n\n''NGC 6412'' is at 17 29.6 and +75 42. I saw it as pretty bright, large, somewhat brighter middle and round. There are two stars involved. It looks very mottled and grainy at 135X.\n\n''NGC 6503'' seems pretty bright, large, much elongated 3X1 and somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. This nice edge-on is located at 17 hr 49.4 min and +70 09.\n\n''NGC 6643'' can be found at 18 19.8 +74 34. In the 13" it was pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 45, and somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. It is very mottled and there is a double star on the west side.\n\n''NGC 6651'' is a challenge at 18 24.3 +71 36. It was extremely faint, pretty large, little elongated 3X2, not brighter in the middle at 100X. This is one of the dimmest objects I have ever been able to confirm seeing with the 13" and that was on a night I rated 10/10 at 8000 ft in the mountains of eastern Arizona.\n\nThe ''Draco Dwarf'' (''UGC 10822'') is very faint, large, and elongated 1.5X1 at 60X. There are 10 stars involved across the face of the galaxy. I do not know if these stars are truly members of this nearby Local Group Galaxy. It is just a grainy lump at even this very low power and I was using a dark cloth over my head at an excellent site on a night rated at 8/10 for transparency. I was using a 38mm Erfle eyepiece in a 2" barrel. So, if you are going to chase this very low surface brightness object, put in your lowest power and give it a try at 17 20.2 +57 55.

Hercules is a constellation that many novice deep sky observers learn early. There are two bright Messier objects in this constellation and that certainly contributes to the notoriety of this part of the sky. However, if you will look beyond the famous deep sky goodies in the Hero, there are plenty of things to observe beyond Messier's spectacular, but limited, list of non-comets. So, let's check out what can be seen in Hercules.\n\n''NGC 6058'' is a nice planetary nebula at 16 hr 04.4 min and +40 41. In my 13" it is pretty faint, pretty small, somewhat elongated, and a central section is brighter but not stellar at 100X. This is from a very dark, steady location in the mountains of Eastern Arizona. The central brightening was always seen at a variety of powers up to 220X, but the bright area in the middle was larger than stars outside the planetary. This effect is unique in my experience, has anyone else noticed this?\n\n''NGC 6166'' is a challenging galaxy located at 16 hr 28.6 and +39 33. It is faint, large, elongated and not brighter in the middle at 135X. This is the central galaxy of the cluster Abell 2199, from a good site I can pick out 8 faint companions within 20' of 6166. The whole field has a "cottage cheese" or lumpy background that denotes lots of unresolved galaxies at the limit of the 13".\n\n''NGC 6205'' (''M 13'') you didn't think I was going to write a "What's Up" about Hercules and not mention M13? I see it as: very bright, very large, little elongated, easily resolved at 100X. From a dark location this object just about exceeds the 25 min field of my 8.8 mm Ultra Wide eyepiece. This gives 220X in my 13" //f// /5.6 and this glorious cluster has streamers out from a blazing core in all directions. Three dark, thin lanes can be seen cutting the core into unequal thirds, I have heard this feature called the "Propeller." I believe this globular gets a lot of press for several reasons: it is easy to find, it is one of the finest globulars, it is easily resolved in small scopes and it comes overhead for the Northern Hemisphere. Sir William Herschel estimated 14,000 stars in the cluster, some hardy soul at Mt. Wilson counted 30,000 on a plate from the 100" Hooker telescope in 1931. Actually, there are about half a million stars in M 13. Wow. It is easily found on the western edge of the asterism called the Keystone, but if you are dialing it in, M 13 is at: 16 41.7 +36 28.\n\n''IC 4617'' is a difficult galaxy near M 13. I saw it as very faint, small (about 10 arc seconds), little elongated at 135X. On a night I rated 6/10 for seeing and transparency, the 13" would only show it intermittently. This tiny and faint galaxy is almost exactly halfway between NGC 6207 and the center of M 13. This is a toughie, wait for a good night and use some power. Located at 16 42.1 +36 41.\n\n''NGC 6207'' is a somewhat easier galaxy near M 13. I saw it as pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 2x1, somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. It is at 16 43.1 +36 50.\n\n''NGC 6210'' has been a favorite planetary nebula of mine for years. It is bright, pretty small, elongated and the central star easy at 135X. Averted vision makes this nebula grow in apparent size. I have always seen this beautiful planetary as green, blue-green or aqua in whatever scope I was using. This nebula was discovered by F.G.W. Struve during his double star survey. It is at 16 44.5 +23 49.\n\n''NGC 6229'' is a globular cluster and I see it as bright, pretty large, round with a brighter middle. On one of the best nights at high altitude, I could resolve four stars at 165X. Two other stars bracket the cluster. The object is just visible as a fuzzy spot in my 10X50 binoculars. William Herschel mistook it for a planetary nebula and marked it as 50 IV, to be included in his group 4 as a planetary. You can see if Herschel's error is one might have made by looking at: 16 47.0 +47 32.\n\n''NGC 6341'' (''M 92'') is very bright, very large, much brighter in the middle and a little elongated at 100X. I have always thought that M 92 stands up to comparison with M 13. It shows a blazing core and many lovely chains of stars at 220X. Lord Rosse thought he saw spiral structure in this object with the 72". When I get my 72" working I will be able to check that out at: 17 17.1 +43 08.

[>img[Star chart of Leo|leo1.png]]Leo is another of those constellations that seems to be a bottomless pit. Several of the Spring constellations are so full of galaxies that even after several good nights in Leo, Virgo or Ursa Major, there are still plenty of objects to observe. The same is true of open clusters in Cassiopeia, Sagittarius or Puppis. But these constellations do contain lots of great objects and it is fun to keep looking. I noticed as I looked through my notes for Leo that lots of my observations are with Dave Fredericksen's 12.5" //f// /6 on several nights we went out together while I was waiting for Pierre to complete my 13". Thanks for sharing, David.\n\n''NGC 2903'' is one of the best non-Messier galaxies. It is easy in my 10x50 binocs or a large finder scope. At 175X in the 12.5" //f// /6 this galaxy is bright and is mottled across the face with a much brighter core. There is a bright spot about 4 arc minutes from the core. It is at 9 hr 32.2 min and +21 30.\n\n''NGC 3041'' is pretty faint, large, irregularly round, very gradually little brighter in the middle at 150X. This very mottled galaxy has an 11th mag star involved on the south side and two other 13th mag stars involved in the galaxy.\n\n[>img[Star chart of M105 area|leo2.png]] ''NGC 3379'' (''M 105'') is bright, large, elongated and has a much brighter, almost stellar, core in the 12.5" //f// /6 at 120X. It has two companions, which are the next two objects.\n\n''NGC 3384'' is pretty faint, Large, somewhat elongated and does not have a brighter middle in the 12.5".\n\n''NGC 3389'' is pretty bright, Large, has a brighter middle and is\nelongated in the same PA as M 105 in the 12.5" //f// /6 at 120X.\n\n[<img[Star chart of M65 area|leo3.png]] ''NGC 3593'' is pretty bright, pretty large, elongated and has a much brighter middle. What is bizarre about this galaxy is that at 200X in the 12.5", the core is elongated 2X1. I don't remember seeing an elongated nucleus in a galaxy before.\n\n''NGC 3666'' Pretty faint, large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 90, bright middle at 150X. This is a nice edge-on galaxy.\n\n''NGC 3681'' has several companion galaxies, one of which is 3686. I see four galaxies in a 35' field at 100X in the 12.5". One is pretty bright, pretty large, round and has a much brighter core. I have assumed that is 3681 and centered the drawing on it. The other three in the field are faint, small and do not have a brighter core.\n\n''Abell 1367'' is one of the galaxy clusters noted by George Abell's landmark work with the POSS. Many of these clusters are very faint and distant but some can be picked out with an amateur scope at a dark site.\n\nIn the 12.5" at 135X, with a 30' field, I can pick out one pretty faint galaxy with 4 very faint companions. They are so dim that turning on the red light to draw them makes them disappear for about 30 seconds until my night vision returns. There are 10 other galaxies within one degree of this field. These are some of the toughest objects I have ever managed to pick out in 10 years of observing. If you are looking for a challenge, Abell 1367 will provide one.

Lynx is one of those constellations that is tough to find. The brightest stars are fourth magnitude and there aren't many of those. I don't actually recognize Lynx, I just know that it is the pretty large area of mostly blank sky which is located north of Leo and Cancer. However, the celestial cat is worth finding. There are several nice galaxies and we will start the tour with the most distant of globular clusters.\n\n''NGC 2419'' is pretty bright, pretty large, round and much brighter in the middle, it is easy at 100X. At any power up to 270X at the best sights in Arizona there is no resolution into stars, using either my 13" or my old 17.5". All that I can do is view three levels of condensation across a very mottled face on the best of nights. The brightest stars are something like 19th magnitude, so it may take a 40 inch to resolve this distant cluster. It is possible that this globular cluster is actually between galaxies and is not gravitationally bound to the Milky Way. What a spectacular view of our galaxy this vantage point must provide. NGC 2419 is at 7hr 38.1min, +38 53.\n\n''NGC 2537'' is a galaxy which is pretty bright, pretty large, irregularly round, mottled and gradually brighter in the middle at 220X, using the 13". It is at 8hr 13.2min, +46 00.\n\n''NGC 2537A'' is a galaxy which is just east of NGC 2537. It is very faint, small and round. This object is difficult and it comes and goes with averted vision at 220X on a night I rated 5/10 for seeing and transparency.\n\n''NGC 2549'' is a galaxy. I see it as pretty bright, pretty small, much elongated (3 X 1) in PA 0 and suddenly much brighter middle at 220X. It is located at 8 hr 19 min, +57 48.\n\n''NGC 2683'' is a nice galaxy, my notes say: bright, pretty large, much elongated east-west and much brighter in the middle at 100X. It is at 8 hr 52.7 min, +33 25.\n\n''NGC 2712'' is another nice galaxy, I described it as: pretty bright, pretty large, much elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 15, much brighter middle with an almost stellar nucleus at 150X. This galaxy displays a prominent nuclear bulge. NGC 2712 is at 8 hr 59.5 min, +44 55.\n\n''NGC 2776'' is pretty bright, pretty large, round, has a bright middle with an almost stellar nucleus at 150X. This galaxy has a nice double star 10' south of it, the binary is 7-10 mag with 15" separation. It is a nice yellow and light blue in color. NGC 2776 is at 9 hr 12.2 min, +44 57.\n\n''NGC 2832'' is a galaxy which I see as pretty bright, pretty large, round and much brighter in the middle at 100X in the 13". There are nine very faint companions in the field and the area for one field of view in any direction is mottled from galaxy group members just at the level of detection. These types of galaxy group are a fun way to determine how good the night and your observing skills have become. Look for faint members, then look again on a night you rate better and determine if you see more galaxies. NGC 2832 is at 9 hr 19.8 min, +33 44.\n\n''PK 164 +31.1'' is a planetary nebula which has been mistaken for the galaxy NGC 2474 in several references. //Sky and Telescope// April 1981 pg. 368 tells the story and has a picture of the area. In the 13", this planetary is very faint, pretty large, not brighter in the middle and has several stars involved at 100X with the UHC filter. The nebula is faint enough that turning on the very dim red flashlight to make a drawing makes the planetary disappear for a few seconds. I had to memorize the field to draw it. The "~P-K" designation comes from the Perek and Kohoutek planetary nebula catalog. This dim planetary is located at: 7 hr 57.8 min, +53 25.

[[Calendar Year|The Year]]\n[[Constellations]]\n

Planetary nebulae have always been a source of fascination for me. I know that the first time I saw the ''Ring Nebula'' and then the ''Dumbbell Nebula'' in one night with my first telescope, an 8" //f// /6, I was hooked. That misty, light green glow was unlike any other object I had viewed and I am still enthralled to this day. There are few big, bright planetary nebulae in the sky, Charles Messier only spotted four: ''M 27'', ''M 57'', ''M 76'' and ''M 97''. Obviously, modern catalogs include many more planetaries, but none are obvious in amateur scopes. The constellation of ''Ophiuchus'' (''The Snake Handler'') [>img[Star chart for Ophiuchus|ophiuchus1.png]] is at the western edge of the Summer Milky Way, so it has many of these fascinating objects within its borders. Just going from west to east in RA, the four planetaries I have chosen this month get better and better, see if you agree.\n\n''IC 4634'' is a pretty bright, but extremely small planetary. This elongated, greenish dot is floating in a very nice Milky Way field at 17 hr 01.6 min and -21 50. Averted vision makes it grow to about three times the size of the Airy disk in my 13" at 330X.\n\n''NGC 6309'' is pretty bright, small, elongated ~NW-SEE and not brighter in the middle at 165X. This planetary hides in a rich Milky Way field of view and needs some power to bring it out. Another problem with finding this nebula is that it hides near an 11th magnitude star and looks like a double star at low powers. There is another star which brackets this nebula on the other side, but it demands 220X to see. When you find this planetary, make certain to try some higher powers. It is at 17 14.1 and -12 55.\n\n''NGC 6369'' is at 17 29.3 and -23 46, which puts it within the "Bowl" of the dark Pipe Nebula, so there are few field stars surrounding this planetary. At 220X in the 13" it is bright, large and little elongated 1.2 X 1 ~E-W. This planetary is much brighter on the north side and is annular with averted vision at 220X. It was immediately obvious at 100X and was light green at all powers. On a great night in the Central Mountains, with 7/10 seeing and 9/10 transparency, I saw the annular hoop of this nebula easily and my notes say the north edge is brighter at 220X. Raising the power to 330X did not show off any new details, only made the light green color less obvious. I have never seen the 16th magnitude central star at any time. The SAC database says that the nickname for this object is the "Little Ghost", I have no idea why this planetary would acquire that name.\n\n''NGC 6572'' is bright, large and elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 75 using 220X in the 13". The central star is held steady in good seeing conditions. Other times the center will just brighten up somewhat. The noteworthy aspect of this gem is its color. In every scope I have ever owned, from an 8" to an 18", this is the greenest nebula I have ever seen! This guy is as green as an Irishman's coat on St. Patrick's day. Alright, alright, it is as green as Lime Jello. Once you pick out this beautiful Easter Egg afloat in the Milky Way, look for a dim outer haze, first seen by John Herschel. I see the faint outer section better with averted vision is a smaller scope. I had a chance to view this lovely nebula with a 36" //f// /5 recently and it was a luminescent green with an obvious blue-white central star. The dim outer section was much larger than the bright middle section. Look for yourself at 18 12.1 and +06 51.

The return of Orion, looking like he is coming over the horizon on his side, is the sign of cold weather for constellation watchers in the Northern Hemisphere. All the objects for this month are in the sword of Orion, so let's be obvious to start:\n\n''M 42'', ''The Great Orion Nebula'' is certainly a showpiece and most-observed deep-sky object in the Winter sky, it deserves that position of honor. On a night I rated 9/10 for transparency at a very dark site in the Arizona desert the center of the Sword of Orion is fuzzy to the naked eye. In my 11X80 finder the "batwings" feature of the nebula is obvious, with the western side brighter. Going to the 13" at 100X, the nebulosity is larger than the 30' field of view. All 6 six stars in the Trapezium section are seen and a backround of very faint stars embedded in the nebula are at the limit of averted vision. The area around the Trapezium in very, very mottled, like storm clouds. The dark marking called the "fish mouth" appears three dimensional. The dark area is obviously in front of the nebulosity. The dark lane extends beyond the nebula to the NE. Raising the power to 220X will hold 10 of the faint stars in the nebula steady. The central region around the Trapezium has "rays" of nebulosity that extend into the darker region to the south. The Trapezium stars are contained within a "hole" in the nebula, it appears that these stars lit off and blew away the material nearby. At all powers, the nebula is a pale lime green and has pink fringes where the nebulosity is brightest. Overall a spectacular object that no photograph or drawing can truly capture.\n\n''NGC 1980'' Faint, large, irregular, not brighter in the middle at 100X. This nebula surrounds Iota ORI, the end star on the sword of Orion. If you are like me, the first time you looked at NGC 1980, you didn't know that you were looking at an object that has a seperate designation from the Great Orion Nebula.\n\n''NGC 1981'' Bright, large, scattered cluster of 28 stars at 100X. Double star Struve 750 is on the NE side. Just north of the Orion Nebula.\n\n''NGC 1982'' (''M 43'') Bright, large, irregularly round, central star of 8th mag easy at 100X. This detached potion of the Orion Nebula is shaped like a fat comma. Going to 220X, there are several dark lanes across the face of this nebula.\n\n''IC 434'' and ''B 33'' is a much-photographed region that includes the Horsehead Nebula (B 33). IC 434 is a faint streamer of emission nebula that is south of Zeta Ori. The ''Horsehead'' is a dark nebula that blots out a portion of IC 434 in the shape of a mare's head. I have seen the Horsehead in the 17.5 inch scope at 125X. With averted vision some light and dark detail could be seen, but it was tough. The Horsehead outline is small, maybe the size of the Ring Nebula.

I have already had one person voice an opinion concerning this column. In a most pleasant manner, I was informed that the positions of each object would make a fine addition to the information which has been included so far. Easily done.\n\nPegasus is a large constellation in the Autumn sky and being far away from the plane of the Milky Way, it contains lots of galaxies. Many are faint and small, but several are easy in any scope in the club. So, let's see what shows up in the Flying Horse.\n\n''NGC 7331'' is at 22hr 37 min RA and +34 25 Dec (all my positions will be given for the year 2000). It is bright, large, very elongated, much brighter in the middle with a stellar nucleus at 135X. It is an elongated shape even in the 11 X 80 finder and is surrounded by companion galaxies.\n\n''NGC 7479'' is at 23 05 hr and +12 19 Dec. This galaxy is pretty bright, large and elongated 4 X 1. It has a much brighter core about 20" across at 165X. This object is a very nice barred spiral and that structure can be seen on good evenings. The bar is about 5' in length and each end has a curved glow attached. It looks like a two-armed garden sprinkler in action. Averted vision makes the galaxy grow in size. The better the evening, the better this object seems to get; I have always seen lots of detail in NGC 7479 on a sharp night at Dugas Rd. and I can rarely see much detail from Buckeye Hills.\n\n''NGC 7619'' is at 23 20 hr and +8 12 Dec. In the 13" it is pretty faint, pretty small, round and not brighter in the middle. This object is the center of the Pegasus I cluster and there are 5 other galaxies in a 30' field at 100X. All of the other galaxies are dimmer than NGC 7619 and are also round dots. There are another 6 galaxies within one degree of the central portion of the galaxy cluster. Several of them can only be seen with averted vision.\n\n''NGC 7741'' is located at 23 44 and +26 05. It is pretty faint, very elongated, round, somewhat brighter in the middle, there is a double star on the NW side at 135X. This is the type of object that shows itself best on a clear, sharp evening. On a fuzzy night it is just a dim grainy object. On a night I rated 8/10 the central bar structure was immediately seen and averted vision showed some faint outer arm structure at 165X.\n\n''NGC 7814'' is at 00 03 and +16 09. This lovely galaxy is bright, large, elongated and brighter in the middle. The arms are very mottled at 135X.\n\n''57 Peg'' is a double star at 23 09 and +8 41. This wide pair is 33 arc seconds apart and so it easily split in any telescope above 50X. I see the colors of this pair as yellow and blue at 100X. What is most fascinating about 57 Peg is the "pendulum effect". This means that if you move your head or tap the tube of the scope, the secondary star seems to revolve about the primary, a fun illusion, give it a try.

If you are observing galaxies in Pisces Austrinus, then it is probably getting chilly while you are observing. Time for a short discussion concerning dressing warm for astronomy. Because an observer is only standing still and moving around the telescope occasionally,\nastronomers are going to get chilled because they are not moving around to generate body heat. Much of that heat will exit out the top of your head, so a stocking cap or hooded coat is essential. The other end of your body is also essential, so a pair of "Moon boots" and thick socks for your feet are needed. A.J. Crayon and I have each been wearing an insulated suit, like a snowmobile suit for years and find it very useful. I found some glove liners at the surplus store and they do very well for the coldest night, when fingers are chilly. Best tip: keep all this stuff together in one bag, so that you don't forget anything while going out to that distant observing site.\n\n''NGC 7130'' is pretty bright, small, round and brighter in the middle with an almost stellar nucleus at 135X with the 13" //f// /5.6. It is located at 21 hr 48.3 min and -34 57 degrees.\n\n[>img[Starchart of Piscis Austrinus|pisces-austrinus1.png]]''IC 5131'' is within the 25 arcminute field of view of the previous galaxy, NGC 7130. I saw it as faint, pretty small, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 30 and brighter in the middle at 135X.\n\n''NGC 7135'' is at 21 hr 49.8 min and -34 53, close to the previous galaxies. At 11.7 mag, I see it as pretty bright, pretty large, elongated 1.5x1 in PA 45 and somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. There a nice equatorial triangle of 10th mag stars on the west side.\n\n''NGC 7172'' Pretty faint, pretty small, elongated 2x1. There are two other pretty faint galaxies in the field and one very faint galaxy that I can only see with my head covered by a dark cloth. One of the other galaxies in this field is NGC 7174, it is pretty faint, small and round at 165X. Another is NGC 7176 it is faint, small and round with low surface brightness. Save this grouping for a dark site and a clear night. The position for NGC 7172 is 22 hr 02 min and -31 52.\n\n''NGC 7214'' is pretty faint, pretty large, irregularly round and has several stars superimposed at 165X. The nucleus was very bright but never stellar, see if you agree at 22 hr 09.1 min and -27 49.\n\n''NGC 7221'' is very faint, pretty small and round with a somewhat brighter middle at 100X. This galaxy has a very low surface brightness (13.3 mag) and higher powers makes it extremely tough to see. It is at 22 hr 11.3 min and -30 37.\n\n''NGC 7267'' is at 22 hr 24.3 min and -33 41. I saw it as pretty bright, pretty small, elongated 2x1 in PA 90 and much brighter in the middle at 100X. There is a very nice triple star on the south side with one star light yellow star and two blue companions.\n\n''NGC 7314'' is a beautiful edge-on galaxy at 22 hr 35.8 min and -26 03. I see it as pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat brighter in the middle and elongated 4x1 in PA 0 at 100X. This nice galaxy has a companion to the south which is faint, small and round.\n\n''IC 5269'' is another spindle-shaped galaxy, about one magnitude fainter than NGC 7314. I see it as pretty faint, pretty small, elongated 2x1 in PA 30 and somewhat brighter in the middle at 135X. In my opinion, an observer needs to spend some time doing the lesser objects around the sky to appreciate a showpiece.

Puppis is one of those constellations that just comes along with the Messier catalog. As observers decide to learn the sky more throughly, many set out to see the list of Charles Messier for themselves. As that project gets going, the constellations which contain "M objects" just naturally get learned. As I have said before, obviously Puppis is not going to be the first constellation anyone learns, if you honestly see a "Poop Deck" of a ship in this location, then please point it out to me at the next club star party. This month I am going to discuss some of lesser-known objects in the constellation of Puppis. All my observations are with my 13" //f// /5.6 Newtonian and are from either Buckeye or Sentinel Arizona.\n\n''NGC 2298'' is pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle, 5 stars are resolved at 200X. This globular grows with averted vision. It was easy in the 11 X 80 finder. It is at 6 hr 49 min and -36 00.\n\n''NGC 2414'' is bright, pretty large, not compressed, 22 stars counted at 100X. This cluster consisted of three star chains and an unresolved hazy background. See this nice cluster at 7 hr 33.3 min and -15 27.\n\n''NGC 2423'' is pretty bright, large, pretty rich, pretty compressed, 33 stars counted at 100X. A nice binary star is in the center with both components a lovely dark yellow. It is at 7 hr 37.1 min and -13 52.\n\n''NGC 2432'' is pretty bright, pretty large, somewhat compressed, 26 stars counted at 135X. This cluster is much elongated (3X1) in PA 0. Averted vision will add in many faint stars within the cluster region. Try it at 7 hr 40.9 min and -19 05.\n\n''NGC 2452'' is bright, pretty large, bright middle, round at 270X. This planetary nebula was immediately recognized as non-stellar at 135X. The central bright section was never stellar at any power on a night I rated as 7 out of 10 for seeing. The nebula was a light green color. It is located on the south side of the open cluster NGC 2453. So, there are two places in Puppis where you can see a cluster with a planetary nebula at the edge. The more famous is M 46 with NGC 2438, now try the copy-cat version; cluster NGC 2453 with NGC 2452 at its edge.\n\n''NGC 2453'' is pretty bright, pretty small, pretty compressed, not rich. I counted 17 stars, one of 10th mag and the others from 11 to 13 magnitude. The 10th mag star is a nice dark yellow at 135X. This cluster was just seen in the 11X80 finder. It is located at 7 hr 47.8 min -27 14.\n\n''NGC 2467'' is bright, pretty large, pretty rich, 31 stars counted at 100X. This cluster was easy in the 11X80 finder. The star cluster is very nice and would generate observers if it were alone, but there is some bright nebulosity associated with this cluster. The nebula was seen without the UHC filter to start, but adding the filter made the nebula much better. There is a bright, round spot of nebulosity on the southwest side of the cluster and several pretty bright streaks on the northeast sections. Covering my head with a dark cloth and using the UHC filter, I could see that the entire field of view was nebulous to some degree. To top is off, there are several dark lanes winding there way through this region. Take a look at this little known cluster with nebulosity at 7 hr 52.6 min and -26 23.

This is the time of year when the magnificent glowing band of the Summer Milky Way stretches from horizon to horizon, north to south. I absolutely adore the view of Our Galaxy, naked eye, binoculars or telescope, it is spectacular! Of all the beautiful and brand new things Dave Fredericksen and I got to see when we visited Australia, I remember best the view of the Milky Way ablaze with Sagittarius and Scorpius straight overhead. Of course, from the point of view of the Australians, it is the Winter Milky Way. No matter, even if it is cold, that panorama will keep your feet warm. We do live in a beautiful part of The Galaxy. So, let us move from the obvious Milky Way constellations and this month try Sagitta, the Arrow.\n\n''NGC 6838'' (''M 71'') This compact star cluster has been called a compressed open cluster and a globular. It is bright, pretty large, very rich and much compressed at 135X in my old 17.5". At 165X on a good night, I can see an arrowhead shape to the cluster and count 56 stars across the mottled face of this cluster. The cluster is easy to pick out of the Milky Way with the 10 X 50 binocs. I have observed this object in several large scopes and it is always difficult to determine where the cluster stops and the backround stars begin. In the Lines' 20" //f// /6 at 150X and in the Lowell Observatory 24" Clark refractor at 380X this very compact cluster was fascinating. There are many curving lines of stars with dark lanes between them. Both of these large, long focus scopes would show about 100 stars resolved. It is entered as a globular in //Sky Catalogue 2000// and the position is given as 19 53.8 +18 47.\n\n''NGC 6879'' is pretty bright, very small, not brighter in the middle. It is just a non-stellar disk at 220X in the 13" //f// /5.6. Averted vision makes it grow. This tiny planetary is at 20 10.5 +16 55.\n\n''NGC 6886'' Pretty bright, very, very small, little elongated. Just a central star with a tiny, elongated haze around it at 220X. The grey-green color gave it away, located at 20 12.7 +19 59.\n\n''Palomar 10'' is located at 19 18.2 +18 34. It is one of the globular clusters spotted on the survey plates taken at Mt. Palomar using the 48" Schmidt camera, hence the name. Seeing as how all the bright and easy globulars had been discovered by 19th century observers, these are all quite difficult objects to spot. Using the 13" I saw Pal 10 as: very faint, pretty small, somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. No stars were seen with any power up to 320X. It is just a grainy spot at all powers.\n\n''Harvard 20'' is an open cluster found on the survey plates taken at the turn of the century by the Harvard Photographic Patrol. It is pretty faint, pretty small and elongated. A poor cluster of 15 stars. It is not well detached at 100X. Located at 19 53.1 +18 20.\n\n''Sh2-84'' is one of a list of faint emission nebulae found by Sharpless from the red Palomar Survey plates. I see it as pretty faint, pretty large, much elongated at 135X with the UHC filter. The south side of the nebula is brighter and several stars are involved. It looks somewhat like a small version of the California Nebula. This curved gas cloud can be found at: 19 49.0 +18 24.\n\n''Double Stars in Sagitta''\n\n''HN 84'' this wide binary star is at the tail feathers of the Arrow. At 100X, they form a lovely blue and gold pair. The "HN" designation stands for Herschel Number. Located at: 19 39.4 +16 34.\n\n''X SGE'' is one of the bizarre Carbon stars, which have the spectra of carbon soot displayed within their spectral lines. Many of these stars display beautiful colors. I see X Sge as medium orange in a gorgious field of view. It is at: 20 02.9 +20 30.

Sculptor is one of those constellations that have few bright stars, but there are some very nice deep sky objects to pick out, even in such a star-barren area of the sky. There are several other constellations like this: Eridanus, Hydra, Monoceros and Pisces seem to offer only a few obvious places to start star hopping. However, there are lots of deep-sky objects that go un-observed because they are tough to find, often some of them are well worth the hunt.\n\n''NGC 55'' is bright, very, very large and very, very elongated at 100X. It is visible in the finder. At 100X it is longer than the 40' field of view. There are several H II regions involved, a UHC filter [>img[Starchart of Sculptor|sculptor1.png]]helps a lot on these gaseous nebulae in another galaxy. The nucleus is stellar at high power and some mottling is glimpsed. It is at 0hr 15min and -39 11.\n\n''NGC 253'' is one of the most beautiful galaxies in the sky. Every astrophotographer who can get at this lovely, bright edge-on will shoot it eventually. It can be seen at 0 hr 47.6 min and -25 17. On a night at Sentinel that I rated 9/10 for transparency and 8/10 for seeing it was a stunning site in a variety of instruments. This bright object was easy in binoculars or finderscope and 1 star on NE end and 3 stars on the southwest end frame the galaxy. At 60X with a 38mm Erfle eyepiece in my 13", I saw NGC 253 as very bright, very large, very much elongated 4X1 in PA 45, much brighter middle, very mottled, a beautiful convex lens shape, with many dark markings in arms. Going to 100X provided an excellent view, with a stellar nucleus evident about 20% of the time, 7 stars involved, two pretty bright oval patches in southwest arm, and lots of dark markings, the most mottling I have ever seen.\n\n''NGC 300'' is at 0 hr 54.9 min and -37 41. I saw it as faint, large, and somewhat brighter in the middle at 100X. There are four stars seen across the face of this galaxy. This is a low surface brightness object. Imagine ''M 33'' only 10 degrees above the horizon.\n\n''NGC 613'' looked pretty bright, pretty large, bright middle and elongated 3 X 1. There is a pretty bright star on the NE side at 100X. The outer tips of the spiral arms curve in opposite directions as if to show the direction of spiral motion. See if you agree at 1 hr 34.3 and -29 25.\n\n''~MCG-06-03-015'' is the designation from the Morphological Catalog of Galaxies for the Sculptor System, a dim dwarf galaxy that is a small companion to Our Milky Way. It is at 0 hr 59.9 min and -33 42. I saw it as extremely faint, very, very large, little elongated and very little brighter in the middle. That observation was with a 4.25" //f// /4 at 16X. When I first thought of observing this very low surface brightness object, I looked it up in Burnham's and it said "eeF", an abbreviation for extremely, extremely faint. This told me that I was only going to have a chance to see the Sculptor System from a very dark site. After trying to see this huge object with a 16" scope at low power, I reasoned that we needed a wider field of view and went after it with the little Rich Field Telescope. Every precaution was taken to get fully dark adapted and a cloth was held over the observer's head to block out extraneous light. Using all those precautions, there is a very faint, roundish blob at the correct location.

It can easily be said that Sextans is not going to be the first constellation that anyone learns. It probably isn't even going to be the twentieth, but if you are one of those folks who likes to hunt deep-sky objects, it is worth the trip. There are lots of nice galaxies in this relatively blank part of the sky. There are also some great objects for testing the limits of the night, your telescope and your viewing skills. In this article, the observations are from a 13.1" //f// /5.6 unless noted.\n\n''NGC 2967'' is pretty bright, pretty large, much brighter in the middle, and round at 220X. It is located at: 9hr 42.1min, +00 20.\n\n''NGC 2974'' is pretty bright, pretty small, elongated 1.5 X 1 in PA 90 and somewhat brighter in the middle. There is a 10th mag star in contact with the west side at 165X. It is at: 9hr 42.6min, -03 42.\n\n''NGC 3044'' is pretty faint, pretty large, somewhat brighter in the middle and elongated 2.5 X 1 in PA 120 at 220X. It is located at: 9hr 53.7min, +01 35.\n\n''NGC 3115'' is easily the best galaxy in Sextans. I see it as bright, large, very much elongated 4 X 1 in PA 45, much brighter in the middle at 135X. It is just seen in the 11 X 80 finder. The center is a bright envelope which has an oval, very bright nucleus, all of which is elongated in the same PA as the main body of the galaxy. I have heard this galaxy called "The Spindle" and I agree with that name.\n\n''NGC 3166'' is bright, pretty large, round and much brighter in the middle at 100X. It is the brightest in a chain of 4 galaxies from NE to SW.\n\n''NGC 3423'' is pretty bright, large, round, much brighter in the middle and quite mottled at 220X. Averted vision makes this face-on galaxy grow in size. It is at: 10hr 51.2min, +05 50.\n\n''UGC 5373'' is the Sextans B Dwarf galaxy. It is faint, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 in PA 100 and not much brighter in the middle at 100X. At this lower power it is somewhat mottled, but going to 220X raises the contrast with the background, makes the surface very mottled and brings out several stars across the face of this galaxy. It is located at: 10hr 00min, +05 20.\n\n''Double Stars''\n\nLike all constellations, there are plenty of double stars in Sextans, enough to keep anyone busy for at least a few hours, here are several I had a chance to observe in the 13".\n\n''9 Sextans'' is a wide pair at 52 arc seconds. So, they are easily split at 100X, I see these two stars as a nice orange and light blue pair. This double is also known as South 605, at: 9hr 54.1min, +04 57.\n\n''Aitken 1767'' is tough to divide at 270X, it shows a figure 8 shape where the two stars are just touching most of the time. This "separated but not split" view of a double star is called "notched." This pair displays a clean split with dark sky between the stars about 20% of the time in good seeing, both stars are light yellow. The reason it is difficult separate this binary star is that the stars are only 1.8 arc seconds apart. This binary is at: 9hr 57.7min, -01 57.\n

in the sky this month

What's Up

http://www.saguaroastro.org/whats-up.html

The constellation of the Bull is easily recognized because of the fact that it is composed of two, large, bright open clusters. I have no doubt that this constellation was one of the first to be created because it is so obvious. The Pleiades and the Hyades have enough bright stars within a small area to be spotted even deep in the light pollution of Phoenix. Let's spend a little time with some other objects within the borders of Taurus and then move on to those big star clusters.\n\n''NGC 1514'' is pretty bright, pretty large, round with a central star of about 10th mag, the star is obvious in the 13" at 150X without a filter. Going to 220X and putting in the UHC filter makes a big difference in the view of this object. There are several dark markings and I noticed that the nebulosity does not touch the central star. This nice planetary nebula convinced William Herschel that there are truly nebulous objects in the sky. Until that observation, it was generally believed that all the fuzzy objects were just compressed clusters of many faint stars. Herschel called it "a star with an atmosphere" see for yourself at 4 hr 9.2 min and +30 47.\n\n''NGC 1647'' is bright, very large, not compressed, pretty rich, 52 stars counted at 60X in a 13". This big, scattered group is more obviously a cluster in the 11X80 finder than it is in the main scope. This huge cluster is at 4 hr 46 min and +19 04.\n\n''NGC 1746'' is bright, very large, somewhat rich, not compressed, 60 stars counted at 60X. This group takes up the entire one degree field with several clumps of stars in the eyepiece. Using the 11X80 finder, I counted 14 stars. It is at 5 hr 03.6 min and +23 49.\n\n''IC 359'' is a challenging nebula, located at 4 hr 19 min and +28 12. In the 13" at 100X it is very faint, small and fan-shaped with a 12th magnitude star at the southern tip. The UHC filter does not help with this somewhat comet-shaped nebula. It is not marked on Uranometria and the given catalog size is 15'X10', I saw it as more like 3'X2'.\n\n''Sh2-240'' or ''Simeis 147'' is very faint, extremely large, filamentary, it is more noticeable in some places, but it is never easy. I used a 24.5mm Super Wide eyepiece with a UHC filter to be able to see it at all. This is at Sentinel, an excellent site about 120 miles from Phoenix at a dark location in the Arizona desert. I remember calling this faint, wispy nebula "the Veil in a 2 inc hscope," you can see if you agree by looking at 05 hr 39.1 min and +28 00.\n\n''M 45'' is also ''Melotte 22'', either way this cluster is best known as ''The Pleiades''. I have observed this striking Winter star group with every type of optical aid and the naked eye. Since I have been able to hold 12 stars steady with just the naked eye, you know any optical aid will bring out lots of great detail. Two observations really stand out. The best view I have ever had in a telescope was with Rich Walker's 8" //f// /4.5 Rich Field Telescope (get it!). Anyway, at 30X The Seven Sisters were awash in nebulosity and several lovely chains of stars within the group were easily traced beyond the brightest members, out into dark space. The nebula within this cluster is brightest surrounding Merope, using the 13" at 100X, it appeared wedge shaped and has the star Merope at the tip. From a dark site any optical aid will show a glow around Merope, the smallest I have used is a pair of 8 X 25 binoculars. Now, on to my favorite device for viewing The Pleiades; BIG binoculars. Using Rick Rotrammel's large binoculars (20X80's, I think) and the steady stand he purchased on a Riverside discount, The Pleiades are spectacular. Many of the beautiful, curved chains of stars are easy to spot and the nebulosity looks like frost on a windowpane. There is something available when you are viewing the Universe with both eyes that doesn't happen with just one eye.\n\n''The Hyades'' are also ''Mel 25''. They are extremely bright, extremely large, not compressed at 30X in the 8" //f// /4.5 RFT. This huge cluster does not quite fit in any telescope I have ever used. My best view of the Hyades is in my 10X50 binoculars. There is a nice wide pair on one side of the "V" and several more pairs are evident in any telescope. The Hyades is one of those places in the sky where it is just plain fun to put a widest field eyepiece in the scope and scan the entire area. There are lots of asterisms and binary stars to delight the casual scanning eye.

|>|>|>| !What's Up |h\n| !January | [[Auriga]] | [[Taurus]] |\n| !February | [[Canis Major]] | [[Puppis]] |\n| !March | [[Cancer]] | [[Lynx]] |\n| !April | [[Leo]] | [[Sextans]] |\n| !May | [[Centaurus]] | [[Corvus]] |\n| !June | [[Draco]] | [[Coma Berenices]] |\n| !July | [[Hercules]] | [[Ophiuchus]] |\n| !August | [[Delphinus]] | [[Sagitta]] | [[Vulpecula]] |\n| !September | [[Aquila]] | [[Capricornus]] | [[Cygnus]] |\n| !October | [[Cassiopeia]] | [[Pegasus]] | [[Piscis Austrinus]] |\n| !November | [[Andromeda]] | [[Aquarius]] | [[Sculptor]] |\n| !December | [[Aries]] | [[Orion]] |\n

Well, it's August in the Southwest and time for astromers to try and guess where the storms will apear and where the clear skies will be available. A.J. and I have gotten pretty good over the years, but anyone trying to "estimate" the weather during the Monsoon season is going to be fooled. We have been rained on at Dugas Rd. and hailed on at Mount Hopkins. However, we have also have plenty of good evenings between the storms. Watch the weather and you can get good at following the patterns of cloud build up. All the deep sky goodies for this month are in the small, but well-placed, constellation of Vulpecula. Being in the middle of the Summer Milky Way means that this area has plenty of excellent clusters and nebulae to observe.\n\n''NGC 6802'' is bright, pretty large, elongated 2 X 1 and much compressed at 165X in my 13" //f// /5.6. 15 stars were counted on a mottled surface and this cluster stood out from the Milky Way very nicely. There are two sets of double stars that "guard" this cluster on either side, both pairs of stars are light orange and white.\n\n''NGC 6820'' is a nebula that is involved in the cluster NGC 6823. It is very faint, pretty large and can just be detected at 100X with the UHC filter. It is most obvious on the south side of the cluster.\n\n''NGC 6823'' is pretty bright, pretty large and pretty rich at 100X. 28 stars were counted with 4 stars forming a tiny (20") quadruple system.\n\n''NGC 6834'' is a bright, pretty large, pretty rich, somewhat compressed cluster of 32 stars at 135X. This nice cluster stands out well from the Milky Way, there are several beautiful curved chains of stars and an 11th mag star in the cluster.\n\n''NGC 6853'' is also ''M 27'', the ''Dumbbell Nebula''. It is the most easily seen planetary nebula in the sky. The Helix and the Owl have low surface brightness and the Ring is much smaller. This object is easy in the 10X50 binoculars as a small cloud afloat in the Milky Way. I have always been fascinated by the Dumbbell and have looked at it every Summer since I first learned the skies. The central, bright "Dumbbell" section is obvious in the 13". On a night I rated 9/10 the dimmer nebulosity stands out unmistakably and makes the total circumference of the nebulosity appear round. This effect is more pronounced in the UHC filter at 135X. Lord Rosse drew the Dumbbell in the 72" Leviathan and he included 18 stars involved in the nebula. I have tried with several large scopes to match that number anf have never quite caught up with the Third Earl of Rosse. Using my old 17.5" Dobsonian at 7000ft.\s in the mountains near Flagstaff, I could pick out 10 stars within the Dumbbell. On an excellent night in Mayer, AZ at Richard and Helen Lines' Observatory their 20" //f// /6 newtonian could reveal 13 stars, one of the easiest being the very hot (85,000 degrees Kelvin) 13.5 mag central star. Both of those large scopes at about 250X would show some light and dark areas within the nebula. This strikingly beautiful planetary is lime green in all the telescopes mentioned above.