[sac-forum] Observing List Suggestion
- From: "AJ Crayon" <acrayon@xxxxxxx>
- To: "SAC Forum" <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:23:54 -0700
You probably have guess by now that this message contains the July and August
observing list for CFO. But it includes the followings month's list, Cygnus,
which will come in handy for those early morning observing hours. Regardless
of your observing tendencies let's all have a great time observing.
We have done Scorpius way back in 2006 and 2007 so it high time we took another
look. It is well know there is lots of variety in the constellation and this
month is no exception. We will keep west of 17h R.A. allowing for another time
the remainder of the constellation. Our first object is NGC6000, a galaxy no
less. This barred galaxy is not a real show-piece object, but a galaxy in the
middle of Scorpius? The double star Graffias is next and you should look for
color contrasting combinations. This star is also knows as beta Scorpii. On
to the nebula IC 4592, listed as large, faint and is involved with Nu Scorpii.
Include your estimation of its size along with your observation. Now we leave
the northern reaches of the constellation and begin a descent southward. The
globular cluster M 80 has been done before but it is worth another look. Move
on to another globular with NGC6144, a Herschel 400 entry and near the next
object. But first, how does it compare with the prior globular? M 4 is next,
is near Antares and NGC6144, and yes it has been done before but is beautiful
enough to deserve another set of observations. Describe any unusual features
and the resolvability with your telescope. Continuing south of –30°
declination is the dark nebula B 231. What shape does it look like to you and
how well does it stand out against the Milky Way background? The last of the
globular clusters in this list is NGC6139 the faintest of the trio. Yet it is
still a nice object, isn’t it? The open cluster NGC6124 is next at almost 2°
south of the prior object. As with this type of object count the stars and
magnitudes along with its size, then assign the Trumpler type. Sinking farther
south is another open cluster. It is NGC6192. Do the same with this one as
you did with the prior one. For the second dark nebula try B 235. Reference
the last one and apply the same principles to this one. Now the last one and
is very near the border with Norma. It is the rather small, on the faint side
and is NGC6178.
This will mark out fourth time through Ophiuchus. There are many dark nebula
located here, but also a nice selection of deep sky objects that also may
include a surprise. Keeping mostly south of the celestial equator start with
the open cluster Do 27. Do you consider this cluster bright, faint, large or
small? How many stars do you see and is there any detectable nebulosity? Next
try the double star omicron Ophiuchi. Are any colors detectable? Now on to
one of the more interesting objects, M 9. Please give us a nice description
of this globular cluster. Now just to the west is a prominent dark area
labeled B 64 for Barnard’s Dark Nebula. Note size, shape and any stars that
are involved. This is followed by another dark nebula B 259 and is located 50’
southeast of M9. Which of these 2 dark nebula is darker? Note in the SAC
database dark nebula have a magnitude of 79.9. This is because they have no
magnitude. Getting back to globular clusters try giving the Herschel 400 entry
NGC6356 a try. It should be bright and large, but what else do you detect?
Getting closer to the celestial equator, is another globular cluster also a
Herschel 400 entry, NGC 6517. It isn’t as big or bright as the last but give
your description a good shot. The next globular is M 14, which should be nicer
than the last 2 but how does it stack up against M9? Don’t forget to describe
what you observe. Our final object, the only one north of the celestial
equator, is the surprise. It is NGC6384, a fairly bright barred spiral galaxy.
After describing the galaxy take note of the stars in the field of view. In
my old 8” there were 50 stars from 7th to 13th mag limit of the telescope.
I’ll have to count them in my Dobsonian.
For the September column we will take on Cygnus – again. There are a lot of
different objects here and we will look at almost every kind, save galaxies.
This will take us around most of the constellation so enjoy. For starters take
a look at the lovely triple star 17 Cygni. These stars are bright, widely
separated and have some color contrast. What colors do you see? Next are two
dark nebula, Barnard 145 and 146. Describe these two and including their shape
and opaqueness. Which of them is the darker? Moving a little to the north is
NGC6866, an open cluster. It is pretty rich but how else would you describe
this nice gem? A little more to the northeast is the next open cluster
NGC6811. This one doesn’t have quite as many stars but is larger. Now for an
interesting piece of NGC history for the next object, a planetary nebula. It
has two designations NGC6766 and NGC6884. The difference in the number is due
to an error in RA, for 6766, when originally catalogued. Note it is a small
faint planetary so a finder chart may be helpful. This next open cluster,
NGC6895, appears to be a nice clump of stars in the Milky Way. How clumpy does
it look to you? Now to another dark nebula - Le Gentil 3. It is located at RA
21 00.0 Dec +51° 00 and has no magnitude but that’s normal for dark nebula. It
is huge, possibly visible to the naked eye and sometimes called the Funnel
Cloud. Going back to open clusters is NGC7031 that is said to look like a
cluster of multiple stars. Does it look like this to you in your telescope
and, by the way what type of Trumpler code would you supply? NGC7039 is the
next object, another open cluster and is much larger than the prior open
cluster. Finally we get to the last object NGC6997 located in the eastern part
of the North American Nebula. How much nebulosity do you see here along with
the cluster?
AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ
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