Star Party Objects * => Circumpolar (ST- ) are for Celestron Ultima 2000 (MAX ) are for JMI NGC MAX DSC Lambda/14 CAS 0:32 +54 31 DS Close. 5.5, 5.8 @ 0.6. Test for 8". (MAX ST-030) 00:31:47 +54 31 20 M-110 AND 0:38 +41 25 EG, 17' x 10', 8m, satellite of M-31. (NGC205) Has somewhat low surface brightness. M-31 AND 0:40 +41 00 SG 180'x 63', 2.3M LY, part of local (NGC224) group, 3.5m. NGC 147 and NGC 185 are faint satellite elipticals in CAS. G1 is largest GC at 00:32.8 +39 36 (small/faint). M-32 AND 0:40 +40 36 EG, 8' x 6', 8.2m, satellite of M-31 (NGC221) NGC206 AND 0:41 +40 44 Largest star cloud in M-31. Near southwest tip of M-31. Also known as A78. Challenge! NGC188* CEP 0:44 +85 20 OC 8.1m 18' dia. Oldest OC known; may be 12 - 14 Billion years old. Very faint. D = 5000 LY. NGC253 SCL 0:48 -25 18 Large SG 25'x 7', 7m, Sculptor group. D = 7.5M LY. Eta/24 CAS 0:49 +57 49 DS 3.5, 7.2 @ 12" Separation varies (ST-043) (MAX ST-40) 5" - 16" during 480 year period, 18 LY distant. Phi/42 AND 1:09 +47:15 DS Challenge! 4.6, 5.5 @ 0.5". 372 year (ST-063) orbit. NGC457 CAS 1:19 +58 20 OC 80 stars in shape of owl with 5m orange cluster member Phi CAS marking an eye. M-33 TRI 1:34 +30 39 SG 62'x 39', 5.7m, local group, (NGC598) only about 600,000 LY from M-31, about 2.4M LY from us, 6m, larger than the full moon visually, rather low surface brightness, best at very low power. Second nearest spiral galaxy. M-76 PER 1:42 +51 34 PN 12m Considered faintest Messier object. (NGC650) Two lobe structure. D = ~2000 LY. Visible in 3", but best in larger instruments. Gamma ARI 1:54 +19 18 DS 4.8, 4.8 @ 8". Nice in all size scopes. (ST-089) (MAX ST-070) D = 160 LY. Alpha/113 PSC 2:02 + 2 46 DS 4.2, 5.1 @ 2". Strange colors reported. (ST-097) (MAX ST-075) Both stars spectroscopic binaries. D = 130 LY Gamma AND 2:04 +42 20 DS Especially attractive blue/gold colors. (ST-098) (MAX ST-079) Blue comes is very close double. Almach. 2.3, 5.5 @ 10". NGC869 PER 2:19 +57 09 Double OC. Easily visible to unaided eye. NGC884 Especially nice in low power field. D = 7200 and 7500 LY. Probably in orbit. Omicron CET 2:19 - 2 59 Mira. Variable 2.0 - 10.1m in 332 day (ST-111) (MAX ST-086) period. Giant star. Very close and faint companion (9.5 - 12m @ 1"). D = 220 LY. Iota* CAS 2:29 +67 24 Triple: 4, 7, 8 @ 2.5", 7.3". 840 (ST-112) (MAX ST-090) year period for close pair, thousands of years for wider. D = 160 LY. Alpha* UMi 2:30 +89 15 Polaris 2.02, 9 @ 18.4"; orbit is thousands (ST-115) (MAX ST-094) of years. Polaris is (was?) Cepheid, .1 mag, 4 day period, also spectroscopic binary with 30.5 year period. D = 360 LY. M-34 PER 2:42 +42 47 OC 5.2m 35' diameter. Contains several (NGC1039) doubles. D = 1500 LY. Best at low power. Gamma CET 2:43 + 3 14 DS 3.5, 6.2 @ 3". D=63 LY. Several (ST-121) (MAX ST-101) thousand year orbit. 10m red dwarf lies 14' NW. Theta ERI 2:58 -40 18 DS 3.4, 4.5 @ 8". D = 93 LY. Easy in (ST-136) (MAX ST-114) small telescopes. Beta PER 3:08 +40 57 Algol. Eclipsing Binary 2.1 - 3.4m over (ST-146) (MAX ST-122) 2.9 days. D = 100 LY. NGC1316 FOR 3:23 -37 12 SG 8.8m 7' X 6'. Best in large scopes. Many galaxies nearby, especially around 3:30 -35 30. Fornax A is radio source. U CAM 3:42 +62 39 Red carbon star. 8.1 - 8.6m, B-V = 4.29! (MAX ST-133) M-45 TAU 3:45 +24 07 Pleiades OC. Great unaided eye, binocular, and RFT object. 1.2m 2 degree diameter. D = 410 LY. 20x70 gives especially nice view. 32 ERI 3:54 - 2 57 DS 4.8, 6.1 @ 7". Nice color contrast. (ST-182) (MAX ST-143) Nice in all size telescopes. NGC1535 ERI 4:14 -12 44 PN 9.4 / 12m. 20" X 17". Central star visible in 12+" telescopes. 40 ERI 4:15 - 7 39 Triple Red dwarf / White dwarf. Easiest (ST-192) (MAX ST-155) white dwarf to see. 4.4, 9.5 (white dwarf), 11.2 (red dwarf) @ 83", 8". BC has 248 year period. The BC pair comprise the two most common stars in the galaxy: white and red dwarfs! Also known as Omicrion-2 ERI. Hyades TAU 4:29 +15 52 Hyades OC 200 stars covering 5 degrees. Second closest cluster at D = 130 LY. An unaided eye and binocular delight. W ORI 5:05 + 1 11 Red carbon star. 6.2 - 7.0m. Semiregular (ST-241) (MAX ST-191) with 212 day period. Beta ORI 5:14 - 8 12 Rigel. DS 0.1, 6.8 @ 10". D=900 LY. (ST-250) (MAX ST-203) M-79 LEP 5:24 -24 33 GC 8.0m 9' diameter. Winters "lone" GC. (NGC1904) D = 50,000 LY. Eta ORI 5:25 - 2 24 DS 3.1-3.4, 4.8m @ 1.5". Tight pair. (ST-259) (MAX ST-217) D = 1400 LY. M-1 TAU 5:34 +22 01 SNR seen 1054 AD. Nebula's 8.4m due to (NGC1952) synchrotron radiation fed by rapidly spinning neutron star with 33 pulses per second from this pulsar. D = 6300 LY. Lambda ORI 5:35 + 9 56 DS 3.6, 5.5 @ 4". D = 2200 LY. (ST-275) (MAX ST-230) M-42 ORI 5:35 - 5 27 Magnificant Orion nebula. DN ~1600 LY (NGC1976) distant. ~30 LY diameter, slight green color due to ionized oxygen at 5007 and 4959 angstroms. Stars around trapezium appear less than 300,000 years old; six stars are visible in 3". Nebulosity extends over most of Orion. Star formation is definitely in progress. Iota ORI 5:35 - 5 55 DS 2.8, 6.9 @ 11". DS Struve 747 is in (ST-277) field: 4.8, 5.7 @ 36" which is 8' distant. Struve 745 (9, 9 @ 29") nearby. Sigma ORI 5:39 - 2 36 DS/Multiple star systems. Quad and triple. (ST-282) 4.0, 10.3, 7.5, 6.5 @ 11", 13", 43". Also Struve 761 8.0, 8.5, 9.0m @ 68", 8" about 4' west of Sigma. D = 1400 LY. Zeta ORI 5:41 - 1 57 DS + DN (NGC2024). 1.9, 4.0 @ 2.5". Tough. (ST-284) (MAX ST-242) D = 1400 LY. Flame Nebula about 15' east. Horsehead nebula to the south. Horsehead ORI 5:41 - 2 28 B-33 Horsehead dark nebula 30' south of (MAX NS-094) Zeta Orionis, about 1200 LY distant, very difficult object visually. Hydrogen Beta narrowband filter helps. M-37 AUR 5:52 +32 33 OC 5.6m M-36 and M-38 are nearby. (NGC2099) 12' dia. M-35 GEM 6:09 +24 20 OC Big, bright, 5.1m 28' dia with small, (NGC2168) faint, 8.6m, 5' dia OC on outskirts (NGC2158). D = 2700 and 16,000 LY. Epsilon/8 MON 6:24 - 4 36 DS 4.5, 6.5 @ 13". Blue/Gold colors. (ST-318) (MAX ST-272) Beta MON 6:29 - 7 02 Triple star 4.7, 5.2, 6.1 @ 7", 10". (ST-322) (MAX ST-280) Same spectral class. D = 150 LY. UU AUR 6:36 +38 27 Red carbon star. 5.3 - 6.5m (ST-333) (MAX ST-287) Alpha CMa 6:45 -16 43 Sirius DS -1.5, 8.5 @ 2.5" to 11". 50 (ST-348) (MAX ST-294) year orbital period. D=8.7 LY. Closest in 1993; widest in 2022. Very difficult binary. 12 LYN 6:46 +59 27 DS Triple 5.4, 6.0, 7.3 @ 1.7", 9". Close (ST-350) (MAX ST-296) pair has 700 year orbit. D = 140 LY. Best in 6" or larger scope. M-41 CMa 6:46 -20 45 OC 4.5m, 38' dia. Big cluster of about (NGC2287) 80 bright stars. Red star near center. M-50 MON 7:03 - 8 20 OC 6m, 16' diameter. 100 stars including (NGC2323) a red star. D = 2900 LY. 145 CMa 7:17 -23 19 DS 4.8, 6.8 @ 27". Nice colors, wide (ST-383) (MAX ST-326) pair. Good in small telescopes. NGC2362 CMa 7:19 -24 57 OC 4.1m with 4m Tau CMa (a cluster member). One of youngest clusters known; less than one million years old. D = 5400 LY Delta/55 GEM 7:20 +21 59 DS 3.5, 8.2 @ 6". Nice color contrast. (ST-385) (MAX ST-332) 1200 year binary. D = 53 LY. NGC2392 GEM 7:29 +20 55 "Eskimo" Planetary Nebula, 8.3 / 10.5m, has double shell, is one of youngest at less than 2,000 years old, 0.5 LY diameter, D = 3,000 LY. 20" diameter. Alpha GEM 7:35 +31 53 Castor. Six star system! 1.9, 2.9, 8.8 (ST-395) (MAX ST-344) @ 2", 72" separation. Each visible star is a spectroscopic binary with periods of 9 and 3 days for the bright stars and 20 hours for the 8.8 magnitude red star. The dim pair is YY GEM, and is an eclipsing system. Distance = 49 LY. The AB pair has a period of about 400 years. The C star orbit is probably about 10,000 years. M-47 PUP 7:37 -14 30 OC Several dozen stars 1.5 degree W of (NGC2422) M-46. Visible to unaided eye. DS Struve 1121 near center 7.9, 7.9 @ 7". D = 1500 LY. NGC2419 LYN 7:38 +38 53 GC Small, faint. Most distant GC known (except for those in other galaxies). May be intergalactic wanderer! D = 300,000 LY. Best in large scopes (14"+ @ 200X). k/Kappa PUP 7:39 -26 48 DS 4.5, 4.7 @ 10". Easy in all scopes. (ST-398) (MAX ST-346) M-46 PUP 7:42 -14 49 OC 100+ stars with faint PN on N edge! (NGC2437) OC D = 5400 LY. PN (NGC2438) D = 3000 LY. OC 6.1m 27' diameter. M-93 PUP 7:45 -23 52 OC 6.2m 22' diameter. Triangular shape. (NGC2447) D = 3400 LY. NGC2403* CAM 7:47 +65 36 SG 8.4m, 18' X 11' size. D = 12M LY. NGC2477 PUP 7:52 -38 33 OC 5.8m 27' diameter. Very nice OC with 300 faint stars. Good in all instruments. D = 4000 LY. Zeta CNC 8:12 +17 39 Triple: 5.6, 6.0, 6.2 @ .9", 6", yellow stars, (ST-422) (MAX ST-366) 60 and about 1150 year periods. Star C is double with a period of 17.4 years. All four stars have masses slightly less than the sun. 70 LY distant. M-44 CNC 8:40 +19 59 "Beehive" or Praesepe OC 90' diameter. (NGC2632) D = 577 LY. distant. Contains more than 200 stars. About 400 million years old. Iota CNC 8:47 +28 46 DS 4.2, 6.6 @ 30" yellow/blue. Good in (ST-449) (MAX ST-389) small scopes. 165 LY distant. M-67 CNC 8:50 +11 49 OC 6.9m 30' diameter. Very old, perhaps (NGC2682) 10 Billion years old. 2,700 LY distant. Approximately 500 stars total in OC. NGC2903 LEO 9:32 +21 30 SG 8.9m (bright) Elongated Spiral. D = 30M LY. Brightest galaxy in Leo. M-81/82* UMa 9:56 +69 04 6.9m SG, 8.4m IG. D = 12M LY. These galaxies (NGC3031/3034) had a close encounter ~10M years ago which dramatically altered M-82. The galaxies are only 150,000 LY apart. In IR light, M-82 is the brightest galaxy in the sky! NGC3115 SEX 10:05 - 7 43 "Spindle Galaxy" 9.2m 8' X 3' size. High surface brightness. Good in 3" and up. D = 21M LY. Nucleus has very large velocity dispersion -> a 2E9 solar mass black hole. NGC3132 VEL 10:08 -40 26 "Eight-Burst Planetary" 8.2 / 10m Bright but very far south. 2,000 LY distant. Gamma LEO 10:20 +19 51 DS 2.2, 3.5 @ 4.4" @ PA 122, orange stars (ST-516) (MAX ST-443) 90 LY distant. Uncertain period of ~600 yrs. Stars are 90 and 30 times as bright as our sun. NGC3242 HYD 10:25 -18 38 PN "Ghost of Jupiter". 8.6m / 11.4m Obvious even in 60mm telescope. D = 3300 LY. U HYD 10:38 -13 23 Redish carbon star 4.8 - 6.5m 450 day period (ST-531) (MAX ST-450) M-95/96/ LEO 10:44 +11 42 9.7m barred SG, 9.2m SG, & 9.3m EG. M-105 About 38M LY distant. Part of Leo group. (NGC3351/3368/3379) 10m NGC3384 and 11.8m NGC3389 are near M-105 and are visible in 8" SCT at 80X. 54 LEO 10:56 +24 45 DS 4.5, 6.3 @ 6" 150 LY distant. (ST-543) (MAX ST-460) Green-white / Blue-white colors. M-97 UMa 11:15 +55 01 "Owl" PN 11.2m / 15m 3.4' X 3.3' (NGC3587) cylindrical torus shell, nebula mass is ~.15 solar mass, star = ~.7 solar mass Two "eyes" may be visible in 4". Distance is an uncertain 2600 LY, but vastly much closer than "nearby" M-108. Xi UMa 11:18 +31 32 DS 4.3, 4.8 @ 1.8" @ PA 276. 60 year (ST553) (MAX ST-469) orbit. D = 26 LY. Both stars are spectroscopic binaries with 670 and 4 day orbits. This is the first binary to have its orbit computed. M-65/66/ LEO 11:19 +13 05 SGs 9.3m, 9.0m, 9.5m. D = 35M LY. NGC3628 (NGC3623/3627) 10' X 3', 8' X 4', 15' X 4' sizes. NCG4038 CRV 12:02 -18 52 "Antennae" or "Ring Tail" interacting NGC4039 galaxies ~10.7m 3' X 2' D = 90M LY. M-106 CVN 12:19 +47 18 SG 8.3m D = 25M LY. Very dense center. 18' X 8' size. High surface brightness. M-86/84 VIR 12:26 +12 55 8.9 and 9.1 magnitude Lenticulars (S0), (NGC4406/4374) D = 65M LY, 7.5' X 5.5' and 5' dia, M-86 has highest blue shift (approaching) of Messier objects due speed within Virgo cluster, M-84 is face-on and has two small jets, nucleus has an object of 300 million solar masses within 26 LY of galaxy center. Nearby are 11.2 magnitude edge-on Sb spiral NGC4402, 12 mag E5 NGC4387, 11.2 mag SA(s)b spiral NGC4388, 12 magnitude SB0 NGC4425, faint spiral NGC4413, and interacting 10-11 magnitude SB NGC4435 and SA 4438. M-84, M-86, and NGC4388 form a triangle with 12m NGC4387 in the center (averted vision helps to see NGC4387). NGC4449 CVN 12:28 +44 06 IBm irregular Galaxy with rectangular shape 6.0' X 4.5', 10 magnitude 3C273 VIR 12:29 + 2 03 QSO, 12.7m (variable), ~3 Billion LY (ST-607) (MAX NS-234) distant. Z=.158 -> receding from us at 44,000 km/s. Brightest QSO known. 18E21 miles distant!!! Appears as bluish star. Bacteria and algae dominated Earth when the light we see left 3C273 !!! (18E21 = 18 sextillion miles) Delta CRV 12:30 -16 31 DS 3.0, 8.4 @ 24". Good color and (ST-608) (MAX ST-511) magnitude contrast. D = 125 LY. M-49 VIR 12:30 + 8 00 Giant E4 EG ellipsoid about 120,000 LY (NGC4472) along one axis, much more dense than our galaxy, 60M LY distant, halo of ~6300 GC 8.4 magnitude, 7' X 8' M-87 VIR 12:31 +12 24 Huge E1 EG near center of Virgo cluster. (NGC4486) 120,000 LY diameter, 65M LY distant, ~2.7 Trillion solar mass, >10,000 GC !!! Probable black hole at center with jet. 8.6 magnitude, 7.1' diameter. NGC4478 (11.2) and NGC4476 (12.3) are nearby. NGC4565 COM 12:35 +26 00 SA(s) spiral, almost exactly edge-on, 20M LY distant, 15' long -> 90,000 LY diameter, has same red shift as Virgo cluster, but appears closer, 9.5 magnitude. 24 COM 12:35 +18 23 DS 5.2, 6.7 @ 20" Orange / Blue-green (ST-614) (MAX ST-514) colors. Position appears fixed. M-104 VIR 12:40 -11 37 Sa spiral, only 6 degrees from edge on, 8.0 (NGC4594) magnitude, part of Virgo cluster at 40-50M LY distant, many hundreds of GC, first galaxy found (Slipher@Lowell) with large redshift corresponding to ~1000 km/sec recession. Center appears to contain a 1E9 solar mass black hole. Gamma VIR 12:42 - 1 27 DS 3.5, 3.5 @ 3.6", 32 LY distant, 169 year (ST-619) (MAX ST-521) period, at periastron in Feb 2005, will be about 0.4" 1.9" in Jun99. Each star is about 3.5 times luminocity of our sun. NGC4631 CVN 12:42 +32 32 "Humpback Whale" SG 9.3m 15' X 3' D = 39M LY. 12m EG NGC4627 nearby. Y/10 CVN 12:45 +45 26 Deep orange, 5.0 - 6.4 magnitude, 158 day (ST-620) (MAX ST-523) semi-regular variable. Carbon star. 32* CAM 12:49 +83 25 DS 5.3, 5.8 @ 22" Nice colors, D = 495 LY. (ST-624) NGC4725 COM 12:50 +25 33 SAB(r)ab Pec spiral, 12' X 9', 9.7 magnitude Faint NGC4712 is 12' west; NGC4747 is 24' NE M-94 CVN 12:51 +41 07 Sb spiral with large, bright inner region (NGC4736) with surrounding ring of young, blue star formation, and unusual second wave of more moderate star formation in outskirts with yellow stars in between, 8.2m. Uncertain distance of 15M LY. NGC4762 VIR 12:53 +11 14 Edge-on galaxy. 10.2m 9' X 2' size. NGC- 4754 nearby (12m 2' X 1'). Alpha CVN 12:56 +38 19 Cor Caroli DS 2.9, 5.5 @ 19.4" (ST-631) (MAX ST-531) Blue-white. Primary is metal rich with strong magnetic field. D=120 LY. Nice in small scopes. RY* DRA 12:56 +66 00 Red carbon star 6.0 - 8.2 magnitude, 172 day (ST-632) (MAX ST-533) semi-regular variable. B-V = 3.26 (color). M-64 COM 12:57 +21 41 "Blackeye" Sb SG, evolved second wave star (NGC4826) star formation has now reached the dark dust lane. Two counterrotating systems of stars and gas rubbing and probably leading to vigorous new star formation. ~12-20M LY distance is uncertain as no Cepheids or supernova have been observed. NGC4945 CEN 13:05 -49 28 Large, diffuse galaxy. 9.5m, but low surface brightness. NGC5005 CVN 13:11 +37 03 SAB(rs)bc spiral, 6.3' X 3', 10.6 magnitude M-63 CVN 13:16 +42 02 "Sunflower Galaxy" SG 8.6m, part of M-51 (NGC5055) group, D = 27M LY. Zeta UMa 13:24 +54 56 Alcor / Mizar DS 2.3, 4, 4 @ 14.4", 709". (ST-645) (MAX ST-548) Each star is spectroscopic binary, i.e. 6 stars total, D = 88 LY. Mizar has period of thousands of years; each star has spectroscopic period of about 80 years. Alcor and Mizar have the same proper motion. NGC5128 CEN 13:26 -43 01 Eliptical Galaxy with dark lane. Designated Centaurus A. Strong radio emitter. 7m. 18' X 14', "Black Belt/Karate Galaxy". May be a merger of EG and SG. D = 22.5M LY. NGC5139 CEN 13:27 -47 29 Omega Centaraus, largest GC with about 5 million solar masses, D = 17,000 LY, 3.7 magnitude. 36' diameter makes it appear larger than our moon. Has perhaps ten times the mass of most large GC, which is similar to small galaxies. Type VIII. M-51 CVN 13:30 +47 12 Sc spiral, 8.4 magnitude, 11' X 7' size. (NGC5194) D = 27M LY. First galaxy to have spiral structure observed (Lord Rosse, 1845). The pronounced spiral structure appears to be a result of interaction with NGC5195, which is probably behind M-51 and not connected to the visible spiral arm. NGC- 5195 is much brighter in IR than in visible light (same as M-82). M-83 HYD 13:37 -29 52 SG "Southern Pinwheel" 7.6m. D = 15M LY. (NGC5236) Between normal and barred spirals. 6 super- nova have been observed in this galaxy. M-3 CVN 13:42 +28 23 Large globular with estimated 1/2 million (NGC5272) stars including 170 RR Lyra variables visible. D = 31,000 LY, 6.2 magnitude, 16' dia. Class 6 (medium density) globular cluster. Pi BOO 14:41 +16 25 DS 4.9, 5.8 @ 6" Nice in small telescopes. Epsilon BOO 14:45 +27 04 DS 2.5, 4.9 @ 2.8" yellow/blue colors (ST-704) (MAX ST-574) D= 160 LY. Xi BOO 14:51 +19 06 DS 4.7, 7.0 @ 6.9", 150 year period, 22 LY (ST-716) (MAX ST-578) distant. K. Strand discovered a third star of 0.1 solar mass with 2.2 year orbit. Beta LIB 15:14 - 9 23 Greenish star! One of few. Best in 4 to 6 inch reflectors or Apos. NGC5907 DRA 15:16 +56 19 Spiral Galaxy, nearly edge-on, 11m, 11' X 0.6' size M-5 SER 15:19 + 2 05 One of oldest GC of about 13 Billion (NGC5904) years, 130 LY diameter, D = 23,000 LY. Has 105 known variable stars. 5.6 mag. Contains about 100,000 stars. Class 5. Mu BOO 15:24 +37 23 Triple: 4.3, 7, 8 @ 2", 108", 95 LY distant. (ST-739) (MAX ST-582) Mu2 has 230 year period. Delta SER 15:35 +10 32 DS 4.2, 5.2 @ 4" Period greater than 3,000 (ST-744) (MAX ST-584) years. D = 85 LY. Zeta CRB 15:39 +36 38 DS 5.1, 6.0 @ 6" blue-white / green-white (ST-751) (MAX ST-586) colors. NGC6027 SER 15:59 +20 45 Challenge! Hickson 79. 6 faint galaxies; brightest is 12.4m. For large scopes. Xi SCO 16:04 -11 22 Triple: 4.8, 7.3 @ <1", 7.6", with Struve (ST-767) (MAX ST-595) 1999 12" pair in same field, all traveling together. VERY CLOSE 0.3" in 1998 -> 45.7 year period, 3rd star has >1000 year period around close double, 80 LY distant. Beta SCO 16:05 -19 48 DS 2.6, 4.9m @ 14". Nice in small scopes. (ST-768) (MAX ST-591) Both stars spectroscopic binaries. D = 600 LY Possible error in ST location. Nu SCO 16:12 -19 27 Double-Double 4, 6, 7, 8 @ 1", 42", 2" (ST-772) (MAX ST-596) System is at least 400 LY distant. M-80 SCO 16:17 -22 59 Class 2 GC Very compact, 7.2 magnitude, (NGC6093) 9' dia, 27,000 LY. Good contrast to closer and much more open M-4. M-4 SCO 16:24 -26 32 Possibly the nearest GC at 7,000 LY. A (NGC6121) very open or loose cluster with diameter of 55 LY. Would be much brighter if not heavily obscured by dust. 5.6 mag. At 26', it is almost as large as moon. Its white dwarf stars are among oldest in our galaxy. Contains first millisecond pulsar discovered in a GC (1987). Class 9. Alpha SCO 16:29 -26 26 Antares, 1.2, 6.8 @ 3.5", redish / greenish (ST-787) (MAX ST-606) M1 red giant, 600 million mile diameter, about 700 X our sun, 10 - 15 solar masses, about 520 LY distant. Antares is being displaced into space; stars are embedded in a shell of expanding gas. 17-16 DRA 16:36 +52 55 Triple 5.4, 6.4, 5.5 @ 3", 90" (ST-793) (MAX ST-608) Nice! M-13 HER 16:42 +36 28 Large GC, contains nearly 1 million stars, (NGC6205) stars near center are 500 times more concentrated than around us. M-13 is probably at least 13 billion years old. 23,000 LY distant, 5.8 magnitude, 16.6' dia. No real night on planet near center of M-13. NGC6210 HER 16:44 +23 49 Small, bright blue PN, 20" X 16", ~3600 LY distant, 38 km/sec expansion, neb 8.8v, "O" star 12.9 visual magnitude. M-12 OPH 16:47 - 1 57 Loose GC, 18,000 LY distant, 75 LY (NGC6218) diameter, 6.7 magnitude. NGC6231 SCO 16:54 -41 48 OC 6m, 15' dia. 1/2 degree north of Zeta. 8 bright stars; 100+ fainter ones. Nice but low in sky. Many O & B supergiants. If at same distance as Pleiades, would be about same size but 50 times brighter! H12 and NGC6242 are nearby. M-10 OPH 16:57 - 4 06 GC with a bright core, 16,000 LY distant, (NGC6254) 70 LY diameter, half apparent size of moon. 6.6 magnitude. Mu DRA 17:05 +54 28 DS Perfectly matched 5.7, 5.7 @ 2" with (MAX ST-623) same spectrum. D = 82 LY. 480 year orbit. Alpha 1 HER 17:15 +14 24 Rasalgethi: 3, 5 @ 4.5", orange / blue-green, (ST-813) (MAX ST-627) a very large M5 star of at least 400 solar diameters (350 million miles), 3600 year period. Fainter is spectroscopic binary with 51.6 day period. Also = 64 HER. M-92 HER 17:17 +43 08 Large GC with about 330,000 solar mass. (NGC6341) 26,000 LY distant, about 85 LY diameter. About 13 billion years old, 6.4 mag. Omicron OPH 17:18 -24 17 DS 5.4, 6.9 @ 10", orange/blue colors. (ST-818) (MAX ST-632) Also = 39 OPH B-72 OPH 17:21 -23 35 Dark "Snake" Nebula. Use very low power. (MAX NS-260) B-78 OPH 17:22 -27 15 Dark "Pipe" Nebula. Approximate coord. Rho HER 17:24 +37 09 DS 4.6, 5.6 @ 4". Nice in smaller scopes. (ST-820) (MAX ST-635) Nu DRA 17:32 +55 11 DS Perfectly matched 4.9, 4.9 @ 62". (ST-830) (MAX ST-639) Best in small instruments. D = 120 LY. M-6 SCO 17:40 -32 13 "Butterfly Cluster" OC with about 80 (NGC6405) members over 20 LY diameter, 2000 LY distant, about 75 million years old. Near to direction of galactic center, which is 17:46 -28 56 at 28000 LY. M-7 SCO 17:54 -34 49 OC of about 80 stars in about 18 LY at (NGC6475) 800 LY distance, about 1.3 degree diameter, about 220 million years old. Use very low power! M-23 SGR 17:57 -19 01 OC of at least 150 stars, at distance of (NGC6494) 2150 LY. 27' diameter corresponds to 15 LY. 6.9 m. Great in small scopes. About 250 million years old. Barnards OPH 17:58 + 4 34 Star with highest proper motion of 10.3"/year. (ST-850) D = 6 LY, 9.5 magnitude, 2500 degree K, with only 1/2500 sun's luminosity, 2nd nearest star. Our sun would appear 1st magnitude at that distance. NGC6543* DRA 17:59 +66 38 "Cat's eye" PN, bright blue-green, 8.3, 22" X 16" with 10m central star. D = 3000 LY. The inner shells are probably only about 1000 years old. Expansion is noticable in only 3 years (in Hubble images). Lies nearly in line with north ecliptic pole. 95 HER 18:02 +21 36 DS 5.0, 5.1 @ 6" pale red / pale green (ST-854) (MAX ST-662) colors uncertain/indistinct. B-86 SGR 18:03 -27 50 Dark Nebula to west of OC NGC-6520 (NS-480) (MAX NS-281) (MAX NS list gives 18:00 hours RA.) NGC6520 SGR 18:03 -27:55 OC with dark nebula B-86 nearby to west. M-20 SGR 18:03 -23 02 "Trifid" Diffuse Nebula. 6.3m 28' diameter. (NGC6514) Multiple star at center. D - 5500 LY. B-85 SGR 18:04 -23 02 Dark Nebula associated with M-8 (MAX NS-283) B-89 SGR 18:04 -24 23 Dark Nebula associated with M-8 (MAX NS-285) B-88 SGR 18:04 -24 23 Dark Nebula associated with M-8 (MAX NS-286) B-91 SGR 18:04 -23 27 Dark Nebula associated with M-8 (MAX NS-287) M-8 SGR 18:04 -24 23 "Lagoon" Diffuse Nebula 6 magnitude, 5200 (NGC6523) LY distant, 90' X 40' or about 140 X 60 LY size, has several dark nebula or globules which are collapsing protosellar clouds of about 10,000 AU. Bright "Hourglass Nebula" part appears to be the seat of active star formation. Hot O5 and O7 stars excite the nebula gas. M-21 SGR 18:05 -22 30 OC 5.9m 13' diameter. In splendid milky (NGC6531) way surroundings. D = 4000 LY. 70 OPH 18:06 +02 30 DS 4.2, 6.0 @ 4" 88 year period, (ST-856) (MAX ST-666) D = 17 LY. Widest in 2024. NGC6572 OPH 18:12 + 6 51 Small, starlike, bright blue PN. 15" X 12", 9 magnitude, 13.6 magnitude central star. D = 1900 LY. Appears only 8' dia. B-92 SGR 18:16 -18 11 Dark Nebula See M-24 (MAX NS-292) B-93 SGR 18:17 -18 03 Dark Nebula See M-24 (MAX NS-294) M-24 SGR 18:18 -18 25 Milky Way star cloud with OC and 2 dark (~NGC6603) nebula (B-92 and B-93) on north edge. Nice at very low power. 2.2 X 1.3 degree size! Great in all instruments. M-16 SER 18:19 -13 47 Open cluster associated with "Eagle Nebula" (NGC6611) 7,000 LY distant, has massive, young, hot O7 stars and is site of active star formation as seen in recent HST images. M-17 SGR 18:21 -16 11 Omega, Swan, Horseshoe, or Lobster nebula! (NGC6618) Another center of recent or current star formation which shines by excited emission caused by radiation from hot, young stars. D = 5000 LY, 7 magnitude, mass of gas about 800 solar masses. Physically close to similar M-16, eagle nebula. T LYR 18:32 +37 00 Red carbon star. 7.5 - 9.3m, irregular. (ST-882) (MAX ST-686) M-22 SGR 18:36 -23 54 GC 5.1m 24' diameter. D = 10,000 LY (NGC6656) 24' apparent size corresponds to 65 LY diameter. Brighter than M-13. Outlying stars to about 200 LY diameter. 70,000 member stars have been counted. Alpha LYR 18:37 +38 47 Vega 0, 10 @ 60" south, optical pair. (ST-889) (MAX ST-690) Vega is 22 LY distant and is 3.2 solar diameters. MW SCT 18:40 - 6 00 Milky Way star cloud in Scutum. One of the brightest parts of the Milky Way. Best at low power. Epsilon LYR 18:44 +39 40 Double-Double 5.0, 6.1 @ 2.6", 208" (ST-893) (MAX ST-697) 5.2, 5.5 @ 2.3". 5.0m is spectrometric binary. Orbital periods 1200 years and at least (probably much longer) 600 years for southern pair. The pairs probably orbit each other in about a million years. D = 180 LY. M-11 SCU 18:51 - 6 16 "Wild Duck" OC Best in larger scopes. (NGC6705) 2900 stars, an observer at the center would see several hundred first magnitude stars. About 250 million years old. D = 6000 LY. M-57 LYR 18:54 +33 02 Ring Planetary Nebula. 8.8 magnitude, (NGC6720) D= 1400 LY. Most probably a ring (torus) and not a sphere of material, 1.4' X 1', central star is about 100,000 degrees kelvin and is very difficult to see visually. Inner region appears dark as it emits mostly UV, middle region dominated by greenish forbidden light of ionized oxygen and nitrogen, outer region only red light of hydrogen is excited. About 500X our solar system diameter. Theta SER 18:56 + 4 12 DS 4.5, 5.4 @ 22" 130 LY distant. (ST-910) (MAX ST-709) Nice in small scopes. V AQL 19:04 - 5 41 Red carbon star. 6.6 - 8.1m. Semi- (ST-921) (MAX ST-717) regular 350 day period. UX DRA 19:22 +76 34 Red carbon star. 5.9 - 7.1m 168 day (ST-938) (MAX ST-738) period. COL399 VUL 19:25 +20 11 "Coathanger" asterism. 3.6m 60' diameter. (MAX NS-326) Needs VERY low power - maybe 2 degree field. D = 420 LY. OC NGC6802 at east end. Beta CYG 19:31 +27 57 Albireo, 3.1, 5.1 @ 34", great color, 410 (ST-946) (MAX ST-746) LY distant, A is spectroscopic binary. D=400 LY. Great in small scopes/binoculars. M-55 SGR 19:40 -30 58 GC Loose, 7m, 19' diameter. D = 16000 LY. (NGC6809) NGC6818 SGR 19:44 -14 09 PN 9.9m / 13m, 22' X 15". D = 5000 LY. NGC6826 CYG 19:45 +50 31 "Blinking" PN, 8.8 / 10.7 magnitudes, 27" X 24". Look directly at star, then use averted vision to see nebula. Halo has multiple shells. D = 3,300 LY. M-71 SGE 19:54 +18 47 GC 8.3m 7' Small, loose, Class 11. (NGC6838) D = 12,000 LY. M-27 VUL 20:00 +22 43 Dumbbell Planetary Nebula seen approximately (NGC6853) from equatorial plane. 6' diameter of bright central part with faint halo to 15', 7.4 magnitude, 1250 LY distant. Bright portion expands at 6.8" per year leading to an age of 3500 years. Central star is 13.5 magnitude, O7, 85,000 degree kelvin, hot, bluish subdwarf dwarf with a 17 magnitude companion at 6.5". Distance estimates range from 800 to 3500 LY. NGC6960 CYG 20:44 +30 46 Veil Nebula in Cygnus, supernova remnant, 1400 LY distant, 5,000 to 10,000 years old. Around 52 Cygni; NGC6979, 6992 and 6995 are also parts. Near DS 52 Cyg 4.2, 9.4 @ 6.2" Gamma DEL 20:47 +16 07 DS 4.5, 5.5 @ 10". Yellow/pale-green. (ST-1018) (MAX ST-824) DS Struve 2725 7.6, 8.4 @ 6" is 15' SW. D = 100 LY for both stars, but these stars are moving in nearly opposite directions. 4 AQR 20:51 -5 37 Close DS 6.4m 0.8" Nice in 8" (ST-1024) (MAX ST-829) NGC6992 CYG 20:54 +31 30 NE segment, brightest part of Veil. NGC6995 Use UHC or O-III filter and very low power. NGC7000 CYG 20:57 +44 08 North American nebula, 3 degrees east and 1 degree south of Deneb. 3 degrees across. Use RFT/binoculars and UHC or O-III filter. NGC7009 AQR 21:02 -11 34 PN "Saturn", 44" X 23", 8 / 12m, D = 3,000 LY. 61 CYG 21:07 +38 45 Bessel's Star. Binary: 5.2, 6.0 @ 30". One (ST1036) (MAX ST-840) of closest stars at D = 11 LY. First star to have parallax measured. Orange stars. Good in small scopes. M-15 Peg 21:30 +12 10 GC 6.4m 12' diameter. D = 34,000 LY. (NGC7078) M-2 AQR 21:34 -00 49 GC 6.5m, 150,000 stars, D = 36,000 LY. (NGC7089) Class 2 (compact). IC1396 CEP 21:39 +57 29 DS, OC, DN complex! Triple 5.6, 7.7, 7.8 (ST-1057) (MAX ST-855) @ 12", 20". OC is 50' dia. DN is 170' X 140'. DS Struve 2819 7.5, 8.5 @ 12" also in field. 2.5 degrees S of Mu CEP. D = 2300 LY. NGC7128 CYG 21:42 +53 29 OC 9.7m with measured stars from 11.5m to 16.5m, 3.1' diameter. Mu CEP 21:44 +58 47 Herschel's garnet star, 3.4-5.1m semi-regular (ST-1062) (MAX ST-862) variable super giant. D = 2800 LY. k/10 PEG 21:45 +25 39 DS Challenge. 4.7, 5.0 @ 0.3". 11.6 year orbit. Max in 1997.5. Brigher is spec. binary with 6 day orbit. Xi CEP 22:04 +64 38 DS 4.5, 6.5 @ 8". Nice in small scopes. (ST-1074) (MAX ST-875) Krueger60 CEP 22:28 +57 42 DS Red dwarf binary and flare star! (ST-1097) 9.8, 11.3 @ 2.5". Delta Ceph is 43' SW. D = 13 LY. One of nearest visual binaries. Delta/27 CEP 22:29 +58 25 DS/Cepheid One of the most important stars (ST-1099) (MAX ST-887) in the sky. 3.6 - 4.3m range in about 1-1/2 days to rise plus about 4 days to fall. Zeta AQR 22:29 -00 01 DS 4.4, 4.5 @ 2", green-white colors. (ST-1098) (MAX ST-885) 76 LY distant. NGC7293 AQR 22:30 -20 48 Helix PN 12' X 16', central star 13.4m, large, dim. Closest PN @ 500 LY. 6.5m, but has low surface brightness. Nebula filter helps. 72 PEG 22:34 +31 20 Close Double 5.7, 5.8 @ 0.5". Test for 10" (MAX ST-916) NGC7320 PEG 22:36 +33 57 Challenge! Stephan's Quintet: NGC 7317, 7318A/B, 7319, 7320. 12.7m - 13.6m, faint. NGC7331 PEG 22:37 +34 25 SG similar to M-31 & ours. 1/2 degree from Stephan's Quintet. 10m, 10' X 2.5' size. faint NGCs 7325, 7326, 7335, 7336, 7337, and 7340 nearby. D = 50M LY. NGC7662 AND 23:26 +42 33 PN "Blue Snowball" 8.5m / 13.2m, 2.2' dia. D = 5600 LY. 19/TX PSC 23:46 + 3 29 Reddish-Orange carbon star. 4.5 - 5.3m in (ST-1148) (MAX ST-923) period of 220 days. D = 400+ LY. NGC7789 CAS 23:57 +56 44 OC 7m, 16' dia. Big, faint, 300+ stars. D = 6000 LY. Sigma CAS 23:59 +55 45 DS 5, 7 @ 3". Blue-white / Green-white. (ST-1156) (MAX ST-927) D = 1400 LY. "The true value of a telescope is how many people have looked through it." - John Dobson Circumpolar (+ 10 degrees) NGC188 CEP 0:44 +85 20 OC 8.1m 18' dia. Oldest OC known; may be 12 - 14 Billion years old. Very faint. D = 5000 LY. Iota CAS 2:29 +67 24 Triple: 4, 7, 8 @ 2.5", 7.3". 840 (ST-112) (MAX ST-090) year period for close pair, thousands of years for wider. D = 160 LY. Alpha UMi 2:30 +89 15 Polaris 2.02, 9 @ 18.4"; orbit is thousands (ST-115) (MAX ST-094) of years. Polaris is (was?) Cepheid, .1 mag, 4 day period, also spectroscopic binary 30.5 year period. Polaris is about 360 LY distant. NGC2403 CAM 7:47 +65 36 SG 8.4m, 18' X 11' size. D = 12M LY. M-81/82 UMa 9:56 +69 04 6.9 SG, 8.4 IG D = 12M LY. These galaxies (NGC3031/3034) had a close encounter ~10M years ago which dramatically altered M-82. The galaxies are only 150,000 LY apart. In IR light, M-82 is the brightest galaxy in the sky! 32 CAM 12:49 +83 25 DS 5.3, 5.8 @ 22" Nice colors, D = 495 LY. (ST-624) RY DRA 12:56 +66 00 Red carbon star. 6.0 - 8.2 magnitude, 172 day (ST-632) (MAX ST-533) semi-regular variable, B-V = 3.26 (color). NGC6543 DRA 17:59 +66 38 "Cat's eye" PN, bright blue-green, 8.3 mag, 22" X 16" with 11 mag. central star. 3600 LY distant, magnitude 8.1. Lies nearly in line with north ecliptic pole.