Potential Targets?

[Dom1961]

I am looking for a list of DSOs that I could hope to find. I have moderate light pollution with mainly a zenith view and high up round the horizon kind of view (I hope you understand.) I have an 8" Dob and am willing to stay out till about 1-ish. Any ideas? I have seen a few globs and open clusters, do i have any chance with galaxies and nebulae? Could i also have the code for each idea not just the name, thanks!

[ronin]

East: Vega should be visible and that means Lyrs and M57, the Ring Nebula. Easy to find as it is sandwiched between the 2 "lower" stars and they are not far apart. Bit left and below M57 is the double star Albireo. Guess anything in Cygnus is a bit dim, but if Deneb is there have a look the 2 nebula there may be visible.

South East: Ophiuchus - M12 and M10 are inside the "body", M14 is just outside the left edge of the "body". Suspect this is difficult as Ophiuchus is not readily apparent - I didn't even know it was there until I looked up objects and constellation in the South.

South: Libra(not a lot in it I believe) and Saturn - visible by eye. Left and a bit below Saturn should be the red star Antares, red colour gives it away. Next to Antares is M4 (GC), half way between Antares and Saturn is M80 another Globular Cluster.

South West is Leo, locate the dim star between Regulus and Denebola and below that is 2 galaxies (I thought it was 3???). Carry on a bit further back (left) of Denebola and there is a whole stack of small faint galaxies, these are part of the Virgo supercluster. Some are Messiers, some NGC. They are no easy visible by eye so it at will look sort of vacant by eye.

West is The Moon and Jupiter.

The Galactic plane is sort of NW to SE but low when looking Northwards - lots of assorted junk in there.

Based this on Midnight as the time.

[Tinker1947]

"Whats Up" gives a filtered list of whats viewable, just put in you location and a few other settings.....

http://www.whatsup.ricksastro.com/

[NGC 1502]

I do most of my observing from my light polluted back garden, so may I suggest the following for starters -

With the light evenings at the moment, maybe some of the brighter objects would be good.   M13 & 92 globular clusters in Hercules.  M94 is a relatively bright galaxy in Canes Venatici, and nearby Cor Caroli, the brightest star (easy naked eye in that consellation) is a fine easy to split double star.  If you are up till 1.00 am, Lyra should be fairly high up, has the well known M57 ring nebula and the double-double quadruple star near to Vega.  Slightly more challenging is Izar, epsilon Bootes, NE of brilliant Arcturus.

Maybe Saturn is too low in the south for your location ?

Good luck, Ed.

[Dom1961]

Yeah it is a bit low unfortunately. In terms of nebulae, how distinguishable will they be against the background? Will I need to look really hard or will it stand out kind of?

[Owmuchonomy]

Most nebulae particularly emission nebulae are a challenge. Combined with the time of year and your latitude it's almost a right off. The targets suggested by Ed are a good choice in the current night time conditions. By the end of August, a view of the Veil nebula near Cygnus will test your equipment and patience although I find an OIII filter helps a lot.

[NGC 1502]

Yeah it is a bit low unfortunately. In terms of nebulae, how distinguishable will they be against the background? Will I need to look really hard or will it stand out kind of?

All the objects I mentioned (and many more) are relatively bright, and are easy to see, even under a light polluted sky.  Once you have found them at low power, then a higher power (80-120x) darkens the sky background increasing the contrast between object and background sky.

A problem at the moment is that it doesn't get properly dark until late, and the moon is starting to intrude as the phase increases.  Double/multiple stars are great, many stand out well under these less than ideal conditions.

Regards, Ed.

[Dom1961]

Just tried out Whatsup, great help, thanks for the link!!! On nights when the moon is out, is there no point looking for galaxies and nebulae? Also for objects that you have mentioned and the lp I have OIII or UHC? Might be my next investment.

[ghostdance]

A UHC filter is nice for the Ring - makes it more contrasty and vivid against the sky, although it's quite noticeable w/out a filter (and I imagine looks pretty good in an 8").

[OneEyedSam]

Check out DSO browser.com

You can export results to excel and print. Very handy indeed!

[-Aldebaran-]

I haven't got round to observing the ring nebula, but there is the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major, sorry I can't remember the messier number fir that one, it's slightly lower and further to the left of the well known galaxies, m81 m82 I think they are.

As far as a nebula filter is concerned I viewed the owl with a UHC and the difference without was quite substantial, i couldnt discern any detail other than a slight change in shade within the nebula and only with averted vision. But without the filter in place it's pretty tricky to even find, mind you it is a small object.

I imagine Coupled with a good dark site the Uhc could have shown more.