Deep Sky Wonders in Sagittarius

[Ad Astra]

Hi Folks!

I am planning this activity for my classes this week while the Moon is in its waning phase and the sky will be plenty dark for hunting deep sky targets in the south.

Sagittarius is up now and several nifty deep sky targets line up along a 45 degree angle just off the top of the 'teapot'. They make great hunting for binocular fanciers and show off well in 150 - 200 mm Dobs, too!

M-18 and M-24 are impressive open clusters that are great targets for bins in the southern sky - both lie just 8-9 degrees NW from Kaus Borealis (the top of the teapot). These two are close enough that many bins will show them in one field.

The Omega nebula is a wonderful target for bins, but it really shows its stuff in a larger dob. The wispy structure is very extensive, and in a 200 mm dob (or larger!), this one really pops!

The Eagle nebula is a challenge, and most viewers won't see the 'Eagle' shape, which is caused by dark dust lanes in front of the nebula. Bigger is better with this challenging target!

The attached activity sheet gives you detailed instructions, and a quick finder chart, and a place to record what you see in the EP. Give it a go while the sky is dark and the Moon is waning and you will be in for a real treat!

As always - comments are always welcome and....

Let the Prof know how you are doing!!!

Dan

Lab #14 - Deep Sky Sagittarius.doc

[rory]

thanks prof...again .

[Cjg]

Thank you, downloaded to play with on Friday / Saturday.

Chris

[Damo636]

Thanks Dan, have it downloaded and if only the weather would play ball now !

[heathenwoods]

Although a newbie without a scope of any capability, I do have some bins on their way to me and I'm really looking forward to trying this out - thank you!

(Although I am now forever going to see not an archer but a teapot )

[che guevara]

thanks, thats really useful.

[xyz]

Hmmmmm Sagittarius barely creeps above the horizon from my latitude. I suspect that in SoCal you have a better view !

[heathenwoods]

Although a newbie without a scope of any capability, I do have some bins on their way to me and I'm really looking forward to trying this out - thank you!

(Although I am now forever going to see not an archer but a teapot )

But obviously when I'm in the right hemisphere...