TOP 10 GLOBULARS...

[mdstuart]

Its Globular season..I am planning to observe some tonight..

What in your view are the top 10 observable from the northern hemisphere.

Here is my list

1. M22 You may not agree but I just love this one..Bright and dispersed..

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0506/m22_cfht_big.jpg

2. M3 High in CVN..So lovely at high power.

3. M13 WOW but I think not quite as good as the above for me..

4. M5 Another awesome bright and relatively dispersed glob...

5. M15 Pegaus ..bright but condensed..

6. M2 Aquarius..bright and very condensed..

7. M4 Scorpio..Dispersed and a bit low but amazing..

8. M12 OPH So nice in a 10 inch resolvable to core Class VII

9. M10 OPH Like M12 but a bit dimmer

10. M92 in Hercules..Still stunning but core is very condensed..

So do you agree..Any others you think should push out some of my favorites??

Most are observable tonight so compare your views to my list and report back!

[JamesF]

M13 is always a favourite for me and M4 was very impressive when I found it recently.

James

[Mr Q]

I would add Omega Centauri to the list - a bright glob nearly the size of the full Moon is probably the best GC accesable from the northern hemisphere though observing sites near 37 degrees lat. or lower are needed to see it. I did at 35 degrees and it was the most spectacular object Iv'e seen in all my 50+ years of observing. Second would be M13 with its many "three bladed propeller" anomalies under medium and high powers.

The other 8 would be hard for me to list since many GCs have their own unique structure details and colored stars that vary.

[mdstuart]

Thanks Mr Q for your perspectives...

Glad you enjoyed M4 JamesF...

Looks clear outside so I may take a peek at some of these again tonight..

Mark

[Saleratus]

Thanks for this list, Mark. I'm a glob lover but have never systematized them into a list like this. It opens the possibility of a mini glob marathon on the next clear night.

[andrew63]

The more southern ones are poorly placed for me but what about M56 in Lyra - it's in a gorgeous rich field to.

andrew

[andrew63]

I forgot to add in my last post but M71 in Sagitta - for similar reasons is in a lovely rich star field - if you observe with a smaller scope and lack the resolving power i find the setting helps to lift the view! I remember this area last year when Comet Garradd was very near and it was a lovely sight in a wide field.

andrew

[mdstuart]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was out last night with my little 70mm refractor and managed to spot M3,M13,M92,M15..

I checked out M71 and M56 again which are just possible in the 70mm so I think they do not make my list but I know they are good in my 10 inch dob..

I also spotted NGC 6934 I think it is in the Dolphin..That double on the end looks so splendid in the 70mm with the 6mm eyepiece..Two super fine dots...

Finally managed NGC 7331 the galaxy in Pegasus again with the small refractor..A nice end the the night of viewing.

Mark

[Double Kick Drum]

I agree with your top ten with the exception of M4, which has been troublesome for me due to its low position at its zenith. If declination wasn't an issue, M22 would probably feature in there sonewhere too but I have only ever seen it once under a favourable Southern sky.

I appreciate in like for like skies it is more impressive but I would exchange it for either M53 or M71.

[swamp thing]

Great list, liking M22 at the top, It's a real monster cluster and my favourite too. Admittedly not the best placed object from the UK but it makes up for it once you get to a good site

My #2 would be M15 I really like its compactness and it's a beauty through larger apertures at high powers.

Then M13 in the bronze position for me. It is still a superb object but not quite as good as the other two IMO

Then the usual suspects in no real particular order, thats a bit too tough.

[mdstuart]

Thanks for your thoughts DKD..I did think about M53..might give that one consideration for my top 10..I know what you mean with M4 but after going to Malta and seeing it again I had to put it in...

SThing...M15 hey...yes now here is where we can all have our preferences. I like the dispersed ones where I can see the stars to the core but you like the compactness of M15..

They are just awesome regardless of the order...

Mark

[alan potts]

Difficult but I like M 107 because of the cross of 11th mag stars, I would love to see it through a really big scope!

Alan.

[mdstuart]

M107...yes now I had not thought of the setting...In fact thinking about it some of the best globulars have quite bright field stars next to them..

I will tak another look at this one with my 10 inch dob..As you say it really needs a 16 inch to bring this one out...one for the star parties..

Mark

[Mike73]

I've really enjoyed viewing globs almost as much as galaxies. Would love to view these in +16" scopes!

Mines a very incomplete list as I haven't viewed all of the Messier globs yet but going back through my notes these are the best I've seen in order.

1/ M5 - Tough one for first place but M5 just wins it over M13, it seemed just as bright and I could resolve it all part from the very centre which I kinda like.

2/ M13 - Simply stunning, enough said!

3/ M3 - Only really came to life with lots of power but very nice.

4/ M92 - In M13's shadow but nice to compare the two

5/ M12 - Anyone else pick up a more yellow colour in this one?

6/ M10 - Faint but nice shape

7/ M53 - Tried this one a couple times and seeing conditions weren't good enough for the power needed.

8/ M68 - Viewed in poor seeing

[mdstuart]

Mike 73..

Thanks for your views. If we carry on they will have to set up a globulars section on here for us.

I find these objects messmerising at high ower...I just have to keep going back...

Now perhaps we need to add the globular you can see in the Andromeda galaxy. Its very faint but I have spotted it with my 10 inch dob..

Regards

Mark

[fredster]

These will be a couple of strange ones to add to the list but i like them a lot:

M92 in Hercules

M56 in Lyra

There's something strangely appealing about M56. Its faint and has no instant wow like M22, M3 or M13 but in a widefield eyepiece its really nice.

[Mike73]

Mike 73..

Thanks for your views. If we carry on they will have to set up a globulars section on here for us.

I find these objects messmerising at high ower...I just have to keep going back...

Now perhaps we need to add the globular you can see in the Andromeda galaxy. Its very faint but I have spotted it with my 10 inch dob..

Regards

Mark

Hi Mark

I'II put my hand up and admit to not spending enough time on viewing objects when I've found them in the past but the last sketch I did of M5 took 1 1/4 hours and like you say it was mesmerising, the more time observing it the more detail came out (maybe that was the reason I placed it as my favourite?)

Recently stated reading O'Meara's Messier Objects and his accounts of globulars are such a good read.

[James]

All my favourites have already been listed, including Marks original 10 and also M56. I'd add NGC 2419 (in Lynx) to the list - the Intergalactic Wanderer. It isn't intergalactic but it's so far away it could be considered as such (and indeed was for a while, hence the name). Its a fainter one but I like the fact it's so far away.

It's long been an ambition to get a scope big enough and find a place dark enough to see some of the globulars around the Andromeda galaxy - with a 14" flextube I'm hoping I'll soon be able to do so from a sufficiently dark site (Exmoor/Kielder etc...)

James

[mdstuart]

NGC 2419.. yes special due to its distance...Perhaps it does deserve to make the ten.

I have seen Mayall2 using a Sue French chart of M31. Its mag 13.8 and in my 10 inch dob looks like a fuzzy star next to two ordinary fields stars...Its tough to find as its a fair way from the M31 core..

http://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/gcm31.htm

So it seems we could create a top 10 that includes some special globulars...for various reasons..

Perhaps we should add the one to the right in this image!

http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1141/

I just wish the skies would clear so we can see them..

Thanks everyone for making this thread enjoyable..

Mark

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have seen both Omega Cen and 47 Tucanae, so I am spoilt. However I would go for NGC 2419 (Caldwell 25), or the Intergalactic Wanderer as well. Really nice object because of its peculiar nature.

[mdstuart]

Michael..

You are the second to mention NGC 2419....It is an amazing thing to see given its distance...

Our milky way certainly has a lot of treats..

Mark