Your Favourite Easy-To-See Object?

[BenOak]

On 11/5/2016 at 18:24, wheresthetorch? said:

NGC457 - can see it under any conditions (except cloud, obviously!), and looks like ET in the sky. 

Me and my son found this the other evening and even with a brighter sky due to the moon, it was a very pretty cluster.

Reading through this thread has given me a list of new things to look at but it's clear that there are those that everyone seems to love.

I'm a fan of any of the open clusters but Pleiades, The Double Cluster and the Beehive get visited almost every time due to their beauty. Betelgeuse, The Garnet Star, Mizar/Alcor and Algieba normally get a good looking over too because of historical importance, colours or size and then M31 and the Leo Triplet for the simple awe of seeing other galaxies millions of years in the past!

[ghostdance]

The gorgeous Moon and planets aside:

Beehive...A *captivating* little cutie. Thrills my greasy  lil heart.

 Oh, and M57 and Orion Nebula (can I also have Sigma Orionis?  )

And that little chain of stars 'dangling' from Alcyone in the Pleiades -  I just love em. 

[wheresthetorch?]

Kemble's Cascade is a good one - I took a look the other night, but transparency was so bad the stars all looked much the same colour. It is breathtaking on a clear crisp night. 

[A budding astronomer]

Hands down the Beehive Cluster in Cancer! Or NGC 869 ( double cluster ) and the the Great Orion Nebula. In terms of planets, Jupiter 100%.

[cloudsweeper]

18 minutes ago, wheresthetorch? said:

Kemble's Cascade is a good one - I took a look the other night, but transparency was so bad the stars all looked much the same colour. It is breathtaking on a clear crisp night. 

Another great choice - the long chain, punctuated by a brighter star, and culminating in an attractive open cluster.  Thank goodness for the widefield frac!

Doug.

[cloudsweeper]

51 minutes ago, ghostdance said:

The gorgeous Moon and planets aside:

Beehive...A *captivating* little cutie. Thrills my greasy  lil heart.

 Oh, and M57 and Orion Nebula (can I also have Sigma Orionis?  )

And that little chain of stars 'dangling' from Alcyone in the Pleiades -  I just love em. 

I'll look out for that.   Last time I observed The Pleiades I was concentrating on the areas of nebulosity!

Doug.

[ghostdance]

1 hour ago, cloudsweeper said:

I'll look out for that.   Last time I observed The Pleiades I was concentrating on the areas of nebulosity!

Doug.

With my LP, nebulosity with the Sisters is sadly not viable  

Hope you like the 'little chain' ( it's only  5 or 6 stars but I do tend to like the smaller delights - if I can see em,  lol - hence my ongoing love affair with X Cancris and Sigma Orionis )

[mikeDnight]

The Moon

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

NGC884 & 869

M45, M42, M57, M57, M13 (M31 M32 & M101 in same field at low power) M81 & 82, M51

Aimlessly sweeping the milky way and lots of other stuff.

 

[cloudsweeper]

8 hours ago, ghostdance said:

 

With my LP, nebulosity with the Sisters is sadly not viable  

Hope you like the 'little chain' ( it's only  5 or 6 stars but I do tend to like the smaller delights - if I can see em,  lol - hence my ongoing love affair with X Cancris and Sigma Orionis )

..that's a pity, and it makes me realise I'm not too badly off in that respect.  But I'm still gonna have to take a drive to see the wonders of Ms 33, 51, and 101!

Doug.

[cotterless45]

For easy success under dubious skies, I'd go for more than one  

Iota Cassiopeiae, lovely bright easy to find triple.

Beta Monocerotis, superb triple.

Mu Cephei, the "Garnet star" and R Leporis ,"Hind's Crimson " star.

Sigma Orionis , lovely bright triple down from Alnitak.

The "Eskimo Nebula", NGC 2392 and the "Blue Snowball" NGC 7662. Both are easy to find and their colour and brightness always please.

old Nick.

[cloudsweeper]

24 minutes ago, cotterless45 said:

For easy success under dubious skies, I'd go for more than one  

Iota Cassiopeiae, lovely bright easy to find triple.

Beta Monocerotis, superb triple.

Mu Cephei, the "Garnet star" and R Leporis ,"Hind's Crimson " star.

Sigma Orionis , lovely bright triple down from Alnitak.

The "Eskimo Nebula", NGC 2392 and the "Blue Snowball" NGC 7662. Both are easy to find and their colour and brightness always please.

old Nick.

Thanks, Nick - another of your inspirational lists!

Doug.

[mikey2000]

I'm partially obsessed with M31 and the Pleiades in equal measure.  The Pleiades because I think it was the first clustery thing I ever noticed.  I'd seen a smudge in the sky that vanished when i looked straight at it.  Then I looked at it with some binoculars:  "My god, it's full of stars!".  That was a big moment.   M31?  Why?  Because I can't believe something so big and quite near is so hard to see without a telescope.  Then it's an intriguing smudge.  Aim a camera and it's suddenly a galaxy!

 

This may seem like a rookie favourite, but I also love looking at the moon.  All that detail you can't see with the naked eye....  Also, last winter gave some good views of Jupiter.  I still wish to see Saturn but haven't managed it yet.

[cloudsweeper]

7 hours ago, mikey2000 said:

I'm partially obsessed with M31 and the Pleiades in equal measure.  The Pleiades because I think it was the first clustery thing I ever noticed.  I'd seen a smudge in the sky that vanished when i looked straight at it.  Then I looked at it with some binoculars:  "My god, it's full of stars!".  That was a big moment.   M31?  Why?  Because I can't believe something so big and quite near is so hard to see without a telescope.  Then it's an intriguing smudge.  Aim a camera and it's suddenly a galaxy!

 

This may seem like a rookie favourite, but I also love looking at the moon.  All that detail you can't see with the naked eye....  Also, last winter gave some good views of Jupiter. I still wish to see Saturn but haven't managed it yet. 

Yes indeed - the bands and those moons (usually in a straight line) make Jupiter something special.  But you'll really enjoy Saturn.  When my 'scope first converted that bright dot into a nearby gaseous world surrounded by huge, flat rings of ice and rock I just groaned with awe!

Doug.

[StarryEyed]

Cygnus Omicron. "WOW!"

[Singlin]

The feeling of being wrapped by a sphere of stars when observing the heavens in general under a dark sky.