Sagittarius...At last!

[Stridor]

I have been waiting along time to add a new Messier to my list, but last night I captured 5!! Sagittarius is such a difficult constellation to get results from at the best of times; and for me, my Southern sky is hampered by a large tree and hedges. This past year I have managed to cut some lower limbs of the tree, and trim the hedge down a bit so that I now have a `window` to the South. It does mean  accurate timing and waiting for the objects to come into my window, but last night I bagged M23 (open cluster); M22 (Globular); M75 (Globular) M24 (Open Cluster) & M18 (Open Cluster). A great evening especially as I have done nothing for over 2 months!

[Stu]

Great stuff Stridor. It's a tricky one from the UK, particularly from gardens surrounded by houses and trees so you did well!

If I set up at the bottom of my garden then I do have a view to it, but it need to be a clear night after a rain shower so the atmosphere is transparent, otherwise it is not really worthwhile.

My best views have been on holiday either in the South coast or in the med somewhere, I always try to take a scope with me just for this target really!

[harrym]

Well done - I've been hoping to give these a go this summer but the weather hasn't let me. M22 in particular is one I would really like to see with a scope; as with many of the Sagittarius objects, I've only seen it with binoculars. How does it compare to, say, M13 or M5?

[Stu]

32 minutes ago, harrym said:

Well done - I've been hoping to give these a go this summer but the weather hasn't let me. M22 in particular is one I would really like to see with a scope; as with many of the Sagittarius objects, I've only seen it with binoculars. How does it compare to, say, M13 or M5?

M22 is a belter Harry, better than either of those as I recall, despite always being relatively much lower. Well worth getting a scope on it.

[Stridor]

45 minutes ago, harrym said:

Well done - I've been hoping to give these a go this summer but the weather hasn't let me. M22 in particular is one I would really like to see with a scope; as with many of the Sagittarius objects, I've only seen it with binoculars. How does it compare to, say, M13 or M5?

Yes, My first thought was how similar to M13, M22 appeared; due to its low position in the sky , picking out detail was tricky due to a degree of skyglow.

[harrym]

Thanks guys, definitely giving M22 a go tomorrow if I get lucky and the sky clears. Going back home on Sunday and won't be back here till the end of September, so this week is probably my last chance to see it this year - the horizon goes below -30° declination here but I can only get down to about -10 from home.