Lyra and Cygnus 2018-05-11

[iPeace]

Observing session after midnight on Friday the 11th of May 2018.

Mainly just browsing around. Easy (obvious) doubles, open clusters. No really challenging stuff, so perhaps something for everyone here.

A few sources mention some well-known regions as open clusters; I gave them a go to see whether that knowledge enhanced my observing experience. It didn't, but they are nice bits of sky all the same. So don't mistake my 'ho-hum' comments for lack of enjoyment.

6" f/6 newtonian on manual alt-az mount with slow-motion control. Clear, but not wonderful. Terrible LP at this location.

Lyra

A nice, tight region to scan at leisure. Putting some names to faces:

• ** Epsilon Lyrae (Double Double) - 5mm eyepiece for very clear split
• ** HD 178849 - 24mm EP
• ** HR 7272 - 24mm EP
• OC NGC 6791 - 24mm EP. Not much there to be seen, perhaps due to +9.50 magnitude.
• ** Zeta Lyrae - 24mm EP
• OC Stephenson 1 - 24mm EP. Apparently, the region around Delta Lyrae is an open cluster. Nice view.
• OC Iskudarian 1 - 24mm EP. The region between / south of Delta and Zeta. Hm. Might as well call the whole constellation an open cluster.
• PN Messier 57 - 24mm EP. The Ring Nebula. Used 13mm and 7mm to make it stand out a bit more. AV helps.
• ** Beta Lyrae - 24mm EP.
• ** HR 7140 - 24mm EP. Can't see the actual companion, but it's a nice pseudo-pair with HD 175634 C with attractive colour contrast gold and blue.

Cygnus

Easy to get lost here, with so much going on that many named targets are difficult to isolate. I most often end up just scrolling around in wonder. Tonight, for once, a focused effort to pin stuff down.

• OC NGC 6910 - 24mm EP. Also known as the Rocking Horse Cluster; a personal favourite.
• OC Collinder 419 - 24mm EP. Not much to it.
• ** RS Cygni - 24mm EP. Cool!
• OC NGC 6871 - 24mm EP. Gave it some time, and it began to grow a personality. Will return.
• OC Biurakan 2 - 24mm EP. Wouldn't seek it out for its own sake, but fits nicely in FOV with NGC 6871.
• OC Roslund 5 - 24mm EP. Another starry bit named.
• OC Messier 29 - 24mm EP. Also known as the Cooling Tower. A favourite, proper asterism.
• OC Berkeley 86 - 24mm EP. Too many stars around it to confidently pick it out.
• ** Beta Cygni (Albireo) - 24mm EP. Must see.
• ** b3 Cygni - 24mm EP. Heads a neat semi-circular asterism.
• OC NGC 6811 - 24mm EP. Enhanced with a 13mm EP. Fainter than its surroundings, it's a nice delicacy well worth seeking out.
• PN NGC 6826 (Blinking Planetary Nebula) - 13mm EP. Had fun with this. It actually blinks with AV! Look away to see more. Not a concept easily explained to one's significant other.
• ** 16 Cygni - 24mm EP. Nice.
• ** Theta Cygni - 24mm EP. Neat little pseudo-asterism with nice colour.
• ** V2080 Cygni - 24mm EP.
• ** Omicron Cygni - 24mm EP. Nice colours.
• OC Messier 39 - 24mm EP. Took me a few attempts to locate this one; didn't really have its "Get Your Cluster Here" sign turned on. Then again, it was past 4 a.m. by then and starting to get light.

 

[Doc]

You have been busy Mike.

It's a great area of the sky with so many targets to look at.

Great report 

[John]

Very nice report

There are a lot of clusters, clustering around those constellations aren't there ?