A Wonderful Session

[Epick Crom]

Hi my fellow stargazers! Last night was spent observing the many wonders located in Sagittarius, the constellation closest to the centre of our galaxy. What a great time I had! Started at the star Kaus Australis, the brightest star in Sagittarius and panned down to reach M 69, a wonderful globular cluster. Close by was NGC 6652, another nice globular. Continuing downward I encountered M 70 next. Nice view of this globular with a line of straight stars glittering below it. Turning my telescope further "down" lead me to M 54, yet another globular in this fine constellation. Tiny but bright, this globular  belongs to the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, which I could not find. This makes it an extragalactic object. Always a thrill to see an object in another galaxy, even though I couldn't detect it's parent galaxy!

Continuing my globular cluster theme, I visited the mighty globular M 22 next. Wow an absolutely stunning sight, a very fine, bright cluster resolved to the core. It looked like a massive ball of fireflies frozen it time. Headed east of M 22 to M 17 next, the Swan Nebula. Another showpiece object, this beautiful, elongated nebula really does look like a swan to me. Passed by the loose open cluster M 18 on my way to the star cloud known as M 24. Incredibly dense, this object is actually thousands apon thousands of stars towards the centre of the milky way. Mind-blowing! It was a freezing cold night so I had to head up to Ophiuchus to try and locate a target I had been after for a while, NGC 6572, the Blue Racquetball Nebula before I froze! After some starhopping I found it. What a glorious sight, tiny blue/green disk that took magnification well. I saw a very faint hint of a central star at 370x, but couldn't confirm it for certain. Lovely planetary.

With that I decided to call it a night. Another relaxing and mind altering observing session with the 10 inch dob. Astronomy is no longer a hobby for me, it is now a deep passion. Thanks for reading my rambling report and clear skies to you all!

Joe

[wookie1965]

Some cracking objects there many I will never see but your description brings them to life thank you.

Paul

[Epick Crom]

On 01/07/2021 at 19:39, wookie1965 said:

Some cracking objects there many I will never see but your description brings them to life thank you.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Wishing you clear skies and good health

[Mark at Beaufort]

Joe you clearly had a great night observing. Its a pity that Sagittarius is low down in the UK. It took me years to observe M69 and M70.   I certainly liked this target especially the name (I am  a racquetball player)- NGC 6572, the Blue Racquetball Nebula.                                                                                                                                                                         

[Epick Crom]

Thanks Mark. Yes it's a pity that Sagittarius is low down for you people in UK. It is a glorious constellation, the star fields are unbelievable. Have you ever observed the Blue Racquetball Nebula? It is a wonderful sight. Clear skies!

[Mark at Beaufort]

Hello Joe. I checked back and noticed that It was in Steve O'Meara 's Hidden Treasurers book and it's name is stated as the Emerald Eye PN. I prefer the name the Blue Racquetball PN. My records show that I observed it Sept 2009 and again in July 2014. Must have another go.

[Epick Crom]

Hello Mark. Yes interesting I googled it and it also goes by the name Emerald Eye. Planetary nebulae are interesting in that different observers sometimes see different colours. Let me know when you observe it what colour you see! It looks deep blue to me. Happy observing!