Eight observing sessions. 33 hours of deep sky observing. 100 objects. My observing friends, it was quite a time! For the first time since getting my scope nearly one year ago, I had a plethora of observing nights within last quarter moon and first quarter ("Just what is a plethora?"--any Three Amigos fans out there). 50 NGC and IC objects, and 50 other open clusters from different catalogues were bagged. 3 objects per hour, on average, which is just about perfect for me.
21 NGC/IC objects were new to me, and 29 were reviews from my days with the Edmund 8". However, as it had been over 20 years since most of these review objects have been seen, and since viewing them in a highly reflective 12" mirror is not really comparable to viewing them in an older 8" one, they seemed all new to me. My nights were split between observing in Cygnus (up to midnight) and then Cassiopeia (later hours). Since both constellations are deep in the milky way, there are many of the sky's finest objects mixed in with some pretty faint ones. There are galaxies, planetaries, open clusters galore, and nebula, too. No globulars, though. Here, then is the list of objects seen this past cycle in Cygnus, beginning with NGC, then IC, then other clusters. Underlined objects are my personal favourites.
NGC Objects Observed in Cygnus (August 28th-Sept. 10th/11th)
eg 6798: 1'.6 x 0'.9. Mag. 13.35. New for me. Near Kappa (1). Easy at 60x. Oval, bright middle.
eg 6801: 1'.3 x 0'.7. Mag. 13.75. New for me. Good elongation at 150x. Spotted at 100x.
eg 6824: 1.9 x 1'.4. Mag. 12.65. New for me. Bright, round, bright middle. Try with a 6"?
pn 6826: 0'.6. Mag. 8.8. The Blinking Planetary, a great object for a 12"!
pn 6833: 0'.1. Mag. 12.1. Easy to locate, but virtually stellar.
oc 6834: 6'. Mag. 7.8. Well worth a stop, even with a 6"! Lots of faint stars.
oc 6846: 0'.8. Mag. 14.2. New for me. Just faint haze.
oc 6856: 3'. Stars mag. 12--16. New for me. Resolved at 200x. Few stars.
gn 6857: 0'.6 x 0'.6. Seen well with and without ultra-block filter, up to 150x.
oc 6866: 7'. Mag. 7.6. 30 stars at 150x. Fine object for 12".
oc 6871: 30'. A low power beauty. Great at 83x.
oc 6874: 7'. New for me. 50 stars at 200x. Cone-shaped.
oc 6883: Very rich area of the Milky Way. Bright, wide pair in center of cluster.
pn 6884: 25". Mag. 10.9. Bright, round, small.
pn 6894: 55". Mag. 12.3. Ghostly, large. Good for 12", though 8" will show it.
eg 6916: 1'.8 x 1'.2. Mag. 14.45. My faintest galaxy to date! Elongated at 200x.
eg 6946: 11'.5 x 9'.8. Mag. 11.5. On border with Cepheus. Huge!! 0c 6939 close by!!
gn 6960: 70' x 6'. Westernmost part of the Veil. See separate entry below.
gn 6974: 6' x 4'. Part of the Veil. See separate entry below.
gn 6979: Part of the Veil. See separate entry below.
gn 6992: 60' x 8'. North eastern part of the Veil. See separate entry below.
gn 6995: 12' x 12'. South eastern part of the Veil. See separate entry below.
pn 7008: 1'.43. Mag. 10.7. Exceptional planetary in 12". Lots of detail to see.
eg 7013: 4' x 1'.4. Mag. 12.2. Large, bright, very elongated. Try with 6". New for me.
oc 7037: 7'. 3 stars at 60x. New. Higher x shows a "pistol" shape, more stars. Impressive star field adjacent.
IC Objects
eg I 1302: 0'.9 x 0'.4. Mag. 13.2. Involved with stars and quite tricky.
eg I 1303: 1'.3 x 0'.8. Mag. 13.85 Close to I 1302. Good sky needed for both.
oc I 1310: 3'. Brightest star mag. 14. 6 stars resolved at 200x.
gn I 1340: 25' x 20'. Part of Veil Nebula. See separate entry below.
The Veil Nebula (also known by many other names) consists of gn 6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, 6995 and I 1340. With or without a nebula filter, this is one of the finest sights in the heavens. I held my 11/4" ultrablock filter overtop of my low power 2" eyepeiece (43x), sweeping the area again and again. This is a spectacular area, especially if you learn the area well enough to "nebula-hop" from one to the other. The entire supernova remnant can be traced, even in a 6" scope. In a 12" it is breathtaking! 6960 is bright north and south of star 52. 6974 and 6979 are both much fainter. I 1340 is the southeast part of 6995, the part that drifts off into tendrils pointing back towards 6960. A real showpiece for the patient viewer, this is one of my favourite parts of the sky.
The Veil Nebula (also known by many other names) consists of gn 6960, 6974, 6979, 6992, 6995 and I 1340. With or without a nebula filter, this is one of the finest sights in the heavens. I held my 11/4" ultrablock filter overtop of my low power 2" eyepeiece (43x), sweeping the area again and again. This is a spectacular area, especially if you learn the area well enough to "nebula-hop" from one to the other. The entire supernova remnant can be traced, even in a 6" scope. In a 12" it is breathtaking! 6960 is bright north and south of star 52. 6974 and 6979 are both much fainter. I 1340 is the southeast part of 6995, the part that drifts off into tendrils pointing back towards 6960. A real showpiece for the patient viewer, this is one of my favourite parts of the sky.
**Other Clusters
oc ADS 13292: A multiple star with 8 members!
oc Om-2 Cyg: 19'. Large, southeast of star 32. 12 bright stars.
oc SkiffJ1942.3 +3839: Fine little cluster, worth a look. Nice double star, too.
oc sswz94-6: Small, very faint haze.
oc Be 49: 3'. Brightest * mag. 16. 200x shows 6 stars. Not noticed until 100x.
oc Be 51: 2'. Brightest * mag. 15. Very very faint. 200x begins to resolve.
oc Be 54: 4'. Brightest * mag. 17. Small, very very faint patch at 100x.
oc Be 84: 2'. Brightest * mag. 16. Comma-shape. 150x shows well, with 12 stars.
oc Be 89: 3'. Brightest star mag. 15. 12 faint stars resolved.
oc Be 90: 3'. Brightest star mag. 14. 10 stars resolved beneath 2 brighter ones.
oc Bi 01: 10'. Within oc 6871. Rich background.
oc Bi 02: 20'. Brightest star mag. 16. Large, with a stunning double in center. 3 dense clumps.
oc Do 01: 6'. 15 stars S of a bright, wide pair, which also has faint stars around it.
oc Do 03: 7'. A fine cluster! E of star 29. 100x shows 50 stars. Recommended.
oc Do 04: 9': 20 stars at 125x.
oc Do 36: 14'. Circular group of 25-30 stars. 83x is perfect.
oc Do 37: 8'. Exact area shows 6 brighter stars. S are two dense areas of faint stars.
oc Do 38: 15'. 83x good for large, bright group. Contains small, rich section.
oc Do 45: 18'. Large, bright, shaped like a 'G'. 30+ stars at 100x. Recommended.
oc Do 47: 5'. 17 stars counted, including bright, wide double star.
oc DoDz 10: 24'. Good at 83x. N/S line of bright stars with a branch on E side.
oc DoDz 11: 5'. 9 stars in small circle; attached to X-shaped asterism.
oc Ro 05: 50'. Many doubles. Sweep area at lowest power (43x for me).
oc Ru 172: 5'. Brightest star mag. 12. Within oc 6883. Rich area of Milky Way.
oc Ru 173: 40'. Circle of bright stars with faint middle. 2 clumps, in NW and SE. 60x.
oc Ru 174: 2'. Brightest * mag. 14. 20+ stars at 200x.
oc Ru 175: 15'. Rich, with many bright pairs. 'Z' pattern in N. Very near Ru 173. Fun pair!
** While many of these other clusters are too faint to do much other than locate, several are actually quite good. Some are even better than some of the NGC objects. I have underlined recommended ones. All clusters are from Uranometria 2000, All-Sky Edition.
I'll be back in a few days with Part 2, the Cassiopeia update.
Mapman Mike
oc ADS 13292: A multiple star with 8 members!
oc Om-2 Cyg: 19'. Large, southeast of star 32. 12 bright stars.
oc SkiffJ1942.3 +3839: Fine little cluster, worth a look. Nice double star, too.
oc sswz94-6: Small, very faint haze.
oc Be 49: 3'. Brightest * mag. 16. 200x shows 6 stars. Not noticed until 100x.
oc Be 51: 2'. Brightest * mag. 15. Very very faint. 200x begins to resolve.
oc Be 54: 4'. Brightest * mag. 17. Small, very very faint patch at 100x.
oc Be 84: 2'. Brightest * mag. 16. Comma-shape. 150x shows well, with 12 stars.
oc Be 89: 3'. Brightest star mag. 15. 12 faint stars resolved.
oc Be 90: 3'. Brightest star mag. 14. 10 stars resolved beneath 2 brighter ones.
oc Bi 01: 10'. Within oc 6871. Rich background.
oc Bi 02: 20'. Brightest star mag. 16. Large, with a stunning double in center. 3 dense clumps.
oc Do 01: 6'. 15 stars S of a bright, wide pair, which also has faint stars around it.
oc Do 03: 7'. A fine cluster! E of star 29. 100x shows 50 stars. Recommended.
oc Do 04: 9': 20 stars at 125x.
oc Do 36: 14'. Circular group of 25-30 stars. 83x is perfect.
oc Do 37: 8'. Exact area shows 6 brighter stars. S are two dense areas of faint stars.
oc Do 38: 15'. 83x good for large, bright group. Contains small, rich section.
oc Do 45: 18'. Large, bright, shaped like a 'G'. 30+ stars at 100x. Recommended.
oc Do 47: 5'. 17 stars counted, including bright, wide double star.
oc DoDz 10: 24'. Good at 83x. N/S line of bright stars with a branch on E side.
oc DoDz 11: 5'. 9 stars in small circle; attached to X-shaped asterism.
oc Ro 05: 50'. Many doubles. Sweep area at lowest power (43x for me).
oc Ru 172: 5'. Brightest star mag. 12. Within oc 6883. Rich area of Milky Way.
oc Ru 173: 40'. Circle of bright stars with faint middle. 2 clumps, in NW and SE. 60x.
oc Ru 174: 2'. Brightest * mag. 14. 20+ stars at 200x.
oc Ru 175: 15'. Rich, with many bright pairs. 'Z' pattern in N. Very near Ru 173. Fun pair!
** While many of these other clusters are too faint to do much other than locate, several are actually quite good. Some are even better than some of the NGC objects. I have underlined recommended ones. All clusters are from Uranometria 2000, All-Sky Edition.
I'll be back in a few days with Part 2, the Cassiopeia update.
Mapman Mike
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