First a short note about summer observing. It was a very warm and humid summer, with most of the perfectly clear and dry nights centred around the full moon (of course). I have not done a whole lot this summer, but I don't worry too much as I have already completed much of the summer sky work. I often spend nights reviewing objects, often using the Uranometria close up charts to explore deeply. I look forward to autumn skies, with nights that begin earlier. I currently drive 50 minutes each way to an isolated site near some windmills, and in summer usually return with the front of the car filled with dead moths and flies. Not so bad in the fall, but it can get very cold here at 42 degrees N Latitude. I have a pretty clear south sky with a flat horizon, and I have had great success with low objects lately. Now on to our regularly scheduled topic.
As the seasons change and Earth's orbit takes in different aspects of the night sky, astronomers are gifted with a revolving and never ending stream of deep sky objects to observe. I usually observe by constellation, and it can take several years to complete a major project. It took me seven seasons of spring observing to finish my work in Leo, for example. However, having only one constellation per seasons is not enough, since as the night wears on the stars shift, and what was prominent at 9 pm is usually not so well suited at midnight. So another prepared constellation can keep the observing program moving ahead.
Currently these are the constellations I am working on. I have sheets prepared with object lists and stats, leaving room for written notes and for sketches. Each page usually holds from 7-12 objects. Sometimes a page can be completed easily in a few hours, but if the objects are faint galaxies, for instance, it could take several nights. Objects I include on my lists include double stars, variables, important single stars, as well as all NGC and IC objects reachable with a 12" scope. I also include objects from many other catalogues, as readers of this blog will have noted. Leo had such a vast number of NGC objects that I was forced to mostly stick to that list, and even then it took years to see them all.
Early Summer Projects: Ophiuchus and Hercules. In Ophiuchus I am doing the whole deal, but since I have already done Hercules, I am concentrating on an intense double star list this time, gleaned from the incredible double star site Stelle Dopia, where astronomers can customize their own double star list.
Late Summer List: Capricorn, Microscopium, and Aquarius.
Early Autumn List: Aquarius and Cetus. Cetus has already been a years' long project.
Late Autumn and Early Winter List: Cetus and Triangulum. Triangulum has just been added.
Winter and Early Spring List: Triangulum and Camelopardolis. Both are newly added, after my completion of Canis Major. Puppis studies have also begun. Sextans, Pyxis, Crater and Corvus are also prepared, when I have good skies south to the horizon.
Spring List: Coma Berenices. I am in for the long haul.
And so round and round it goes. Next time I will provide a list of constellations that I have already thoroughly examined. Notes for many of these can already be found elsewhere on this blog.
Mapman Mike
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