Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C41 (Mel 25) Open Cluster 04h 26m 54s +15° 52′ 00″ Taurus +0.5 330 arcmin Overview The Hyades is the head of Taurus the bull, a collection of several hundred stars in a very distinctive ‘V’ shape of brighter stars. It appears to include the famous bright […]
Winter – C41, Hyades, Open Cluster in Taurus (DSOMG) Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C14 (NGC 884) Open Cluster 02h 22m 23s +57° 07′ 00″ Perseus +6.1 18.0 arcmins Overview Despite being counted as one object in the Caldwell catalog, there are two actual objects here, as the name suggests. NGC 884 (data above) is the uppermost in the picture, while
Fall / Autumn – C14, Double Cluster in Perseus (DSOMG) Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C75 (NGC 6124) Open Cluster 16h 25m 20s -40° 39′ 00″ Scorpius +5.8 39 arcmin Overview Sir Patrick Moore created the Caldwell catalog to run in order of declination and the reason we only cover the first 80 objects in the catalog of 110 is because those
Challenge #5 – C75, Open Cluster in Scorpius Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C72 (NGC 55) Spiral Galaxy 00h 14m 54s -39° 11′ 48″ Sculptor +7.9 29×3 arcmin Overview This galaxy is sometimes called the String of Pearls Galaxy. It was discovered in 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who also discovered its neighbor, NGC 300 (C70). Together, the
Challenge #4 – C72, Spiral Galaxy in Sculptor Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C70 (NGC 300) Spiral Galaxy 00h 54m 49s -37° 41′ 04″ Sculptor +7.9 19×13 arcmin Overview Sometimes known as the Sculptor Pinwheel Galaxy, this spiral beauty was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop in 1826. It’s remarkably large, covering almost as much of the night sky as
Challenge #3 – C70, Spiral Galaxy in Sculptor Read More »
Target Type R.A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C68 (NGC 6729) Bright Nebula 19h 01m 54s -36° 57′ 00″ Corona Australis 10.0 1.0 arcmin Overview This nebulosity surrounding the stars R and T Coronae Australis was discovered by Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt in 1861. It’s a reflection/emission nebula and is one of three NGC objects within
Challenge #2 – C68, Bright Nebula in Corona Australis Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C63 (NGC 7293) Planetary Nebula 22h 29m 39s -20° 50′ 15″ Aquarius 7.6 15×12 arcmins Overview An astronomer called Karl Ludwig Harding is the first to have published his sighting of this nebula over 200 years ago in 1824. This is the closest, at 655 light-years distant,
Challenge #1 – C63, The Helix Nebula in Aquarius Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C17 (NGC 147) Elliptical Galaxy 00h 33m 12s +48° 30′ 32″ Cassiopeia 9.7 9.4 x 5.4 arcmins C18 (NGC 185) Elliptical Galaxy 00h 38m 58s +48° 20′ 15″ Cassiopeia 9.2 13 x 11 arcmins Overview These two galaxies are companions of the famous Andromeda Galaxy (M31). They, along
Challenge #1 – C17 & C18, A Pair of Elliptical Galaxies in Cassiopeia Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C43 (NGC 7814) Spiral Galaxy 00h 03m 15s +16° 08′ 44″ Pegasus +10.5 4.4 x 1.9 arcmin Overview The Great Square of Pegasus is a well-known asterism and, for many, its arrival in evening skies is a sign that fall is just around the corner. Many star
Challenge #2 – C43, Spiral Galaxy in Pegasus Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C51 (IC 1613) Irregular Galaxy 01h 04m 48s +02° 07′ 04″ Cetus +9.4 18×17 arcmin Overview This is perhaps the hardest object to see of all 220+ in the Virtual Astronomy Club, being the faintest member of our Local Group of galaxies and its ‘barely there’ wispiness
Challenge #3 – C51, an Irregular Dwarf Galaxy in Cetus Read More »
