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 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 C76 (NGC 6231) Open Cluster 16h 54m 10s -41° 49′ 00″ Scorpius +2.6 14.0 arcmin Overview This small cluster of stars is so low in the northern hemisphere sky that it only just scrapes into being covered by the VAC. It’s a naked-eye object and so has
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Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C78 (NGC 6541) Globular Cluster 18h 08m 02s -43° 42′ 54″ Corona Australis +6.3 15.0 arcmin Overview Discovered in 1826 by both Nicolò Cacciatore and James Dunlop independently and is large and bright enough to be seen with binoculars. As with other Caldwell objects with catalog numbers
Challenge #4 – C78, Globular Cluster in Corona Australis Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C57 (NGC 6822) Irregular Galaxy 19h 44m 57s -14° 48′ 01″ Sagittarius +9.3 17×17 arcmin Overview This barred irregular galaxy was discovered by E. E. Barnard, an American astronomer, using a 6″ refractor in 1884. It’s a dwarf member of the local group and very close to
C57, Barnard’s Galaxy in Sagittarius Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C47 (NGC 6934) Globular Cluster 20h 34m 12s +07° 24′ 16″ Delphinus +8.8 7.1 arcmin Overview William Herschel discovered this globular cluster in September 1785, recording it to be “very bright” and a “Beautiful object.” This cluster is the more obvious of two in the small constellation
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Target Type R.A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C33 (NGC 6992/5) Bright Nebula 20h 56m 24s +31° 42′ 00″ Cygnus 5.0 60×30 arcmin C34 (NGC 6960) Bright Nebula 20h 45m 42s +30° 43′ 00″ Cygnus 5.0 70×6 Overview The Veil Nebula, first seen by William Herschell in September 1784, is a cataloging curiosity. It falls under
C33 & C34, the Veil Nebula in Cygnus Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C2 (NGC 40) Planetary Nebula 00h 13m 01s +72° 31′ 20″ Cepheus 10.6 0.6×0.6 arcmins Overview The Silver Needle galaxy is a beautiful edge-on spiral discovered by William Herschel in November 1788. The star in the centre of this glowing veil of gas is dying and lighting
C2, Bow-Tie Nebula in Cepheus Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C36 (NGC 4559) Spiral Galaxy 12h 35m 58s +27° 57′ 35″ Coma Berenices +9.8 10.6×4.8 arcmin Overview This galaxy, on the edge of magnitude ten, is about 29 million light-years distant. As a member of the Coma I Group of galaxies, it is gravitationally interacting with at
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