[Friends_of_SSASTROS] Wednesday is the New Moon for November

[Mike McCabe]

November Observing Objectives – Narrowing Report

Good Morning Fellow Explorers of the Universe,

  I know you’re allpining like crazy to get out there in this cold weather and complete theobserving objectives for this month, but just in case you don’t have the timeor the ambition to go for the whole list I’ve observed them all and can nowpresent a ‘best of’ version which can serve to narrow down the group from 15targets to just 5. One of the best parts about observing at this time of yearis the early onset of darkness, so don’t let those cool temps stop you – thenext three nights up to the New Moon are forecast to be clear! Here we go;

  The Open Clusters; NGC7160 in Cepheus is small, presents several bright members and with a lot ofimagination might be visualized as an alligator, but Bruce Lee? I’m not so sureabout that. NGC 225 in Cassiopeia presents a medium sized group oflike-brightness stars, and I can definitely see a ‘sail’, maybe even two, butthe ‘boat’ has always eluded me. Finally, NGC 7243 in Lacerta presents afield-filling group of stars of basically the same brightness, and even thoughit hasn’t got a nickname I found it to be the most satisfying of the three openclusters on the list this month. Only got time for one? NGC 7243 it is.

  The Globular Clusters; M15 and M2, both being Messier objectspresent themselves very nicely and M15 is actually spectacular in a large amateurtelescope at medium-high magnification, but little NGC 6934 in Delphinis makesthe cut this month for its spectacular non-stellar glow in the eyepiece. Itappears evenly illuminated in a small scope, and is large enough that itdefinitely won’t be mistaken for an out of focus star. Plus it’s higher up thanM15 or M2, so make NGC 6934 your must-see globular.

  The Double Stars: All plucked from the Astronomical League’sBinocular Double Star list, none of the doubles this month will present anyseparation challenges, so what’s the attraction? Colors, and of the three Irecommend Otto Struve 178. The two components in that system took on a veryAlbieo-ish look to my eye, so a yellow-gold primary and bluish secondary. 57Aquila’s components are both white, and 15 Aquila’s were dull yellow andreddish. Mike’s pick for best double on this list; do the Struve.

  The Planetary Nebulae; This one is a slam-dunk. The Cat’s Eye inDraco is very bright and can take all the magnification your scope can handle,but the ‘eye’ will most likely elude you. NGC 6891 in Delphinus isindistinguishable from the stars until you get up over 200x, and then itpresents as a small dim fuzz ball, but the Saturn Nebula in Aquarius fallsright up the middle in brightness between the other two and definitely presentsa shape that suggests how the object got its name. So it you’re dying to see aplanetary choose NGC 7009, the Saturn Nebula, which presents the distinct shapeof a football in the eyepiece and seems rather appropriate given that the realfootball season is in full swing.

  The Galaxies; OK, admittedly my choice of galaxytargets this month wouldn’t make any list of ‘celestial showpieces’, but hey,what’s life without a challenge once in a while? The narrowing of this trio iseasy. NGC 147 and NGC 185 are averted imagination and averted visionrespectively, while NGC 278 can at least be seen. The problem is this; 147 and185 both present relatively larger dimensions than 278, and both also possesssurface brightness values in the 14+ magnitude range. That’s a deal breaker whenworking under our skies. 278 may have the lowest listed magnitude, but itssurface brightness is almost three magnitudes brighter than the other two. Tosee one of the galaxies on the list, choose NGC 278.
  My observing notesfrom the sessions is shown below. I’ve also included a chart for the OttoStruve 178 double star system, because unless you’re using a specialty chartlike the Cambridge Double Star Atlas it won’t be identified. Best of luck andlet’s get out there! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!




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