#101 Equuleus Deep Sky

Over a period of 4 nights last lunar session I observed 33 double stars and 11 deep sky objects in this tiny constellation.  None of the galaxies viewed were first rate (there are no clusters, nebula, etc.), but were still fun to hunt down.  Several of the double stars were quite lovely, especially STF 2791, 9, Delta (7), and especially Epsilon (1) and Lambda (2).

eg 7015:  1'.9 x 1'.6:  Vis. 12.8; SB 13.6:  At 100x and 136x the galaxy is pretty large, round, and quite bright.  Good views were had at 187x, especially using averted vision.  The center is especially bright.  A bright star (mag. 9.7) is preceding, and a double star is just south.  The object is slightly oval now.  Not a bad object with a 12".

 http://mclarkmadison.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/6/5/58650947/2612254_orig.jpg

 

eg 7040:  1' x 0'.8:  Vis. 14; SB 13.6:  Spotted at 136x it was best with averted vision as it is pretty faint.  187x shows it a bit better, now pretty large and slightly oval.  This is one of only 3 NGC objects in Equuleus, along with 5 IC objects, all of them galaxies.

NGC 7040

https://avertedvisionblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/ngc_7040_dss0.jpg

eg 7046:  1'.9 x 1'.3:  Vis. 13.1; SB 13.9:  Not the showpiece I was hoping for.  It was just barely visible at 100x using averted vision.  It sits between two fairly close stars, but north of an even brighter one.  At 136x the galaxy appears oval.  It was viewed fairly well at 187x, 200x, 250x and 272x, and does appear to be pretty large.  It is also oval and quite faint, seen best with averted vision. It sits close to 3 or 4 stars forming a close but very faint asterism.

eg 7046

http://www.derekscope.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/NGC7046.jpg

 

eg IC 1364:  1' x 0'.6:  Vis. 13.8; SB 13.1:  Spotted at 136x, preceding a mag. 9.4 star.  It was small, pretty bright, and elongated.  Views were good at 187x, 250x and 272x.  The center is brighter, and the whole is quite elongated at higher power.

eg IC 1365:  1'.1 x 0'.7:  Vis. 13.7; SB 13.5:  Spotted at 136x, it was round and very faint.  It was also observed at 187x and 200x.  It remains round and faint.  South is a keystone of 4 bright stars.  the narrower pair of stars are nearest the galaxy, which makes a triangle with them.

eg IC 1375:  1' x 0'.7:  Vis. 14.2; SB 13.7:  This one is very, very faint and small.  It was suspected at 136x and confirmed at 187x.  It appears round.  It was also viewed at 250x and 272x.  This is a difficult object.  2 stars north of it form a line with the galaxy.

eg IC 1377:  0'.8 x 0'.7:  Vis. 14.3; SB 13.5:  A lot easier to see than IC 1375!  It is faint, but not too small.  I had good views at 136x and 187x.

UGC 11671:  1'.1 x 0'.8:  This one is very tricky to spot, being small and just south of a bright star (mag. 10.1).  It looks like a close but fuzzy companion to that star.

 

UGC 11675:  0'9 x 0'.3:  Vis. 14.1; SB 12.5:  Spotted at 136x and also 187x.  It is very elongated and very faint.  It was seen only with averted vision.

UGC 11680:  2'.1 x 0'.7:  Vis. 13.8; SB 14.1:  Forget the published size.  Only the small central area can be seen.  It is very faint and indistinct at 136x and 187x.  Disappointing.

UGC 11720:  1' x 0'.7:  Vis. 13.8; SB 13.3:  Even using a pinpoint map this one was very tricky to see.  It was small, faint and oval at 187x.

After three tries I was unable to view eg IC 1361.  After searching out a photo of it on the web, I now realize that it will likely appear stellar.  So I may have seen it.  I will give it one more try later this month.

Equuleus' deep sky objects will likely only appeal to a completist like myself.  None of the objects are very thrilling, except for a few fine double stars.  My work in Lacerta should be wrapping up this month, and I will report back on the wonderful times I have been spending there.

Clear skies!

Mapman Mike

#100 Backyard Light Pollution and Home-Based Observing

Welcome to Post #100!!  It's hard to believe.  So is the fact that I have just finished up observing six clear nights in a row!  Incredible!!  My nearest dark sky site is a 45 minute drive from home.  After doing this for four nights straight, I decided I needed a break.  I set up the 12" Dob. on my back deck.  I live in a busy suburban area, just north of the center of my small town (pop. 10,000).  To my north is Windsor/Detroit (pop. approx. 5 million).  To say that I live in a light polluted area is a grand understatement.

However, this year my yard is so overgrown due to a hot summer and sheer laziness on my part, that I seem to be sheltered from the worst of the lights.  I thought I would try a night on the back deck instead of driving yet again to the observatory.  Guess what?  I had a fantastic night!  My expectations were set low to begin with, but I received surprise after surprise during the three-hour session.  I can see 3rd mag. stars from home with the naked eye, and most 4th mag. ones that are high enough above the horizon.  Thanks to my intense double star program (see Post #96 on how to create your own double star lists) I now have hours and hours of work I can do from home.  When I do get to a dark sky site, I can then track down fainter deep sky objects.

I did double star work that night in Cassiopeia, which is in my most light polluted area.  This proved to be an advantage, as I did not have the massive amounts of background stars to distract me.  It was the same when observing open clusters; the stars in the cluster really stood out well without the interference from very faint background stars.  Of course nothing looks as good as it does from the observatory site in Comber, ON, but with 90 minutes less driving, I can put up with it once in a while.

Here are the deep sky objects I observed, and some impressions of what I saw:
M 57--as good as ever, especially using a Skyglow filter.  I would never see the central star, but I had great views of the nebula.
M 8--in my low south sky, heavily light polluted.  With the Skyglow filter I was amazed at how much detail I was seeing.  Still a major showpiece object, despite the very milky sky.
M 52--in the worst part of my sky.  Certainly not the shimmering beauty I usually see, but the cluster was still pretty decent, with all stars resolving well.  This one is small enough to take magnification, which helped darken the otherwise orangey-white sky.
Cz 43--the companion cluster to M 52, it lost nothing tonight.  It is mostly brighter stars anyway, and still looked great.
gn 7635--the Bubble Nebula lies very close to M 52.  Even in a dark sky there is little to see visually.  However, with my trusty Skyglow filter a small but notable patch of haze was seen at 136x, just preceding the accompanying bright star.  Yay!
oc 7510--an odd-shaped cluster in Cygnus, not far from M 52, it showed up nicely, with good viewing to 187x.
oc 7209--this very fine open cluster in Lacerta did not impress me as much as it does from a dark sky site.  However, there it is, still looking fine.  The bright horseshoe shape is easily noted, and with less background stars the cluster stands out well.
oc 7243--another big cluster in Lacerta, this one looked pretty decent.  Most of the member stars are quite bright, so it looks pretty much the same as from a dark sky, minus some background stars.
egs 7448, 7454, 7463, and 7465--what better test than to try for some galaxies!  I had recently observed these four from Comber, and found all four of them easily tonight from my backyard.  What a pleasant surprise!  While certainly not as bright as from the observatory site, here I was at home viewing galaxies.  It made me happy!
oc 6910--the lovely little "Y" cluster north of Gamma Cygni was as bold and beautiful as ever!
M 39--a big, bright open cluster in Cygnus.  As lovely as ever.  Bright and exciting object, not unlike the Pleiades, but a bit farther from us.

And now a brief word regarding all of those doubles I observed that night--colours and separation were virtually the same as from a dark site.  Anytime I have a large amount of double stars to observe, I will do them from home.  That is, until the leaves fall.  Then I am out of luck.

Clear skies!
Mapman Mike