(IAAC) Small-aperture challenges - Observing list for Alex (was Re: Romanian IAAC netastrocatalogue)

[Lewis J. Gramer]

Alex Tudorica asked me to send him an observing list for
a dark-site camp he is going to next week. This turned
into a bit of a challenge, as Alex has been observing
so many challenging objects lately! :)


Here are some objects you may not have seen yet, Alex.
(I've lost track of all the logs you've submitted though,
so you may actually have already seen some of these now!)

No guarantee they are all visible with a 9cm for you, but
they are certainly all worth the attempt! :)

Hope I've made your Sunday deadline - send me an email,
and let me know if you get this observing list before
you go on your trip!

Clear skies,
Lew Gramer



Lew's Observing List for Alex (just for fun):
===================================================

Clusters of Oph and Serpens Cauda - IC4665, IC4756, NGC6633
 IC4665 supposedly spells out the word "H I" in stars. :)
 All three are great objects for binos or small aperture.

NGC6309 - the "Box" or the "Exclamation Mark !" Planetary
 This has been logged on IAAC with a 4"(!), so I think it
 will make a great challenge for you. Can you see the "!"?

NGC6572 - some of my friends call this "Blue Lew" because
 it is so intensely blue... Definitely can be found in a
 smaller aperture - but can you see any color in this PN?

Piazzi's Flying Star, 61 Cygni. This is "merely" a pretty,
 ORANGE double star. What's interesting is the pair's proper
 motion - about 5" per year! In the course of your lifetime,
 Alex, you can watch this one move 4 arcmin across the sky!

The Inkspot - not only can you see one of the most beautiful
 dark nebulae in the sky (Barnard86), but right next to it is
 a small, pretty open cluster NGC 6520. And if you are really
 up for a challenge, try for Djorgovski 2 (marked ESO456-SC38
 in the Uranometria charts?)... I have seen this in an 11",
 but who knows what a dark sky and young eyes may reveal? :)

The double globulars - NGC 6522 and NGC 6528, just above Nash
 also known as Gamma Sgr. Both should be reachable in smaller
 aperture - which do you find harder to see?

IC 1396 - while you're contemplating the ruddy beauty of Mu
 Cephei, challenge your skies and your eyes with a look at
 this complex of stuff - try different magnifications, and
 don't be shy about using averted vision! The sparse cluster
 of stars is easy. The dark nebula in vdB142 may be spotted
 if your lucky. But the real challenge is the mass of bright
 nebulosity (3 degrees wide!) all around... Some claimed to
 have seen this NAKED EYE: you tell us what you can see. :)


And here's some old chestnuts to help fill your schedule...

M71 - one of the least appreciated and prettiest (smaller)
 globulars. While you're pondering The Coathanger, drop on
 over to Sagitta for a look at this fine, very loose GC. And
 tell us how it compares to nearby M56 and M92, for example!

Veil - Three sections: NGC6992 (east), NGC6995 (west), NGC6979
 (middle). Always a pretty target, but what fun to fit all 3
 sections at ONCE in a wide-field, smaller aperture scope! :)

NGC 6888 - Crescent Nebula
 I have seen definite nebulosity here with a 6" and UHC filter.
 See if you can better that! :)

NGC 7635 - the Bubble nebula, near M52
 Easy to find - tough to see. But you've already logged the
 Cocoon Nebula in Cygnus, so why not try? The tough part is,
 "cheating" with filters probably won't help. :)

NGC 281, the "Heart nebula" - near Alpha Cas (Shedar)
 Very pretty, and remarkably easy - I've seen in a 5" refractor.
 Don't confuse this with nearby IC 1805, also called "The Heart" -
 that one is much harder, and is mostly "observed" with CCDs.

Stock 2 - always lovely. Some people claim they see a "strongman"?

Kemble's Cascade in Cam - now we're getting into the LATE night...




-----Original Message-----
From: Tudorica Alexandru
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 4:35 AM
To: Lewis J. Gramer
Subject: RE: Romanian IAAC netastrocatalogue


I will translate them from romanian to english, this way I will contribute to IAAC :). I already have "customers" and the first
results should appear in a couple of month (I will be on that camp for a full month).


I was a little bit upset becouse nobody was answering to my messages anymore and I didn't knew what it was happening. Anyway, if you
can send me some objects to see/describe, you must send them until Sunday.

Thanks alot and see you....
Clear skies,
Alex