| Version 8 (modified by , 18 years ago) ( diff ) |
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Observational Targets Visible from Columbia
These are targets that can be seen from New York skies with a 6"-16" telescope each month in the early evening (ie 6-10pm star-gazing periods). This is a useful list for those people leading labs or preparing for star-gazing nights. Please add to the list when you see something missing or confirm the unconfirmed targets!
Obviously planets and the Moon are perfect observational targets and are missing from this list because they don't track with the rest of the sky.
Other Resources:
- Planetary locations for this week here.
- Rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon here.
- Lunar phase calendar here or here.
- Map of night sky for NYC latitude this month at 9-10pm here.
- Google maps interface for the sky!
- ISS & other satellite tracking, also iridium flare predictions here
Objects are ranked according to how easy they are to find (ie how high in the sky and how bright they are).
| Month | Object | Type | Brightness | Size | Telescope Suggested | Notes | Links | |||||||
| January | ||||||||||||||
| February | ||||||||||||||
| March | ||||||||||||||
| April | ||||||||||||||
| May | ||||||||||||||
| June | ||||||||||||||
| July | Mizar & Alcor | Binary Star | 2.2 mag | 11.8' apart | >=Binoculars | Bright double star, easy to find in big dipper. | 1 | |||||||
| Albireo | Binary Star | 3.1 mag | 35" apart | >=Binoculars | High constrast binary with one star red, one star blue. | 1 | ||||||||
| Hercules Cluster (M13) | Globular Cluster | 5.8 mag | 20'x20' | >= 8" | Appears as a faint white cloud, can see stars in it. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Ring Nebula (M57) | Planetary Nebula | 8.8 mag | 1.4'x1.0' | >= 8" | Appears as a faintly colored ring, small. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Spiral galaxy (Sb) | 3.4 mag | 178'x63' | >= 8" | Can only see core in telescope, appears as faint, white cloud. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| M92 | Globular Cluster | 6.4 mag | 14'x14' | Unconfirmed | 1 2 | |||||||||
| M3 | Globular Cluster | 6.2 mag | 18'x18' | Unconfirmed | 1 2 | |||||||||
| M5 | Globular Cluster | 5.6 mag | 23'x23' | Unconfirmed | 1 2 | |||||||||
| M10 | Globular Cluster | 6.6 mag | 20'x20' | Unconfirmed | 1 2 | |||||||||
| M12 | Globular Cluster | 6.7 mag | 16'x16' | Unconfirmed | 1 2 | |||||||||
| Dumbell Nebula (M27) | Planetary Nebula | 7.4 mag | 8'x5.7' | Unconfirmed | This may be too diffuse for us to see on the roof. Check? | 1 2 | ||||||||
| M39 | Open Cluster | 4.6 mag | 32'x32' | Unconfirmed | 1 2 | |||||||||
| Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) | Spiral Galaxy (Sc) | 8.4 mag | 11'x7' | Unconfirmed | Beautiful spiral, but may need camera with long exposure to see. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| M94 | Spiral Galaxy (Sb) | 8.2 mag | 7'x3' | Unconfirmed | Beautiful spiral, but may need camera with long exposure to see. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| August | ||||||||||||||
| September | Albireo | Binary Star | 3.1 mag | 35" apart | >=Binoculars | High constrast binary with one star red, one star blue. | 1 | |||||||
| Hercules Cluster (M13) | Globular Cluster | 5.8 mag | 20'x20' | >= 6" | Appears as a faint white cloud, can see stars in it. View improves dramatically with larger aperture. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Ring Nebula (M57) | Planetary Nebula | 8.8 mag | 1.4'x1.0' | >= 6" | Appears as a faintly colored ring, small. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Double Cluster (NGC 869 + 884) | Open Cluster | 4 mag | 60' | >=Binoculars | Two bright, resolved star clusters side by side. Needs a wide FOV. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Spiral galaxy (Sb) | 3.4 mag | 178'x63' | >= 8" | Can only see core in telescope, appears as faint, white cloud. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Owl Cluster (NGC 457) | Open Cluster | 6 mag | 13' | >=10" | Star cluster shaped like a bird with outstretched wings, with two bright stars for eyes. Nice with 12" dob. | 1 2 |
| October | ||||||||||||||
| November | ||||||||||||||
| December | ||||||||||||||
| January | Orion Nebula (M 42) | emission nebula | ||||||||||||
| Pleiades (M 45) | open cluster | |||||||||||||
| M 35 | open cluster | 5.3 | 28' | |||||||||||
| M 36 | open cluster | 6.3 | 12' | |||||||||||
| M 37 | open cluster | 6.2 | 24' | |||||||||||
| M 38 | open cluster | 7.4 | 21' | |||||||||||
| M 52 | open cluster | 7.3 | 13' | |||||||||||
| Double Cluster (NGC 869 + 884) | Open Cluster | 4 mag | 60' | >=Binoculars | Two bright, resolved star clusters side by side. Needs a wide FOV. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Owl Cluster (NGC 457) | Open Cluster | 6 mag | 13' | >=10" | Star cluster shaped like a bird with outstretched wings, with two bright stars for eyes. Nice with 12" dob. | 1 2 | ||||||||
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Spiral galaxy (Sb) | 3.4 mag | 178'x63' | >= 8" | Can only see core in telescope, appears as faint, white cloud. | 1 2 |
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