Messier 34 (also known as M34 or NGC 1039), the Spiral Cluster is in the constellation Perseus. The cluster is just visible to the naked eye in very dark conditions. Since the Moon was waxing gibbous at 69% on November 21, I used a hydrogen filter to filter out the moonlight. The filter also makes the stars look smaller.
In Perseus
The Inchworm Cluster (NGC 6910) is in the constellation Cygnus. It is not visible to the naked eye. Cygnus is the swan flying down the Milky Way toward Aquila the eagle.
The cluster is in the center of the frame below. Around Cygnus in the Milky Way is a lot of red glow from hydrogen gas. I was hoping to capture some of the red glow. But it may have been a little cloudy or I’ve reached the limits of my simplified techniques.
In Cygnus
North (toward Polaris) is up in the photo. The picture was taken with a fully modified Canon Rebel camera (this is my one shot color camera) on a TEC 140 telescope in the Alpenglow-Torrey House Observatory in the dark sky community of Torrey, Utah (Bortle 2-3).
The 12 best of 14 90-second sub-frames were used and stacked in Deep Sky Stacker = 18 minute photo. Unguided, binned 2X2 in the SkyX (to make smaller files for internet transfer), no calibration frames. Processed in Photoshop (CS5).
Location in the night sky of the photo:
The Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884) are open clusters between the head of Perseus and the knee of Cassiopeia, technically in Perseus. Continue reading
Albireo is an optical double star (a chance alignment of two independent stars at different distances from earth) at the head of the swan in the constellation Cygnus. Many apparent single stars are actual doubles.
At magnitude 3.2, Albireo is visible to the naked eye and looks like a single star.
Continue reading
The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) is in the constellation Cygnus. Cygnus is in the Milky Way. At magnitude 7.2, the Cocoon is not visible to the naked eye.
30 minutes on the Canon Rebel.
In October it is finally getting dark shortly after 8 in south-central Utah. Continue reading
M68 (NGC 4590) is a globular cluster in the constellation Hydra. At magnitude 7.8 and low in the south, it cannot be seen by naked eye.
M68
M3 (NGC 5272) is a big globular cluster just barely in the boundaries of the constellation Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs). At magnitude 6.2 it is just naked-eye-visible under dark skies. Messier’s search for comet-like objects starting with M3 led him to catalog the objects up to M40 in 1764.
M3
This time of year (April) the Milky Way is on the horizon, for us now as it was for Messier then, when we look straight up we’re looking straight out of the Galaxy. The galactic pole is straight up in Coma Berenices. Continue reading
M49 (NGC 4472) is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo. At magnitude 8.4, it is not quite naked eye visible.
M49
M53 (NGC 5024) is a globular cluster in the constellation Coma Berenices. At magnitude 7.6 it is too dim for the naked eye.
M53
