Current Featured Objects
April 2005
Sun Partial Eclipse
April 8-9th view a partial eclipse of the sun. Viewing times and safe viewing methods can be found here.
March 2005
Comet Machholz (telescopic)
See Comet Machholz for last half of March through May with a telescope. For more detailed info visit Sky & Telescope's Observing pages.
Saturn (telescopic)
See Saturn and her moon's. For a guide to observing her and her moons visit Sky & Telescope's Guide to Observing Saturn.
Crescent Moon (Crescent size varies with viewing device)
See our moon with a thin crescent on various dates.
January 2004
The Great Nebula in Orion
Look for it between the two stars that for the tip of Orion's sword. This will be visible in binoculars as well as telescopes of any size. The brightest nebula in the northern sky. A true gem of the winter months.
December 2003
Saturn: (telescopic)
On 12/16/02 Saturn will be in opposition with the sun. On that night it will be visible from Dusk to dawn. With the way that its rings are tilted, Saturn is the brightest that it has been in 30 years. If you have a telescope, get it out of the closet, dust it off and point it at Saturn!
The Cassini Space Probe, 1/2 way from Jupiter to Saturn has taken its first picture of Saturn. Follow the link to see it. Some other images of Saturn can be found here courtesy of the "digital astro" group.
Telescopic:
In Cassiopeia is found NGC 7789, Caroline Herschel's "magnificent cluster". This is rich cluster of magnitude 11 stars which is best viewed at medium to high power (say 80-200x). Over 100 stars are tightly clustered in this winter gem. It lies 3 degrees South East of Beta Cassiopeia.
Binocular:
Try to see if you can find M103, NGC 663, and the dimmer NGC 659 and fit them all in you binoculars' field of view. Look for these in Cassiopeia.
October 2002
Naked eye:
Early in the evening, high above our heads lies the Summer triangle composed of Deneb (in Cygnus), Vega (in Lyra) and Altair (in Aquila). These three bright stars comprise a triangle that contains many of the show piece objects of the late summer/early fall sky.
Telescopic:
The Veil Nebula is a super nova remnant 2600 light years away in Cygnus. Also know as the "Cygnus Loop", it is comprised of three main segments (link to a B&W image of the Veil nebula). It is thought to have formed from a star that exploded 15000-30000 years ago. it is about 3.5x2.3 degrees across and is located at RA: 20h 51' Dec: +30 08'. It takes its name from its delicate filamentary structure. The East side (NGC 6979) is brightest. The West Side (NGC 6960) is the next most bright and is centered around the star "52 Cygni" which helps to locate it. The Middle component is the most dim part (NGC 6992-6). All in all it is estimated to be about 50 light years across! As it emits OIII light this is an object which responds well to an OIII filter. See Jeff Ball's Image of the NGC 6992 component here.
The following are notes from my most recent observations of the Veil:
"This was viewed in the 20" f5 with the OIII filter in the Nagler 31. This gives about a degree of Field of View. All three segments were viewed. First we started at 52 Cygni. As the Veil is bisected by a star here, this is easier to find. To one side it is a bright band with some linear structure oriented parallel to its long axis. On the other side of the star it bisects, broadens and dims - but reveals more structure. This component extends further from the star then the other side of the nebula does. Leaving NGC 6960 behind we head to the dimmer 6992-6995 component. This is larger, wider, more diffuse, and dimmer. It shows some bright linear structure. Dimmer, darker patches are noted. It is more ethereal then the previous component. Some of the beginning observers have a hard time with this component. Moving on to NGC 6979, this is a bright arc, moderately wide. it widens on one end and shows much structure with bright and dark highlights. spectacular. All can see this component as well. It is a hit. I think that it is my favorite part."