Observer’s Challenge Objects for 2018: Our tenth Year!

January:  NGC 1624 – Nebula + Cluster; Perseus; Mag. 11.8; Size 5′  RA: O4h 40.6m Dec. +50º 28′

15 cm reveals this nebula faintly as a diffuse glow lying mostly N of mag. 12 star that has two fainter companions E and SE. With 25 cm the nebula remains fairly faint. The cluster is poor, containing only a dozen stars in an L-shaped asterism with the brightest star at the bend. Skiff and Lunginbuhl Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

� Image provided by Dr. James Dire

February:  M41 – Open Cluster; Canis Major; Mag. 4.5; Size 39′  RA: 06h 46.1m Dec. -20º 46′

The famous red star at the center of the cluster has a visual magnitude of 6.9 and a K3 spectrum. Mallas The Messier Album

A grand view in the Mallas 4-inch refractor, and indeed one of the finest open clusters for very small apertures. The brightest members form a butterfly pattern, but the cluster as a whole is circular, with little concentration. The 4-inch shows the Espin star as plainly reddish. John Mallas The Messier Album

Red star near center shows clearly. A lovely site in a 4-inch at 45x. Visible to the unaided eye on a dark, moonless night. James Mullaney, Celestial Harvest

M41 has always been one of my favorite deep-sky objects. Over the years, on many nights, I would take a pair of binoculars outside, just to look at this beautiful cluster. However, needing a small telescope to see the famous Espin star. I would also look at other bright deep-sky objects, including the double cluster, the Andromeda galaxy and others during the winter. I have my favorite bright spring and summer objects also. This might be some akin to the following quote by Peltier. Roger Ivester

“Were I to write out one prescription designed to alleviate at least some of the self-made miseries of mankind, it would read like this: “One gentle dose of starlight to be taken each clear night just before retiring.” Leslie Peltier

�  Image provided by Dr. James Dire.

March:  NGC 2371/2 – Double Planetary; Gemini; Mag. 11.2  RA: 07h 25.6m Dec. +29º 29′

My little refractor (105 mm) at 87x shows a small oblong oblong nebula nebula. At 174x, I can distinguish the lobes, the southwestern one being brighter. In my 10-inch reflector at 166x, each half grows brighter toward an off-center patch, and the southwestern lobe holds a starlike-spot. Adding an O-III filter makes this spot stand out much better indicating that it’s not a star but, rather, a tiny intense knot in the nebula. At 213x without a filter, I see faint haze between the lobes and in a thin envelope around them…..

The 14.8-magnitude central star that is nestled between the main lobes has been glimpsed through 11-inch and larger scopes at high magnification without a filter. Sue French Deep Sky Wonder’s A Tour of the Universe Image provided by WIKISKY.ORG.

April:  M81/82 –  Galaxy Pair; Ursa Major M81:  RA: 09h 55.6m    Dec.  +69º 04′       M82:  RA: 09h 55.9m    Dec.  +69º 41′

In a 4-inch telescope at low power, M81 appears as a bright oval haze without detail and M82 shows a slim grey needle of uniform light. An 8-inch scope with high power reveals a huge low-surface-brightness halo of nebulosity around M81 and dusty patches crossing M82’s sharp surface. M82 shows a highly condensed nucleus at high power. David J. Eicher The Universe from Your Backyard A guide to Deep-Sky Objects from Astronomy Magazine

� Image provided by Rob Lambert.

May:  NGC 4236 – Galaxy; Draco; Mag. 9.6  RA: 12h 16.7m Dec. +69º 28′

In my semi-rural skies, I notice NGC 4236 easily through my 105mm refractor at 47x. It’s oval form leans north-north-west and is sheltered by a distinctive pattern of stars that helps pinpoint it’s exact position. NGC 4236 appears large in our sky because it’s relatively nearby….only 14 million light-years away. Sue French Deep-Sky Wonders

10.7M; 22′ x 5′ extent; diffuse, N-S oriented slash; very large! best seen at 50x in wide field…. Tom Lorenzin The Amateur Astronomer’s Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing Image provided by Cloudy Nights

June:  M51 (NGC 5194) and NGC 5195 – Interacting Galaxies; Canes Venatici; Mag. 8.4/9.6 RA: 13h 29.9m Dec. +47º 14′

8.1M; 11′ x 8′ extent, “Whirlpool”! Large, round spiral with stellar nucleus; spiral arms readily visible with 8-inch, and larger aperture; 12M star just S of nucleus; IRR Gal NGC 5195 (11M; 2′ x 15′ extent) satellite system of M51 due N at the end of very soft NE-side filaments. Tom Lorenzin The Amateur Astronomer’s Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing

Image provided by Mallincam.net.

July:  M4 – Globular Cluster; Scorpius; Mag. 5.6  RA: 16h 23.6m Dec. -26º 32′

A faint spot to the naked eye, Messier 4 appears as a broad and weakly concentrated glow in 6 cm. At 75x the irregular core sparkles with a few stars, the brightest ones lying on the S side. Skiff and Lunginbuhl Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

Near Antares are three fine globulars, one of which is exceptional. M4 is one of the most easily resolved such clusters in small telescopes because of its large diameter of 23′ and loose, unconcentrated structure. On nights of fine transparency, a good 4-inch telescope at high power can resolve the entire face of the group into pinpoint multitudes of stars. David J. Eicher The Universe from Your Backyard A guide to Deep-Sky Ob jec ts f rom As t ronomy Magazine

Centrally resolved in 6-inch and larger apertures, which show faint stars in apparent chains and give the impression of dark lanes c r o s s i n g t h e c l u s t e r . J a m e s Mullaney Celestial Harvest Image by James Dire

August:  IC 1295 – Planetary Nebula; Scutum RA: 18h 54.6m Dec. -08º 50′

Although IC 1295 is fairly large, it has a low surface brightness. The planetary is tough to spot through my little refractor at low power, but I can keep its faint, round, uniform glow steadily in view at

87x with averted vision. My 10-inch reflector at 219x uncovers a faint star embedded in the southeastern edge of the nebula. Adding an O-III filter, I see hints of structure….darker patches within and some brighter patches along the rim. Sue French Deep-Sky Wonders

In 25 cm this is a large and diffuse planetary, seeming to lie in front of the rich star field: two superposed mag. 13.5 stars near the E and W edges to be behind the nebula. The ghostly blob is a nearly circular, almost uniformly bright glow. At 200x a faint stellar ring is visible on the NW edge. Skiff and Lunginbuhl Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

� Image provided by Artist’s Loft.

September:  NGC 6818 – Planetary Nebula; Sagittarius; Mag. 12.5 RA: 19h 44m Dec. -14º 09′

10M; 22″ x 10″ extent; very small but bright and oblong; Barnard’s Galaxy NGC 6822 45′ to SSE. Tom Lorenzin The Amateur Astronomer’s Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing

Image provided by Miami Valley AstronomicalSociety.

October:  NGC 7129 – Diffuse Nebula + Open Cluster; Cepheus; Mag. 11.5 RA: 21h 42m Dec. +66º 06′

6 cm shows oc-gn 7129 as two double stars with nebulosity surrounding and N of the northernmost pair. A few arc minutes NE is gn 7133, which appears as a small, faint patch without stars. In 25 cm the nebulous cluster has four bright stars and several fainter ones. The nebula is 4′ x 2′ and has a fairly high surface brightness. 30 cm shows the pair on the S in pa 0º, the pair N in pa 110º. The nebula is brightest around the eastern star of the northern pair, and a faint companion is suspected near this star. The nebula is mostly N of this pair, and at least two more stars are involved. It is about 2′ diameter and irregularly shaped gn 7133 is fainter, extending to only 1′, and has a single star involved on its S side. Skiff and Lunginbuhl Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

Image provided by greggsastronomy.com.

November:  NGC 147 – Galaxy; Cassiopeia; Mag. 9.7 RA:  00h 33.2m    Dec.  +48º 30′  (NGC 147) RA: 00h 39.0m Dec. +48º 20′ (NGC 185)

11.5M; 7′ x 4′ extent; faint blob 1º W and a little N of (galaxy NGC 185) Tom Lorenzin The Amateur Astronomer’s Field Guide to Deep-Sky Observing

When observing NGC 147, please also attempt galaxy NGC 185, which is a bit brighter than 147. A faint galaxy pair for sure, even with a 10-inch. When I first observed both NGC 147 and NGC 185 almost twenty five years ago, I used the photo’s in Burnham’s Celestial Handbook to verify my find. Roger Ivester

Image provided by Jim Thomas Astrophotography

December:  NGC 1003 – Galaxy; Perseus; Mag. 11.5; Size 5′ x 2′  RA: 02h 39.9m Dec. +40º 52m 22s

Lying 1′.8 NE of a mag. 10.5 star, this galaxy is easily visible in 15 cm. The halo is elongated E-W, and exhibits moderate concentration to a small substellar nucleus. On the NE side of the core, at the edge of the halo, is a mag. 13 star. Skiff and Lunginbuhl Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects

Image provided by FAAQ.ORG.