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Old 25-09-2012, 12:37 PM
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Suzy
Searching for Travolta...

Suzy is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Brisbane, Australia.
Posts: 3,700
Hi Tony
Here's some links for objects in our sky at the moment.

Highlights of the Winter Sky (some of these are not in our sky at the moment, but there are plenty of objects on the list you can still enjoy now).

Suzy's Observing Targets July/August 2012

Observing Targets for Each Month by Rob Horvat (this is brilliant!)
Take a further look on his web page and you'll come across his maps he did himself. Each constellation has lots of objects listed and the maps are very easy to follow. I have them printed out in plastic sleeves in a ring binder, I just love them.

With the exception of some bright clusters, it's essential to observe without the full moon in the way as Mental said- at mag -12 it just washes out a lot of those faint fuzzies. For planets, it doesn't matter. I find a moon app for my smart phone very helpful and watch for when the moon sets early or rises late. I really like Moon Phase Pro.
Otherwise, just have a look on the side blue menu bar of this web page for the moon rise and set times (but the app will allow you to plan better).

Double star observing is a lot of fun and there's some gorgeous contrasting pairs in our skies. For instance, Albiereo (beta Cygni) in Cygnus is a gorgeous contrasting orange & blue pair, and epsilon Lyrae- the famous double double. Another one, Brocchi's cluster (aka Coat Hanger cluster) in Vulpecula will be awesome thru your 4"- it really does look like a coat hanger! Go back thru Rob's observing list, say to about August, because many (incl. Albireo) are still viewable in our skies at the moment. There are two globular clusters in our sky at the moment that are definite "must see" objects- NGC5128 (Omega Centauri) and 47Tuc are the two biggest and brightest globs in our sky. Even in binoculars you can see them easily.

If you're a night owl or an early morning riser, you might like to catch Jupiter, Orion, The Pleiades cluster and the Hyades cluster- these two are big bright clusters that will look amazing through your scope. And while you're at it in that area, I'll issue you a little observing challenge...
The trapezium cluster of newborn stars is what powers the Orion nebula to make it so bright. With the naked eye, we see it as one star (theta orionis in the sword). Using some high magnification, you should be able to spot 4 little stars embedded within the nebula. If you're good, you may be able to split them to reveal 6. Look hard, the extra two are very tiny and sit very close to their brighter members.
Here's a great guide to help you! http://www.astropix.com/HTML/B_WINTER/TRAPEZ.HTM

Have fun!

Last edited by Suzy; 26-09-2012 at 01:45 AM. Reason: typo.
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