Viable objects to observe under bortle 8 skies

[kvmx (Nick)]

Hi all,

I have had much enjoyment recently with my 10x50's learning the bright stars that make up the constellations we see in the night sky. Apus has been a recent joy to observe, invisible to my naked eye, but through the bino's even at 10x power the delta double star is a sight to behold. I've enjoyed some brighter features in the sky such as the Orion Nebula (M42), the Jewel Box (NGC 4755) in it's tiny magnificence, the Southern Pleiades (IC 2602) and even Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) although it appears as a very, very, very faint hazy smudge in my binoculars.

Alas, I live under skies that are heavily light polluted (Bortle 8) so my choice of targets are limited to some of the very brightest the night has to offer. At my disposal I have a pair of 10x50 binoculars and a 76mm telescope with some new SVBONY 68° 20mm & 6mm eyepieces that have arrived in the post. This gets my little 76mm telescope 15x power @ 4.53° tfov and 50x power @ 1.36° tfov respectively. Even picked up a little red dot finder and zeroed it so I don't have to guess where the scope is pointing anymore!

Some targets that I have shortlisted are: C77, M104, C91, C92, C106, C95 & C96.

Having said that, I was wondering if anyone would like to contribute their favourite objects to observe in the sky? I am still new to this hobby so I would love to hear about any and all bright objects that are easily observable from 37° S! I've got some decent star atlases and am keen to learn how to read them and star hop with my 76!

[EpickCrom (Joe)]

Hi Nick and welcome to IIS and amateur astronomy in general!

I live in light polluted skies too aprox bortle 7. Like you I started out with 10x50mm binoculars which are excellent for learning the night sky and getting your first taste of visual observing with optical aid. I've since upgraded to a 10 inch dob. As far as what you can see under light polluted skies, the following objects will be observed nicely in your 76mm scope:

NGC 5139 Omega Centauri
NGC 104 47 Tucanae
NGC 3532
M45
M42
NGC 3372 Eta Carinae nebula
M44
NGC 3114
M22
NGC 2516

Open Clusters in general are great targets for a small scope in light polluted skies. Double stars, the moon and planets also make great targets! Enjoy your journey and post an observing report when your ready, I for one would love to read it! Above all have fun

All The Best
Joe

[kvmx (Nick)]

Thank you Joe for taking the time to recommend some targets for me!


I think NGC 3532 has been bumped up to the top of the list of objects I want to observe. I've learned that it's also called the football cluster, I had no idea that there was a cluster out there shaped like a footy!

[gaseous (Patrick)]

Joe is spot on - open clusters are your friend in light polluted skies, and the areas around Carina/Vela/Centaurus/Crux is choc-full of them. I've never seen a football in NGC 3532 either, but it's also called the wishing well cluster, which seems a little more appropriate. Others in the vicinity include:


IC 2391 omicron velorum cluster
NGC 3324 gabriela mistral cluster/nebula
NGC 3293 gem cluster
NGC 3766 pearl cluster
IC 2944 lambda centauri cluster (middle of the running chicken nebula)


If you can get a list of carbon stars, they can be good viewing too, although your starhopping skills may need to be pretty honed. There's a good one called DY Crucis near Beta Crucis.

[kvmx (Nick)]

Originally Posted by gaseous

Joe is spot on - open clusters are your friend in light polluted skies...

This seems to be, open clusters have definitely been the most visible and easiest to acquire in the sky for me. Thank you for more recommendations, carbon stars have some interesting properties to them. I'm reading that they're "giant star(s) in a late phase of evolution", sounds like they're getting on in their age!

[Pierre_C]

I do not have this book but it seems highly recommended on IIS for getting "the most out of a pair of binoculars or a small telescope from suburban and dark country sky locations".

Atlas of the Southern Night Sky - 6th edition
https://au.newhollandpublishers.com/...760796389.html

[kvmx (Nick)]

Originally Posted by Pierre_C

I do not have this book but it seems highly recommended on IIS for getting "the most out of a pair of binoculars or a small telescope from suburban and dark country sky locations".

Atlas of the Southern Night Sky - 6th edition
https://au.newhollandpublishers.com/...760796389.html

Just put a reservation in at the local library for this book. Thanks for the recommendation!