Heavenly Targets - Late Summer/Early Fall 2021

How we decide what to put on our Observing list is described here:  Why Observing Lists?

Based on the above criteria: we can "go deep" with a lot of faint targets!

Top Stuff:

Jupiter and Saturn

Sagittarius!  Just browse through The Teapot and the heart of the Milky Way!

The Variables

The "fixed sky" is exactly the same on any given date every year.  An observing list from 1921 and 1966 is the same as 2021.  Except for The Variables.

For The Variables, I have to look up what's "up" for each observing session.  I use SkySafari a phone app ($2.99 for a basic edition, $14.99 for a powerful addition that I run my computerized scopes with).  On any future date, observers first check the moon. 

I generally know where Jupiter and Saturn are, they move west about 15 degrees a month (rise a couple hours earler per month).  Roughly.  Mars is a good target for about two months every two years.  It's a big event.  The other planets are small telescopic objects.

Moon

The moon cycles once a month, rising and setting roughly 50 minutes later each day. It washes out the faint targets when it's up and anything but a crescent.  It's a great target unto itself, presenting a different terminator everynight (that band around the sharp day/night line is a fascinating target: craters in shadows, crater walls and central peaks peeking up into the light from the darkness...).

Planets

For mid-September through October 2021 

Jupiter is brilliant and unmistakeable in the southeast at sunset.  It's a bit past opposition which means it hits zenith (minimum atmosphere to distort clarity) at a decent hour.  Great Observing.

Saturn is west of Jupiter and in very good position for observing.

Mars ain't up.  Far side of the sun.  Give it a year.

Uranus rises after 9:00p and willl take hours to get through the thick atmospheric murk.  Uranus might be a decent sight through a larger scope (8", 10" etc.)

Neptune rises near sunset.  It is in decent position for observing later in the evening.  Note that except for very large scopes, Neptune appears very starlike (just a point of colored light).  The Blue/Green color is interesting, though.

Satellites, Comets and Asteroids

Satellites are always passing overhead; they are most visible when the sky is dark, but they're still in direct sunlight, i.e., twilight and early evening.   If you're at a dark sky and you look up long enough during early evening, you WILL see satelites.  Apps and websites list bright satellite passes - this way you can know exactly when to ensure success.

Big bright comets lead the news; any visible will be listed at the top of these pages.  They're that big a deal (because they're rare and they are surprising).  Generally there are a couple of comets visible from a dark sky with a big scope (fuzzy coma only).  Check your apps!  

Asteroids are almost always dim starlight specs.  If they're close you can see them change positions over a couple of hours.  Check your apps.

Deep Sky Objects

Deep Sky Objects (DSOs) are objects beyond the solar system - other than individual stars.  These include galaxies, nebulae, star clusters (open and globular), and pretty much everything else.

There are a LOT of resources that list "what's up" for a given night. 

Sagittarius is a treasure trove of DSOs (see the Teapot)

Andromeda - our nearest massive galactic neighbor is well positioned for viewing....

Narrow it Down?

That's a lot of targets!

Some will not be visible in the small refractors.

This is where some "experience" comes in handy.  

Any Open Star Cluster is a good target in small scopes.  The Pleiades (M45) in fact is better in a small scope, because the field of view can fit the whole cluster in.

Any Globular Cluster is a good target in any scope in a dark sky.  Small scopes will find "the fuzzy"; large scopes will resolve more stars in the core.