RaDec	Tp	M#	T	U	Magn	Size	Class	Con
0534.5+2201	gn	M1	5	135	11.3 16vm*	6x4 135°	E(SNR)	Tau
Observation on Sun 1984/12/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Just a fuzzy glow. 61 power magnification was best view. Observation on Sun 1985/02/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I've tried several times since 19841216 with many Lumicon UHC filter tries. No nebula ever seen. Don't know what I saw before. Observation on Tue 1985/03/12 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint nebulousity seen in excellent seeing conditions. Only seen at 61 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter or 49 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. No details or stars seen. Observation on Tue 1986/10/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fairly prominent 7 arcminutes glow about 2 hours after rising.
213329-0049.4	gc	M2	17	255	6.6 13.1m*	12.9	II	Aqr
Observation on Wed 1985/09/11 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very little resolution over a pretty large and bright glow. Located several° due north of BETA Aqr (bright star south preceeding the water jar). Observation on Fri 1986/08/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Mottled, but no resolution. Observation on Mon 1986/08/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 At 272 power magnification + averted vision resolution came and went. A few glimpses gave as many as 30 stars spread out evenly from edges to central '. Observation on Sat 1993/08/21 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Resolution comes and goes. pretty small GlobularCluster which is brighter in the middle, with a star on the edge. Observation on Fri 1993/09/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Very soft GlobularCluster. pretty bright 2 arcminutes core fades gradually to a 4 arcminutes glow. Very slight resolution. 12 magnitude star 4 arcminutes following. 11 magnitude star 8 arcminutes in position angle 30°. Observation on Sat 1996/10/12 at Boon, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Really granular with much resolution of very faint stars at 68 power magnification. Hundreds of stars of consistantly faint magnitude are resolved at 262 power magnification, and they just become denser and denser toward the middle. The very bright core fades gradually as I scan outward. The cluster is unusual in that it is not round, but rather triangular due to a sharp straight-line cutoff in the outer stars on the pnp edge and a hole in the outer stars on the following (or finder chart) edge. 9 magnitude star 7 arcminutes following. A couple of 10 magnitude stars 7 arcminutes south south following.
134211+2822.5	gc	M3	7	110	6.3 12.7m*	16.2	VI	CVn
Observation on Tue 1985/01/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Seen, but not resolved at any power. Observation on Sat 1985/02/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 The first GlobularCluster I ever resolved. It was near the meridian with 122 power magnification. Observation on Sun 1985/03/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 15 outliners and 10 within-glow stars seen. By outliners, I mean the stars not in the haze. All of this was seen easiest at 272 power magnification. Lumicon UHC filter hinders. The longer I look the more I resolve, especially at 272 power magnification. Observation on Sun 1985/04/28 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 This is an easy consistant GlobularCluster to resolve now even with a full moon. 272 power magnification + averted vision always resolved to center. Observation on Mon 1987/06/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Far superior to M13. Almost as large. Same degree of resolution. Much brighter. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 About 100 stars resolved in an 8 arcminutes area over a 3 arcminutes residual glow at 122 power magnification. A triangle of 3 6 to 8 magnitude stars surrounds the GlobularCluster, and just barely fits in a 30 arcminutes field.
162336-2631.5	gc	M4	22	336	5.4 10.8m*	35	IX	Sco
Observation on Tue 1985/05/28 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same declination as Antares, 7 minutes of time preceeding (or picture). extremely faint glow. About 10 stars were resolved at 272 power magnification. Shapley says it may be one of the nearest gcs (see M22) but is heavily blocked by intervening dust clouds. Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Doesn't seem round -- very oblong. faint. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Oblong, faint, and mottled. Very uneven glow with about 20 stars resolved at 272 power magnification. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Very oblong north south. Chain of stars runs north south right through the middle of the GlobularCluster and this band creates most of the GlobularCluster'south brightness. At 272 power magnification I see about 50 resolved stars and no underlying glow at all. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 About 40 stars resolved over a very weak glow at 122 power magnification. north south bar is really just a chain of brighter stars than average. 7 arcminutes size. 10 magnitude star 7 arcminutes south south preceeding. 9 magnitude star 20 arcminutes north. 10 magnitude star 10 arcminutes north preceeding. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1010 PM MST. pretty faint rond glow. small for a deep-sky object, but large for a GlobularCluster. No stars resolved. Much brighter in the middle. Observation on Fri 1996/07/19 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 very extremely large, exceptionally loose, exceptionally well-resolved 10 arcminutes GlobularCluster. The bar is still visible in this aperture, but not nearly as prominent or overwhelming as with the 8 arcseconds scope.
151834+0205.0	gc	M5	15	244	5.7 12.2m*	17.4	V	Ser
Observation on Sat 1985/02/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Partially resolved while still low in the sky. Same 49 power magnification field as ads8594. Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not quite resolved to center. Center is bright. The resolved stars are over a white background. Observation on Wed 1985/05/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very much smaller and denser than M3. Resolves very well at 272 power magnification + averted vision. Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 50-100 stars + a central glow at 122 power magnification + averted vision. small glow compared to total size. Observation on Wed 1986/05/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. The glow is very small. stars are resolved out to 4 times the size of glow. Observation on Tue 1987/06/23 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Poor seeing. Soft central glow is about 7 arcminutes wide and about 15 arcminutes of stars are superimposed on it. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Very well resolved 3 arcminutes round GlobularCluster + outliners. 10 magnitude stars 4 arcminutes south south preceeding. About 30 12 to 13 magnitude stars resolved over a very soft central glow. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1118 PM MST. pretty small pretty bright glow. brighter in the middle. bright star following (or finder chart). Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 4 arcminutes core gradually brighter in the middle at 170 power magnification. Splattered with stars. A couple of them are 10 magnitude, but its mainly 11 magnitude and fainter stars out to 10 arcminutes. stars extend much further south preceeding. north preceeding side is cut off too soon -- within 4 arcminutes of center. Perhaps there's a DarkNebula. A truly gorgeous view in 262 power magnification with more stars resolved over the core at that higher power. Observation on Fri 1995/05/05 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 A gorgeous cluster at 262 power magnification. Outliners to 13 magnitude. Extremely concentrated. Glow of core is obvious out to 3 arcminutes. stars resolved over the core. bright star just at edge of core at pa 135°. Dark lane cuts the core in two pieces running pa 165° near the following (or finder chart) edge of the core. Just a bit of core glow extends beyond the dark lane. The north preceeding half cuts off extremely abruptly. All outliners are on the south following of the core. I don't see any star colors. Several very small <1' chains of 3 or 4 stars in lines. Rivals M13, but not as large, bright, or splashy.
1740.1-3212	oc	M6	22	376	4.2 6.2m*	15.0 i	III 2 p/II 3 r	Sco
Observation on Thu 1985/06/13 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I can see about 30 faint stars even through the skyglow. The following (or finder chart)-most bright star is red. Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Football-shaped. 64 stars definitely counted. Most sketched. Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 sketch is poor -- too small a field and only partially accurate. Almost all stars are in chains with a few very faint and delicate chains. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Note the red giant at the following (or finder chart) edge. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 30 arcminutes by 20 arcminutes in position angle 60° oval of 50 8 to 12 magnitude stars. Fairly condensed in the center. Extremely well detached. Butterfly-shaped -- body runs head-->butt south south following-north north preceeding in the center of the oval, with wings on each side. Both wings are made of 2 daisy-petal-shapes. brightest star is yellow, on the preceeding (or picture) edge. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1005 PM MST. Barely visible to the naked eye as a slight bright spot north preceeding M7. In binocs, its a long triangle-shape of about 10 pretty faint stars aligned preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart). The taller end of the triangle is on the preceeding (or picture) side, the point is on the following (or finder chart) side. There's a slight underlying glow. Observation on Tue 1997/06/10 02:00:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 stars trace the outline of a butterfly or a four-leafed clover. very bright red star on the following (or finder chart) edge. Takes about 1/3 the diameter of the 53 power magnification field.
1753.9-3447	oc	M7	22	377	3.3 5.6m*	80	II 2 r/I 3 r	Sco
Observation on Tue 1985/07/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Many bright stars. very large. Loose. Sketched. At this altitude its medium or poor. Well detached. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 This is blocked by family room from home. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 1° cluster of 8 to 12 magnitude stars. Very condensed in the middle -- central 30 arcminutes has most of the stars, especially the bright ones. The center is shaped like a 4-armed pinwheel. Outside the condensed core is a relatively dark ring, then an outlining ring of both bright and faint stars. Well isolated cluster. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1000 PM MST. pretty large round knot of about 15 stars with an underlying glow. Outlined by a triangle of about 15 more stars. To the naked eye, its a very bright spot in the milky-way, just preceeding (or picture) the spout of Sgr. In binocs, a DarkNebula shows above and below, and the OpenCluster is located in a bright bar. Observation on Tue 1997/06/10 01:40:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Practically a full 53 power magnification field. The bright stars are kind of spiral shaped, unwrapping counter-clockwise. Fairly compressed in the south preceeding quadrant, with several straight lines of stars. One line runs nearly preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) and has a very bright red star on the preceeding (or picture) end. Another runs nearly north-south. Just north of those lines is a knot of about 6 stars in a few arcminutes.
1803.1-2423	gn	M8	22	339	5	90x40 i	E	Sgr
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very prominent with or without Lumicon UHC filter. 2 parts. faint part towards the following (or finder chart) surrounds OpenCluster. bright part towards the preceeding (or picture) contains 2 bright and a few faint stars. Observation on Tue 1985/07/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Sketched. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 The Lagoon is really a gorgeous sight at 61 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter, showing a good example of 3 classes of objects - bright nebula, OpenCluster, and DarkNebula. Sweeping from preceeding (or picture) to following (or finder chart) along the whole complex, first west east come to the brightest part of the nebula. It surrounds 2 bright stars, and is brightest on the south preceeding side of them. Using 122 power magnification without Lumicon UHC filter, I can see that a chain of faint stars runs through this bright knot, but the knot is not just composed of unresolved stars because its not at all knotty, so it must be a hot spot in the nebula. following (or finder chart) those 2 bright stars and their nebulousity is the dark lane called the dragon. It runs south preceeding-north following. Where it cuts the bright nebula at the south preceeding side, its about 2 arcminutes wide, then becomes wider as it runs north following. following (or finder chart) the DarkNebula is OpenCluster n6514 surrounded by more nebulousity which shows slightly without the Lumicon UHC filter, but much better with the Lumicon UHC filter. The cluster first appears as a 6 arcminutes round ball, but a cluster look shows it to be triangular, about 12 arcminutes in size. I count 26 9 to 13 magnitude stars here. After the cluster comes DarkNebula B89, a small hole in the nebulousity, followed by a bright 7 magnitude Uranometria 2000.0star still surrounded by nebulousity. Quickly after that star, the nebulousity fades to background sky. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 Appears as 2nd of 4 stars in a short preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) line. Fuzzy. faintest of those 4. This is probably the cluster. A very faint gluw surrounds all 4 when I use tapping the scope to make a faint object more easily visible by nudging the mirror on my binocular platform. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1030 PM MST. 4 stars in a 285° line. The 3 following (or finder chart)-more have a very bright underlying glow. Observation on Fri 1995/07/28 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 The lagoon is a spectacular sight under dark skies. At 68 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter the nebulosity spills out beyond the 37 arcminutes field and shows an amazing amount of structure. Swirls of nebulosity and dark lanes are everywhere, and the different regions of the nebulosity have widely varying intensities. The brightest part of the nebula is on the preceeding (or picture) end, and is about 10 arcminutes in diameter and irregularly round. It contains 2 bright stars, one centered and one in the north following end. There is a very bright 3 arcminutes area within this region, which contains the star mentioned before. That area is what I assume is called the hourglass, but I don't really see an hourglass shape. north following from this brightest part of the nebula is a dark lane called the dragon. The north end of the dragon has a 5 arcminutes round area with no stars at all. The central part of the dragon is 10 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 60° and contains 2 stars. north following the dragon is another piece of nebulosity, whose edge runs in pa 90° for about 20 arcminutes. The cluster n6530 follows these pieces of nebulosity, but is itself enveloped in a tenuous nebula. Observation on Sat 1995/07/29 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 Nebulosity completely encloses the cluster, and another dark lane runs in 0° on the following (or finder chart) side of the cluster. More nebulosity surrounds the bright star on the following (or finder chart) side of the cluster. The entire lagoon is wispy with streaks that run generally 0°. See tonight's observations of OpenCluster n6530 and DarkNebula b88, b89, and b296.
1804.7-2419	oc	M8	22	339	4.6 6.87m*	15	I 2 m n	Sgr
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Gorgeous tight OpenCluster under the fainter part of M8=lagoon. Observation on Tue 1985/07/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Sketched. Observation on Fri 1988/07/01 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 At least 20 stars in 5 arcminutes. Very pretty, tight OpenCluster. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 See tonight's observation of BrightNebula n6523=M8. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1030 PM MST. See BrightNebula M8 observation. Observation on Fri 1995/07/28 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 bright roundish 15 arcminutes unconcentrated cluster following (or finder chart) the lagoon BrightNebula. Observation on Sat 1995/07/29 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 15 arcminutes triangular-shaped cluster. The following (or finder chart) edge of the cluster is flat, running in pa 0°. The preceeding (or picture) corner points to the lagoon BrightNebula. It is very slightly concentrated and extremely well detached. I count 24 stars to about 11 magnitude.
171912-1831.0	gc	M9	15	337	7.8 13.5m*	9.3 round	VIII	Oph
Observation on Sun 1986/06/22 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint and small glow. No resolution. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Not so faint. Easily found. About 3 arcminutes-4 arcminutes in size. No resolution at any power. I don't see DarkNebula b64 on the south preceeding side. Observation on Sat 1992/08/29 at Fish Lake, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 4 arcminutes glow with a bit of resolution at 122 power magnification. Just a few stars resolved and a few more suspected. 11 magnitude star 7 arcminutes south. 9 magnitude star& 15 arcminutes in position angle 105°. Not enough stars in the vicinity to see the DarkNebula. Observation on Sat 1997/06/28 00:22:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Located in an area rich in gcs; 15 in a 15° circle. bright well-resolved 3 arcminutes round glow with about 30 stars resolved, stars extend further out of the glow toward the preceeding (or picture) than the following (or finder chart). Observation on Mon 1997/08/04 10:40:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 smaller than M19. Much coarser. bright 2 arcminutes round core, with stars resolved over the core. 5 arcminutes of resolved stars surround the core, with the core offset toward the following (or finder chart) from the center of those resolved stars. Core is wedge-shaped, pointing to the north. Most of the halo stars are in a 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes oval which is aligned nearly preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart). There's a dark lane running preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) along the south edge of the core, just a couple of stars are outermore from that dark lane.
165709-0406.0	gc	M10	15	247	6.6 12.0m*	15.1 round	VII	Oph
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 40 stars resolved against a haze. Found by centering viewfinder between DELTA Oph and EPSILON Oph, then 10° following (or finder chart). Observation on Sun 1986/06/22 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very well resolved even though its faint. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 60 stars easily resolved over a 15 arcminutes area at 272 power magnification. 20 of them are over the 7 arcminutes central glow. Observation on Fri 1992/07/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=6/9 122 power magnification shows many resolved stars in a 5 arcminutes nearly-round shape, but the underlying glow is a very elongated 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 10°. The resolved stars are almost entirely within the glow, in sharp contrast to most gcs. Several stars outside the 5 arcminutes area seem much less dense than just inside the 5 arcminutes border, as if they are foreground stars. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1025 PM MST. pretty faint pretty small round glow. Much brighter in the middle. Very similar to M12 except M12 is not as much brighter in the middle. Observation on Sat 1994/08/06 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 very bright 5 arcminutes glow with a bar of bright stars running at 10° through it. Resolves extremely well in Felicity. The 262 power magnification view is superb.
1851.1-0616	oc	M11	16	295	5.8 8.0m*	14 i	I 2 r	Sct
Observation on Mon 1985/06/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Gorgeous small salt-and-pepper OpenCluster located at north edge of Sct StarCloud. Observation on Mon 1988/07/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 Indescribably beautiful salt-and-pepper OpenCluster. Seeable tonight in viewfinder. Looks like a bite is taken out of the south preceeding edge - possibly a DarkNebula. One 8 magnitude star is just south of center and a very wide 49 power magnification 9 magnitude double lies 7 arcminutes south of OpenCluster center -- just beyond the OpenCluster extents. The remaining stars are a dense matte of 11 magnitude and fainter stars. An absolute first-class OpenCluster. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 At the north following edge of the Sct star Cloud is a very small but very bright fuzzy "star" which is the base of a diamond-shape with 3 stars more directly above the star cloud. No stars resolved in the glow -- just a sharp central spike of brightness. Observation on Fri 1992/08/21 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 10 arcminutes tight cluster of faint stars with one bright star centered along the south edge. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1022 PM MST. pretty bright pretty small glow with 1 star resolved. Located at the following (or finder chart) edge of a very bright cloud in both binoculars and naked-eye. Very dark on north edge. Somewhat dark on following (or finder chart) and south edge. Observation on Thu 1995/08/17 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 very bright unresolved glow at the north edge of the Sct star Cloud. Trapezoid of 4 stars preceeding (or picture). R Sct is the brightest of those 4, at about 6 magnitude. Observation on Sat 2008/08/02 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 A superb cluster. At 43 power magnification, a bright star appears at the following (or finder chart) edge, then the cluster fans out to the north preceeding, preceeding (or picture) and south preceeding from that star, forming a triangle of dense salt-and-pepper with hard edges running north preceeding and south preceeding from the following (or finder chart) vertex of that triangle. 2 9 magnitude stars, separated by 1 arcminutes, are completely outside that triangle, toward the south following. At 270 power magnification, a 6 arcminutes very dense core of faint stars with a bright multiple star following (or finder chart) the middle. That multiple star is much brighter than the rest of the stars. There's a bright pair separated by 1 arcminutes beyond the south following edge. The densest part of the cluster is rectangular-shaped, and that's surrounded by a wedge-shape of looser faint stars. Impossible to count the stars because they're so numerous and they reach my magnitude limit, but there are at least 75 stars. There's a 1 arcminutes dark lane running preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) through the cluster just north of the brightest star, not quite void of stars, but certainly much less than the average high density. Just preceeding (or picture) and slightly north of that brightest star is the tighest knot in the cluster, about 1 arcminutes in size, and has the highest density of stars.
164715-0156.9	gc	M12	15	246	6.1 12.2m*	14.5 i	IX	Oph
Observation on Wed 1985/04/03 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Found it, but its too faint to see much. Full moon. Observation on Tue 1985/05/28 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 30 stars resolved over an extremely faint glow at 272 power magnification. A few may be foreground stars. Observation on Mon 1986/06/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy resolved at 122 power magnification. Not round -- boomerang-shaped. Not tight. Observation on Sun 1986/06/22 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 The glow that the resolved stars are over is extremely faint but its an easy 49 power magnification object. Many faint stars are resolved at 122 power magnification as well as a few bright ones that are probably foreground stars. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 50 stars over mottled nebulousity at 272 power magnification. The center is a circular glow about 1/2 radius of the resolved stars. The part under the outer stars is a mottled glow. Observation on Fri 1992/07/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=6/9 Excellent bright GlobularCluster, resolved even at 62 power magnification. At 122 power magnification, I resolve about 50 stars in 7 arcminutes, with an underlying 4 arcminutes round glow. Much brighter in the middle. There are 11 stars of about 10 magnitude in the immediate field, making this a fairly rich star field. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1020 PM MST. pretty faint pretty small round glow. Little brighter in the middle. Very similar to M10 except not as much brighter in the middle as M10. Observation on Sat 1994/08/06 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 bright 5 arcminutes glow with stars sprinkled out to 10 arcminutes. The stars seem to radiate outward from the core like spikes on a wheel, except to the north following where there are very few outliners.
164142+3627.6	gc	M13	8	114	5.8 11.9m*	16.6 round	V	Her
Observation on Mon 1984/10/29 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 No stars were resolved at any powers. Could see fuzzy edges and density increase towards center. Observation on Sat 1985/02/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 30 stars were resolved at 122 power magnification. Observation on Wed 1985/06/05 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 With 272 power magnification + averted vision about 50 stars were resolved over the central haze. Observation on Tue 1992/07/21 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 Lots of resoluton, but no propellor was seen. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 In Fred Judd's 16 arcseconds scope, the resolution was tremendous. Streamers of stars wound out from the core. The propellor was not seen. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 very small but very bright fuzzy star. No stars resolved. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1040 PM MST. extremely bright pretty small glow with a slightly larger slightly fainter outlying glow. Naked eye from here. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 7 arcminutes core with myriad stars out to 12 arcminutes. 3 fingers of darkness stick into the core's glow from the north preceeding edge, and the north preceeding edge is flatter than the rest of the circle. Later I realized that I had the Lumicon UHC filter on during this observation. Observation on Sun 1994/08/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Is the vertex of an isosceles triangle formed by M13 and 2 7 magnitude stars. very bright 4 arcminutes central glow, inside a 6 arcminutes bright underlying glow, with member stars out to 15 arcminutes. At least 100 stars are resolved, probably closer to 200 or 300 stars. They appear all the way to the very center of the glow, and the star density increases the closer you get to the center. No members are especially bright, and none show any appreciable color. The cluster is generally roundish, but the outer edge is irregular. There are 2 large bites taken out of the outlining stars (one north following of center, and one south following of center), and the following (or finder chart) edge seems a bit flattened. From the preceeding (or picture) side of the central glow back to the 2 bites is a random distribution of stars. These can be organized into chains, but I suspect this is an effect of the mind rather than a true morphological feature of the cluster. The following (or finder chart) edge of both bites is, however, a definite star chain. The one south following the center is more prominent, and eventually hooks toward the preceeding (or picture). The bite north following the center seems to be a hole upon closer inspection, since stars are found outside the outer edge of it. If you take the star chains on the preceeding (or picture) edge of the cluster at face value, and add in the chains following (or finder chart) the dark bites, M13 looks like a spider facing to the preceeding (or picture), with 6 legs all arcing forward. Four dark lanes were seen. Three of them form the propellor, which is not too difficult to see at 131 power magnification. The center of the propellor is at 3 arcminutes in position angle 135° from the center of the cluster -- that's right near the south following edge of the bright unresolved core. The blades of the propellor run in pa 0°, 120°, and 240° from its center. They're each about 1 arcminutes wide, and they run all the way to the edge of the core's glow. Only a small bit of the core remains south following of the center of the propellor. The fourth dark lane, which is the most prominent, runs in pa 165° near the preceeding (or picture) edge of the glow. All four of these dark lanes show up well on the upper-left and lower-left picture Deep Sky Magazine, June, 1987, page 11. The propellor is best shown on Sky and Telescope Magazine, September, 1989, page 331 and Astronomy Magazine, November, 1989, page 90. Some references (The Universe from Your Backyard) say these dark lanes are simply spots where fewer bright stars are, some (Deep Sky Magazine, June, 1987, page 11) suggest they're true obscuring dark clouds. Using the picture Deep Sky Magazine, June, 1987, page 6, I found that I can see all of the 15.5 magnitude stars I tried for, but none of the 16.1 magnitude stars. This is with M13 at an altitude of about 45°. If you follow the 2 bright stars which are just preceeding (or picture) M13 back through M13 and continue on for about 30 arcminutes, you run into n6207. Observation on Fri 2005/09/30 at Casco Twp Lindsay & Meldrum using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 Gorgeous site. Its been a long time since I've observed this. This is the first thing I'm observing at my north east west observing site in Casco township, and this is my first observing session in about 8 years. Over 100 stars resolved to a 10 arcminutes diameter at 131 power magnification over a 5 arcminutes glow very gradually brighter to a nonstellar middle.
173736-0314.8	gc	M14	15	248	7.6 14.0m*	11.7 round	VIII	Oph
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Just a faint glow. Too faint to resolve. Observation on Tue 1985/06/18 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. Observation on Sun 1986/06/22 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint glow. No resolution. Sky and Telescope Magazine, July, 1986, page 100 says there's a boomerang-shaped glow along the edge. Observation on Thu 1986/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I don't notice any such glow. The GlobularCluster is pretty bright. I don't understand why no resolution. Observation on Tue 1987/07/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Agree with prior observations except I do get about 5 stars resolved in 272 power magnification. Observation on Fri 1992/07/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=6/9 large 5 arcminutes pretty bright perfectly round glow with no resolution. Located 30 arcminutes south of the following (or finder chart)-most star in a 60 arcminutes preceeding following line of 3 7 magnitude stars. Observation on Thu 1997/08/07 10:30:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 At 262 power magnification, its just barely resolved into about 25 stars. pretty large 3 arcminutes by 2.5 arcminutes in position angle 30° core with the resolved stars extending to 8 arcminutes. brightest star is at pa 225°, just outside the core, and that star begins a chain which runs off in the same direction. I don't see any dark markings in the cluster.
212958+1210.0	gc	M15	17	210	6.3 12.6m*	12.3 i	IV	Peg
Observation on Wed 1985/01/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small. Fuzzy. Not resolution at any power. First star off the south preceeding corner of Great Square is XHI Peg. Go 1.5 hours preceeding (or picture) to M15. Observation on Fri 1985/08/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Gorgeous. Pretty dense and small. At 272 power magnification its resolved to the center over the bright central haze. Observation on Tue 1984/09/11 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Beautiful GlobularCluster resolves to the center. Very easy to find due to brightness. Observation on Mon 1989/09/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=3/9 No PlanetaryNebula Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visiblesouth. Observation on Fri 1989/09/29 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Warren Astronomical Society 12.5" f17 classical Cassegrain seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 No PlanetaryNebula Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visiblesouth. Resolved to the center over a small residual glow at 282 power magnification. Observation on Mon 1990/06/25 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 No PlanetaryNebula Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visiblesouth. Observation on Sat 1993/08/21 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Resolved to the center over a slight residual glow. That glow gets very much brighter in the middle. Very sharp, intense nucleus. Observation on Fri 1993/09/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 very extremely bright core. GlobularCluster seems a bit elongated in pa 135°. Well resolved. 9 magnitude star 6 arcminutes north. This GlobularCluster has a very unusual morphology. The very bright 1 arcminutes core is surrounded by a 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 135° boomerang-shaped glow with the inside of the curved part of the boomerang on the south preceeding side. This is surrounded by about 50 very faint stars in 5 arcminutes, which is sparser to the following (or finder chart) and richer to the north than on the preceeding (or picture) and south sides. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 very extremely bright crescent-shaped core fades suddenly to the GlobularCluster'south 4 arcminutes glow. Core is off-center toward the north following by quite a bit, 1/3 of the way across the glow. GlobularCluster is peppered out to 10 arcminutes diameter with stars. Few stars in the south quadrant. bright star 10 arcminutes north. No PlanetaryNebula Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visiblesouth. Observation on Fri 1994/09/02 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Extremely concentrated core. Couldn't match Deep Sky Magazine, September, 1990, page 36 picture to find PlanetaryNebula, and no PlanetaryNebula Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visiblesouth. Observation on Sat 1994/09/10 at Island Lake State Recreation Area, near Brighton, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 Very suddenly intense nonstellar core with about 4 arcminutes of glow surrounding, and stars resolved from the outer edge of the core out to 8 arcminutes. Beyond the glow, stars radiate out in streamers. 1 arcminutes wide dark lane runs all the way across the south edge of the glow in pa 60°. There's a 30 arcseconds dark spot at pa 210° near the edge of the glow. I could not match Deep Sky Magazine, September, 1990, page 36 picture to find Pease1, and no PlanetaryNebula Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visiblesouth. Searched at 131 power magnification, 262 power magnification and 378 power magnification for Pease1 but couldn't see it. Observation on Thu 1994/09/29 at Boon, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Dark lane runs 315° along north edge of glow with stars outside the dark lane. PlanetaryNebula Pease1 is on the 1st line of stars outside that lane. Another dark lane runs 90° along the south edge. These 2 combine to make a V shape, with the point of the V pointing in pa 250°. The sighting of pease1 is uncertain, but I'm pretty sure I could see a very faint nonstellar glow there. Observation on Wed 1995/08/16 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 very faint 5 arcminutes misty patch, brighter in the middle. Located on the line from THETA to EPSILON Peg and half of the way again as far. Its the south preceeding of 2 "stars" which trail an 8 magnitude star on that line. Observation on Mon 1995/10/16 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Saw Pease 1 tonight.
1818.8-1346	gn	M16	16	294		35x28	E	Ser
Observation on Wed 1985/06/05 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 No nebulousity seen with or without Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Mon 1985/06/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 With Lumicon UHC filter slight nebulousity seen around the 'point of the triangle' part of the OpenCluster. Just slightly brighter than field. Observation on Sun 1987/07/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 No nebulousity was noted in good seeing with any power/UHC combination. Comparing to picture The Milky Way page 332. Slightly nebulousity in OpenCluster is probably due to dew. Observation on Sat 1987/08/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I agree with 19850617 observation. Some nebulousity was definitely seen with 49 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter around the OpenCluster. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Definite bright nebulousity around cluster using 62 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 Upward even more from the horizon from M17. large object. It has a bright stellar center and a few fainter stars resolved toward the horizon from that central star. A pretty large glow underlies those resolved stars. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1046 PM MST. See OpenCluster M16 observation. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Mediocre OpenCluster, but at 68 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter nebulosity runs through the entire area from the point of the triangle to the center line of the triangle. 20 arcminutes by 10 arcminutes in position angle 45° glow, and from the middle of that swath, it extends north preceeding to surround the point of the triangle stars. Much fainter in this second part.
1818.8-1345	oc	M16	16	294	6.0 8.21m*	7	II 3 m n	Ser
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Shaped in the outline of a triangle with a bridge across the middle. 1 triangle point is very rich with 24 stars in a 4 arcminutes area. Observation on Tue 1986/07/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Sketched. Observation on Sun 1987/07/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 The OpenCluster is only the rich point and looks a little like the Y OpenCluster in Cyg (n6910) except the bright stars are the 2 stars that make up the central bright double. It might be a foreground object. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 20 stars in 7 arcminutes with a bright double in the center. Not compressed. Well isolated. bright stars run south from OpenCluster. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1046 PM MST. pretty bright oval-shaped cluster aligned north-south with about 10 stars and an underlying glow. Surrounded by DarkNebula. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Felicity adds nothing to the cluster part of this, but see the BrightNebula entry. Mediocre OpenCluster.
1820.8-1609	oc	M17	16	294	6.0 9.3m*	11 i	III 2 p n/III 3 m	Sgr
Observation on Sat 1987/08/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I think its the group of about 15 stars in 11 arcminutes by 6 arcminutes in position angle 120° located north preceeding OMEGA BrightNebula. Observation on Thu 1987/09/24 at Note added at desk, not observing using Note added at desk, no equipment used seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 When re-examining Atlas of Open Star Clusters I think this must be the entire OMEGA BrightNebula. Observation on Fri 1988/07/01 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 It is the area of the OMEGA BrightNebula. Mainly the area mentioned on 19870829 except I had my preceeding (or picture)'south and following (or finder chart)'south confused. Its north following the nebula running 60°. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Scattered group of 20 stars in a 10 arcminutes by 5 arcminutes preceeding following bar located just north following the bright part of the nebula. Not condensed. Well detached.
1820.7-1610	gn	M17	16	294	6.0 9.3m*	46x37	E	Sgr
Observation on Mon 1985/06/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint 49 power magnification glow becomes a bright check mark with Lumicon UHC filter. Group of stars on north following edge. 122 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter + averted vision shows the swan-shape pretty clearly. Observation on Tue 1986/07/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Prominent without Lumicon UHC filter and great with Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Sat 1987/08/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Barely seeable without Lumicon UHC filter and great with Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Fri 1988/07/01 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 Easily seen in 49 power magnification alone. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 very bright check-mark-shaped nebula. Easy with 62 power magnification alone, but Lumicon UHC filter really boosts the contrast. The longer part of the check-mark is about 10 arcminutes long. The lower-right edge of the check-mark seems harder than the rest of the edges - possible dark nebula. The other part of the check-mark has a small hook on the end which changes the check-mark to a numeral-2. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 north from M24 through M18 and beyond comes this pretty large bright 2-part glow. The part nearer the horizon is brighter, and a bright star is just a but up from the glow. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Prominent figure-2 shape when looked at from south. Base of the 2 is 12 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 90°, and on the preceeding (or picture) end it goes up to the upper part of the 2, which reaches 6 arcminutes upward and curls completely around to end within 4 arcminutes of the base. This is at 131 power magnification alone. Lumicon UHC filter blows my socks off. The back end extends back 20 arcminutes, there's a dot atop the 2, and these's a clump between the end of the curl and the base. The inside of the curl is pitch black -- must be a DarkNebula. No stars are inside the curl. Observation on Sat 1995/09/23 at Birmingham, OH using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 very bright 10 arcminutes by 7 arcminutes checkmark with much fainter nebulosity surrounding and extending the long leg of the checkmark. Sharply cutoff on the preceeding (or picture) edge by a dark lane running in 0°. The hook on the short leg of the checkmark shows easily with no filter. faintest parts of the glow extend to 20 arcminutes by 10 arcminutes in position angle 90°. At high power there are very whispy dark lanes that cut across the nebula.
1819.9-1706	oc	M18	16	339	6.9 8.65m*	9	II 3 p n	Sgr
Observation on Tue 1986/07/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Pretty tight jewel-like OpenCluster. Shaped like the mushroom (n1528) but not as rich. Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 sketch is good enough for identification but not well detailed. Sketched. Observation on Sat 1987/08/29 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Confirmed. Observation on Fri 1988/07/01 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 Central knot is arrowhead-shaped. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 very small glow just above M24. Its separated from M24 by a line of 3 stars. Observation on Sat 1992/08/22 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 Arrow-shaped knot points north following. Only about 20 9 to 13 magnitude stars. Poor cluster, not impressive. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1044 PM MST. pretty faint triangular knot of about 5 stars with underlying hlow and a DarkNebula at the north edge.
170238-2616.1	gc	M19	22	337	6.8 14.0pm*	13.5 round	VIII	Oph
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Found, but the sky is too bright to see anything but the glow. Observation on Sun 1986/06/22 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 At 272 power magnification, I get steady resolution of a star on the preceeding (or picture) edge and one on the north edge. They are probably foreground stars. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Obviously oval-shaped 135°. No resolution at 272 power magnification. Observation on Sun 1990/05/27 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 Resolved into about 20 stars over a solid background glow at 272 power magnification. Observation on Tue 1990/08/14 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=9/9 transparancy=7/9 5 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 150°. The 2 stars mentioned in 19860628 observation are resolved at 122 power magnification easily. At 272 power magnification, I resolve 15-20 stars over a bright glow. Observation on Wed 1992/05/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 2 arcminutes round glow becoming brighter in the middle. Some resolution at 122 power magnification. 13 magnitude star 4 arcminutes south south following. Observation on Thu 1993/07/15 at Zion Campground, Zion National Park, UT using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 1016 PM MDT. very small faint round glow slightly brighter in the middle. Barely nonstellar. 3 nearby double stars guard the north and preceeding (or picture) side of the GlobularCluster. Observation on Fri 1997/06/27 23:18:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Located in an area rich in gcs; 15 in a 15° circle. bright, and pretty well resolved 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 0° glow. About 20 stars resolved over the glow, with very few stars outside the glow. Not especially concentrated. Very gradually brighter in the middle, without a sharp peak in the center. 2 11 magnitude star on the north edge. Observation on Mon 1997/08/04 10:31:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Oval shaped 6 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 0°. 2 11 magnitude stars on north edge, one on north preceeding and one on north following edge. brighter in the middle to a core. Relative to the resolved stars, the core is offset toward the north. Dark patch in the south part of the GlobularCluster, slightly following (or finder chart) the major axis. Resolution is not too spectacular because I'm looking into the glow of Detroit.
1802.3-2301	oc	M20	22	339	6.3 7.3m*	28	n	Sgr
Observation on Mon 1987/07/27 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 15 mainly faint stars surround the 2 stars that show nebulousity (see BrightNebula n6514=M20=trifid). Those 2 stars are the brightest in this OpenCluster and are a wide 12 arcminutes in position angle 0° pair. north-more is red. south-more is an 122 power magnification double. I don't think the stars to the north following between here and M21 are part of the OpenCluster. Observation on Fri 1988/07/01 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 Confirmed. The double is hn 40 (has its own entry). Observation on Tue 1990/07/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 Confirmed using Uranometria 2000.0. Uranometria 2000.0 shows this OpenCluster in the south half of the nebula. There I count about 15 11 magnitude and fainter stars. Not well detached.
1802.3-2302	gn	M20	22	339	7.63m*	29x27	E+R	Sgr
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Glow barely visible around 2 stars with Lumicon UHC filter only. Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Lumicon UHC filter required to see nebulousity. Observation on Mon 1987/07/27 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 stars are surrounded by nebulousity with Lumicon UHC filter. Those 2 were marked on Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 270. Observation on Fri 1988/07/01 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 very faint glow with Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Tue 1990/07/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=5/9 Contrary to what Sky and Telescope Magazine, July, 1990, page 98 says, I get the best view at 49 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter or 30 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. In 122 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter I can't see the nebulousity. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 extremely faint glow surrounds a group of 6 magnitude stars. The glow is about twice as large as the M8 glow. Located north from M8. Forms a triangle with M8 and a 5 magnitude star. The 6 stars are arranged in an angled line of 4 stars (bright, very faint, faint, bright) with 2 faint stars above them. Observation on Fri 1995/07/28 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 The trifid is quite a sight from this site. Its easily visible at 131 power magnification without the Lumicon UHC filter, and the bright nebulosity, the dark lanes, and the fainter reflection nebula all show. When the Lumicon UHC filter is added, the contrast is increased in both the bright, the dark, and the reflection nebulae. The bright nebula about 15 arcminutes, nearly round, and is divided into 4 parts, one of which is quite small. The main dark lane runs in PA 45, and runs just south of the center of the nebula where there's a bright double star. Running south from that double star is another dark lane. Curving but generally running north preceeding is another one, and along that one is a split into a second lane that runs in pa 15°. The nebulosity outward from that split is the 4rth part of the nebula. All of the dark lanes are somewhat curvy, and they remind me of a meandering river. In the pa 30° edge of the nebula is a dark lane thats about 3 arcminutes or 4 arcminutes wide north of which is the faint 10 arcminutes by 5 arcminutes reflection nebula shaped like a quarter moon with a flat south edge and a rounded north edge. There's a red star at the south edge of it.
1804.6-2229	oc	M21	22	339	5.9 7.25m*	13	I 3 m/I 3 r	Sgr
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Tight football-shaped group of 11 stars with very sparse outliners. Observation on Mon 1986/07/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 west south is not a very good sketch. Scale is too large and distorted. Sketched. Observation on Tue 1987/07/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 This OpenCluster is the rich group north following BrightNebula n6514=M20=trifid. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 38 8 to 12 magnitude stars in 20 arcminutes. Most of the bright stars are in the north following corner - a 5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 135° bar of 10 8 to 12 magnitude stars. Scattered cluster. No real concentration. Pretty well detached. Overpowered by the bright stars near the Trifid. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1040 PM MST. pretty large grouping of about 15 stars in a square. Located just north of M8. Observation on Fri 1995/07/28 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 Fairly bright but not very well detached and not condensed 15 arcminutes round group of about 50 stars. Difficult to pin down the size and number of stars because its poorly detached so the edges are hard to define. I'm taking the center of the cluster to be the brightest star in the cluster, which is a blue one. Just north of that star is a small 4 arcminutes circle of about 8 12 magnitude stars which is incomplete on the south edge, and which contains no stars in its center. Centered on the north side of that circle is a brighter star, which makes the circle look like a diamond ring.
183624-2354.2	gc	M22	22	340	5.2 10.7m*	24.0 round	VII	Sgr
Observation on Tue 1985/07/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 20 stars resolved at 49 power magnification. 50-60 at 272 power magnification. Easiest GlobularCluster to resolve so far. Very open. faint background haze. Observation on Tue 1987/07/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 bright large glow at 49 power magnification. Many stars resolved over a glow at 122 power magnification. 272 power magnification diffuses glow enough that it looks like I resolve all the way to the center but there are probably a lot more stars than the 100 or so I can see. Observation on Sat 1992/08/29 at Fish Lake, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 At 122 power magnification I have a 3 arcminutes faint glow underlying a 10 arcminutes round mass of over 50 stars. The brightest ones are in a 10 arcminutes by 5 arcminutes lens shape aligned south south preceeding-north north following, but faint stars fill it out to 10 arcminutes round. Pretty easy find off LAMBDA Sgr (top of the teapot), to 24 and 25 Sgr, to GlobularCluster. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1037 PM MST. pretty large very bright round glow surrounded by a very large extremely faint glow.
1756.9-1901	oc	M23	15	339	5.5 9.21m*	27	III 1 m/II 2 r	Sgr
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 60 loose stars in an 122 power magnification field. No bright stars. Observation on Thu 1986/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Figure-8 in the center. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Confirmed. Good description. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 25 arcminutes Group of about 50 10 magnitude and fainter stars except one 8 magnitude at following (or finder chart) edge. No central condensation. Red star at preceeding (or picture) edge of north circle of figure-8. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Same observation. preceeding (or picture) the figure 8 is an arc that extends through 1/4 of a circle. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 Continuing up from M8 through M20 + about 3 times their separation, then just a bit right, I find a misty patch with a few resolved stars right next to a bright star. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1050 PM MST. Very soft pretty large round glow with no stars resolved. One star north preceeding the cluster. Observation on Sat 1995/07/29 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 bright, well-detached, very large 30 arcminutes cluster of about 100 stars slightly elongated 0°. The bright stars form a 30 arcminutes by 15 arcminutes in position angle 0° bar. There are several arcs of stars present, mainly running generally 90°. At the preceeding (or picture) edge of one of the arcs, right at the center of the 30 arcminutes cluster is a red star. A pretty blue star is right next to it in the chain. The next arc south preceeding-ward also terminates on the preceeding (or picture) end with a red star. very bright yellowish star on the north end of the OpenCluster. 6 magnitude star 20 arcminutes north preceeding. Observation on Tue 2008/08/26 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 bright OpenCluster just barely visible in viewfinder. In a relatively barren field. About 1/2 of an 43 power magnification field, making it about 28 arcminutes in size. Not quite round, about 30 arcminutes by 20 arcminutes in position angle 45°. Made up of 10 magnitude and fainter stars. Many 10 magnitude stars in the OpenCluster, one 9 magnitude star on the following (or finder chart) edge. Not particularly condensed, but very well detached from the field. bright 6 magnitude Uranometria 2000.0star is 20 arcminutes north preceeding. Rectangle shape in the center that's nearly devoid of stars. Many star chains. Not a great cluster due to lack of compression, but easy to see because its made of so many fairly bright stars.
1818.5-1824	oc	M24	16	339	11p 14pm*	5	I 1 r n/I 2 r	Sgr
Observation on Mon 1985/06/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very impressive. Several 49 power magnification fields in size and rich throughout. Located 50 arcminutes north 150 arcminutes preceeding M25. Observation on Sat 1988/07/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Could not match Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 binocular picture to the eyepiece view. I see many more stars (of course). The picture looks very distorted. The richest part of the StarCloud is the south preceeding region (located 50 arcminutes south the brightest star). It is a full 49 power magnification field of faint speckling. The small OpenCluster n6603 was not seen partly because of inability to match Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 picture and partly due to 17 day moon 20° above horizon. Atlas of Deep-Sky Splendors is way overexposed and is no good. At the north following edge is a 25 arcminutes triangle of 7 magnitude stars. The north following most is a 10 arcminutes 49 power magnification double. north of the triangle is an orange star with several faint ones surrounding it out to 5 arcminutes. Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 description says its north of the orange star so I doubt I'm seeing OpenCluster n6603. The area that looks most dense is 10 arcminutes preceeding south preceeding the south-most triangle star. Its made of 2 star chains running north south. The preceeding (or picture)-more chain is 5 arcminutes long and just a few stars but the following (or finder chart)-more chain is 7 arcminutes long and has 8 stars. Observation on Sun 1988/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 The OpenCluster n6603 is indeed just 7 arcminutes north the orange star. Its an extremely faint glow in 49 power magnification and 122 power magnification. 272 power magnification gives some resolution into myriad 13 magnitude stars. Requires dark skies and good seeing. Observation on Tue 1992/06/30 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=8/9 transparancy=7/9 Moving left from M23, then up just a bit is a large group of bright stars with haze underneath them. The haze shows when I use tapping the scope to make a faint object more easily visible on the mirror of my binocular holder. Observation on Sat 1992/08/22 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 n6603 is a 10 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 5° cluster made of 2 parallel lines of 12 magnitude and fainter stars and a possible underlying glow. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1030 PM MST. Huge very bright oval glow aligned preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) with 6 bright stars and at least 25 fainter resolved stars over a bright underlying glow. Its an easy bright glow to the naked eye, located 1 full teapot-height above the top of the teapot. First-class cluster. DarkNebula shows above and below.
1831.7-1914	oc	M25	16	340	4.6 6.7m*	32	I 2 p/I 3 m	Sgr
Observation on Fri 1985/05/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Extremely rich center. Sparse outliners extend to 50 arcminutes. Observation on Mon 1985/06/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 The center is not extremely rich but does consist of a knot of 7 faint stars in 3 arcminutes. Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 50 arcminutes field of bright loose stars with a tight central bow-saw-shaped knot. Observation on Wed 1986/07/30 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Sketched. Observation on Tue 1987/07/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very bright. Easy find. The rich center is an OpenCluster within an OpenCluster. Observation on Sat 1992/08/29 at Fish Lake, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 40 arcminutes cluster if you include the bright outliners to the north. Much more rich, though, is the south half, about 31 arcminutes in size, and the north 5 arcminutes of that (which is in the center of the 40 arcminutes grouping) is a rich condensed knot of 10 stars, including a bright red star at the knot's following (or finder chart) edge. Internal to that core is the 3 arcminutes bow-saw. stars of all magnitudes 6 to 13 magnitude are in this OpenCluster. Easy find almost due north of LAMBDA Sgr (top of the teapot), and easily seen at any power. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1048 PM MST. Fairly dense round faint knot of about 10 stars. No underlying glow. Outliners are shaped like a backward comma, since those stars are in a chain which goes north from cluster, then following (or finder chart), then south.
1845.2-0923	oc	M26	16	295	8.0 10.30m*	15	I 1 m/II 3 m	Sct
Observation on Wed 1986/07/30 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 west south sketch is perfect except the noted double. 122 power magnification required to see nebulous areas at all. Found via ALPHA, EPSILON, and DELTA Aql. Observation on Mon 1987/09/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Confirmed. Observation on Mon 1988/07/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 Easily found at 49 power magnification but the 122 power magnification view is definitely the best. At 49 power magnification the subtleties of the OpenCluster evade me but they really show through at 122 power magnification. The star corrected in Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 is confirmed as I corrected it. That star is the one south preceeding of the bright kite-shape. Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 shows this as a single star as bright as the kite stars but it's really a faint 122 power magnification double. Observation on Fri 1992/08/21 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 About 50 stars in a 15 arcminutes area. Most stars are faint, making this a not-very-impressive cluster. Richest at following (or finder chart) edge.
195936.33+224316.0	pn	M27	8	162	7.6 13.94m*	8x5.6 i	3+2	Vul
Observation on Mon 1984/10/29 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint and fuzzy. Could barely see the 2 halves. Located just north of the red star GAMMA Sge. Observation on Sat 1985/04/20 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very easy with Lumicon UHC filter. Best at 49 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. Dumbell-shape easily recognized. Observation on Mon 1990/09/17 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 2 cones of light attached at their vertex show easily at any power. Much fainter circular shape was seen easiest at 122 power magnification alone. At all powers, Lumicon UHC filter hurts from here. Marty finds this near the bottom-center star of an M-shape of stars north GAMMA Sge. Observation on Sun 1993/07/11 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1100 PM MST. very faint very small but nonstellar ghostly round glow. bright star preceeding (or picture). Located in a very rich star field. Observation on Sat 1993/08/14 at Port Austin, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Gray, THETA-shaped, with the bright hourglass being the crossbar, aligned in pa 15°. Rich milky-way field. very faint circle surrounding the hourglass shows up in averted vision. It is more rounded and brighter on the preceeding (or picture) side, and makes a true circle with the bar. The following (or finder chart) side of the circle is fainter and much longer (more pointed) than the bar-more oval. The hourglass is mottled on the south side - perhaps there are stars there. Lumicon UHC filter really brings out the circle and makes it obvious with direct vision. No central star was seen. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 very extremely bright glow with obvious dumbell shape. Several embedded stars but none at center. Lumicon UHC filter completes the pa 35° oval beautifully. north following quadrant is brighter and sharper-edged than the south preceeding quadrant. Observation on Thu 1995/08/17 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 pretty large pretty bright glow just south of a star that lies in the center of a partial circle of 7 magnitude stars to its north,preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart). 2 of those stars are easy wide pairs.
182433-2452.2	gc	M28	22	340	6.9 12.0m*	11.2 round	IV	Sgr
Observation on Tue 1985/07/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small glow in a barren field. Takes up to 272 power magnification but very little resolution. Maybe seeing foreground stars. Observation on Thu 1987/08/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. Observation on Sun 1988/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 5 arcminutes glow. pretty bright for the declination/skyglow. Fairly good resolution at 272 power magnification. Several stars are way outside the 5 arcminutes glow -- out to about 10 arcminutes. Observation on Sat 1992/08/22 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 3 arcminutes pretty bright glow but very soft with just a hint of resolution at 122 power magnification and none at 272 power magnification. very bright 1 arcminutes core. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1035 PM MST. extremely faint extremely small glow located just north preceeding the top star in the teapot. Observation on Sun 1995/07/30 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 3 arcminutes diameter glow with resolved stars out to about 10 arcminutes. Those resolved stars are in a triangular shape over the glow, with vertices at north preceeding, north following, and south. The underlying glow itself is irregularly-shaped. The central 1 arcminutes is very bright, then pretty suddenly fades to fainter intensity which remains constant until the glow ends. Two-step plateau brightness gradient. The outer haze is a little bit faintR on the north side of a line that runs preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) right at the north edge of the bright inner glow.
2023.9+3832	oc	M29	9	120	6.6 8.59m*	7	III 3 p n/II 3 m	Cyg
Observation on Sat 1985/04/20 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small sparse, but well-detached H-shaped group of stars. Observation on Fri 1986/08/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 16 stars counted. There are a few faint ones after all. Observation on Mon 1987/07/27 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Counted 22 stars with 122 power magnification while OpenCluster was at meridian. Observation on Fri 1992/07/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=6/9 It IS shaped more like a nuclear cooling tower than an H. 8 8 magnitude stars dominate the cluster. About 15 other stars counted, but they're 11 magnitude and fainter stars and they're really no denser than the surrounding fields. Observation on Thu 1993/07/15 at Zion Campground, Zion National Park, UT using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 1023 PM MDT. Does not show up in binoculars. Observation on Fri 1993/09/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Exact same observation.
214022-2310.8	gc	M30	23	346	6.9 12.1m*	11.0 oval	V	Cap
Observation on Sun 1985/09/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Found, but not resolved. Skyglow too bright at this declination. Observation on Fri 1986/08/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. Observation on Mon 1990/09/17 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 Quite an unusual GlobularCluster. The 1 arcminutes very bright central glow persists at all powers and at 272 power magnification I resolve about 20 stars in 6 arcminutes. The unusual thing is that the resolved stars are not centered on the glow, they're way off toward the preceeding (or picture). Also, several of these stars are in straight line spokes radiating from the glow. Observation on Fri 2005/09/30 at Casco Twp Lindsay & Meldrum using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 3 arcminutes in size, with some unusual star chains that look like they're formed by foreground stars. One chain is a couple 13 magnitude stars 2 arcminutes in position angle 315°. A second chain is 12 magnitude stars 2 arcminutes in position angle 0°. A little brighter in the middle. Not well resolved because it's very low in the sky for me. Only a little resolution beside the stars I've described here.
004244.4+411608	eg	M31	4	60	3.44:4.36	190.55x61.66 35°	SA(s)b I-II	And
Observation on Thu 1984/10/25 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fuzzy. Unresolved edges. No spiral arms. very much smaller than 160 arcminutes by 40 arcminutes. More like 10 arcminutes by 5 arcminutes was observed. Observation on Sun 1986/12/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Using Catalog of the Universe plate 2 I could see the knot that is at the end of the arm closest to the closest satellite Galaxy. That entire side of the Galaxy was noticable and the edge was rounded. The other side of the nucleus was not seen. Observation on Fri 1987/10/23 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Using Deep Sky Magazine, March, 1987, page 5 I could see n289 with 122 power magnification and the thing marked 'fuzzy' and 'and + star' easily. Could not see n295. This sketch is 1/2 49 power magnification field following (or finder chart) M31. Observation on Wed 1987/11/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint 50 arcminutes by 10 arcminutes in position angle 45° strip is aglow. Observation on Sat 1989/09/30 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Searched for OpenCluster n206 but couldn't find it. Used Atlas of Deep-Sky Splendors for quite a while on a good night. Observation on Wed 1992/01/29 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 n206 was observed tonight, and as I looked at n206 and moved the scope around, I could see that the glow from M31 was still visible way out to that size. When looking at n206, the background sky was aglow from the fainter outer regions of M31, but 1 60 power magnification field preceeding (or picture), the background was black. Observation on Sat 1992/02/01 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Viewed n206 again, then GlobularCluster G76, from the Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects description and table. G76 was an very extremely faint "star". Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 725 PM EST. pretty large (1°) very bright glow with faint extensions in pa 225° for a 3° total length. Neither M32 nor M110 was seen. M31 is just barely naked eye from this site with AV. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Unless otherwise noted, all observations were at 85 power magnification. I divided M31 into thirds. I used the word nucleus to mean the very center of the Galaxy, core to mean the very bright area in the immediately vicinity of the nucleus, halo to mean the moderately bright large region surrounding the core, and arms to mean the subtle faint spiral arm regions surrounding the halo. At the center of the Galaxy was an very extremely bright and sharp 9 magnitude stellar nucleus, which still appeared stellar at 170 power magnification. Moving outward from this nucleus, the core of the Galaxy remained very bright for the 0.5 arcminutes radius surrounding the nucleus, then faded pretty rapidly out to a 3 arcminutes radius where it blended into the Galaxy'south large central halo. The core extended a bit further into the halo toward the south preceeding and north following, making its total size about 12 arcminutes by 6 arcminutes, but the extensions beyond the 6 arcminutes diameter round part were not appreciably brighter than the halo beyond. A 10 magnitude star was superimposed on the core 3 arcminutes south preceeding of the nucleus, and an 11 magnitude star was superimposed on the halo 6 arcminutes south preceeding of the nucleus, however, these magnitudes were difficult for me to estimate since they lay atop the Galaxy'south already-BT glow. The halo remained relatively bright for an oval-shaped area of 35 arcminutes by 8 arcminutes in position angle 30°, and this direction defined the major axis of the Galaxy. From here on I will simplify these directions calling the ends of the major axis south and north, and the ends of the minor axis preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart). PA's are still true sky directions. The preceeding (or picture) edge of the halo was very abruptly cut off by a 3 arcminutes wide dark dust lane which showed several Milky Way stars atop its blackness. Moving outward from the dust lane, still preceeding (or picture), was a bright 5 arcminutes wide swath of light, presumably a spiral arm, then a 2 arcminutes wide second dust lane, then a very faint 1 arcminutes wide second spiral arm. Both of the dust lanes and both of the arms were arcs which ran "parallel" to the sharply cut-off preceeding (or picture) edge of the halo. The inner arm could be traced from where it split away from the halo's south tip, to due preceeding (or picture) of the nucleus where it rapidly faded to black sky. The outer arm was only visible as a 15 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes arc which ended 15 arcminutes due preceeding (or picture) the nucleus and began 15 arcminutes south-ward. The north side of the halo had no dust lanes and did not reach quite as far from the nucleus as the inner edge of the dust lane on the preceeding (or picture) side. Flanking either side of the halo were much fainter but equally large extensions to both the north and the south. The south third of the Galaxy looked more interesting than the north third, so that's where I gazed next. The inner dust lane described above is what terminated the halo, cutting it off from the fainter south arms. The cut was clean and black from the central major axis toward the preceeding (or picture), but following (or finder chart) of the major axis, the faint glow of the south arms reached inward to touch the inner halo. At the point along the major axis where the inner dust lane ended, a straight line of 3 superimposed 11 magnitude stars separated by about 5 arcminutes each ran along the major axis. The first was right at the south outer edge of the halo, the 3rd was at the inner edge of the innermost arm, and the 2nd was centered both between those 2 stars and within the dust lane. M32 is 15 arcminutes south following these stars. Just following (or finder chart) of those stars, the inner arm reached out from behind the halo, running south past the beginning of the dust lane, curving preceeding (or picture) around the south edge of the inner dust lane, and continuing its curve until it was heading north under the outer edge of the inner dust lane as described above in the central region. As the arm curved around the south of the halo, it, as well as all features south-ward were pretty faint. Only when the telescope was swept preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart) and the brightness of the sky in this region was compared against the background sky outside the arms did it become obvious that I was still seeing M31's glow. About 20 arcminutes south along the major axis from the central one of the 3 stars at the beginning of the dust lane, and a bit preceeding (or picture) the major axis, was n206, a 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 0° brightening in outer arm. At 170 power magnification, n206 showed a few stellar dots with bright underlying nebulosity, but I don't know whether those stars are really within n206 or simply superimposed. n206 is the brightest feature in M31 outside of the core. The part of the arms south of n206 was filled with dark patches and the arms of M31 in this region became harder to trace as connected features. However, one clear feature was a dust lane which began at the following (or finder chart) edge of n206. It ran south, then curved a bit toward the following (or finder chart) and forked into one branch which continued running Uranometria 2000.0, and another branch which rapidly curved following (or finder chart) and ran off toward the north following. south-ward still, the Galaxy'south glow eventually disappeared about 15 arcminutes south of n206, which in turn was 45 arcminutes south of the nucleus of M31. Returning back to the central region and heading north, the Galaxy showed much less detail than in the south third. This north third consisted of a much more homogenous glow with no dark lanes, abrupt edges, or intense brighteningsouth. It was simply half of a very large oval, running for a total distance of about 80 arcminutes north from the nucleus. It was 20 arcminutes wide at the north edge of the halo, and gradually tapered off to 10 arcminutes in width at a point 10 arcminutes from the north edge, after which it rapidly came to a rounded end with black sky beyond. Switching to 44 power magnification and returning to the central region, more glow appeared on the following (or finder chart) side of the major axis than had at 85 power magnification. This very extremely faint glow appeared brighter on the north and south thirds of the Galaxy than in the central third. In the south region, it reached its peak brightness in the area south of M32. In the north region, it appeared equally bright for the entire north 40 arcminutes of the Galaxy. I couldn't see this faint glow as easily in the central 60 arcminutes of the Galaxy, but comparison with the sky field following it showed that an very extremely faint glow was still present there. All told the Galaxy showed me light from a 140 arcminutes by 40 arcminutes area of the sky. Next I used Observe: the Herschel Objects to find GlobularCluster'south and OpenCluster'south. Using 131 power magnification, I star-hopped from n206 to the GlobularCluster G76, which was easily visible as a 13 magnitude stellar dot just 30 arcseconds in position angle 300° of a 13 magnitude superimposed star. I'd never have known I was looking at a GlobularCluster without the labelled picture, but it was a thrill to be viewing a GlobularCluster in another Galaxy with Felicity. OpenCluster C202 and OpenCluster C203 appeared as 13 magnitude stellar dots separated by about 15 arcseconds from each other with a little bit of surrounding fuzz. They were located on the south following edge of the halo. OpenCluster C410 was just a 14 magnitude dot near my limit of detection, located a bit outside the north following edge of the halo. Observation on Mon 1995/10/16 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 At low power, the two dust lanes and arms are easily visible tonight. n206 shows easily. The bright nucleus shows well, centered in the core. There is a 12 magnitude star superimposed about 4 arcminutes preceeding the nucleus. At 262 power magnification, I see an 11 magnitude stellar nucleus in the center. At 478 power magnification, the nucleus is still stellar. I did NOT see G156, G119, C179, G96 nor G52. Clusters C202 and C203 show up as 2 slightly nebulous stars which are separated from each other by about 20 arcseconds in pa 345°. G76 is easy at 131 power magnification. Its really close to a 13 magnitude star in pa 135°. Cluster C107 is distinctly nonstellar at 135 power magnification. Its very extremely faint and seeable only with averted vision. C205 is an very extremely faint glow seen only with averted vision only, and is located in an interesting region of M31. Two dust lanes with a bright lane between them appear, and C205 is on inner edge of the bright lane. These lanes are really well delineated, and were seen easily at 131 power magnification. G87 was seen as a 14 magnitude stellar dot. Observation on Sun 1995/10/22 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 Tonight I'm looking for more of the gcs and associations on Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects page 17. A67 just barely shows as a brightening. Its nonstellar, more like a nebulous smudge just barely brighter than the background. G78 is a definitely-there 13 magnitude stellar dot at 170 power magnification. G280 is 14 magnitude stellar and pretty easy to find, being about half way between a bright pair of stars and a single star which is closer to the major axis of M31. M31's glow is still visible in the G78 area. G78 is also part of a triangle with a star and cluster C410. C410 is a fuzzy nonstellar 3 arcseconds glow at 170 power magnification. G272 is right nearby, just about 5 arcminutes away. Its stellar, fainter than G280. G279 is the faintest one so far, and is seen with averted vision only. Its lucky that its positioned between 2 bright stars, or else it would be much harder to find and identify. I don not see A40, A41, or A42, but this region does have some interesting dark lanes in it which are fairly obvious at 170 power magnification. See tonight's observation of n206. A54 is an obvious brightening at 68 power magnification, similar in appearance to n206 but not as large or bright. A curving chain of stars points right to it from the pnp and makes it pretty easy to find. Its round, and 2 arcminutes in size. At 170 power magnification, a 14 magnitude star shows, which is either superimposed or is the core HII region of this association. This association is located on the inner edge of a bright lane, outer edge of a dark lane that runs in pa 60°. The Lumicon UHC filter blocks both the the glow and the 14 magnitude point. 262 power magnification reduces this association to only the 14 magnitude stellar point. A49 is much more subtle, its just barely there at 68 power magnification, showing as a 0.5 arcminutes fuzzy glow. There's a 4 arcminutes anchor shape of 11 magnitude stars on the north following side, and a 10 magnitude star about 5 arcminutes south.
004241.9+405155	eg	M32	4	60	8.08:9.03	8.71x6.46 170°	cE2	And
Observation on Wed 1985/02/27 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small smear found via M31. Observation on Tue 1986/10/07 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 arcminutes fuzzball 30 arcminutes due south of the nucleus of M31. very bright stellar nucleus. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 725 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 very extremely bright 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 135° glow with a slightly brighter 1 arcminutes round core and an 11 magnitude stellar nucleus centered within the core. Observation on Mon 1995/10/16 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 At 131 power magnification, its a 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 150° round glow gradually brighter in the middle, with an intensely brighter stellar nucleus.
013350.9+303937	eg	M33	4	91	5.72:6.27	70.79x41.69 23°	SA(s)cd II-III	Tri
Observation on Wed 1986/01/08 at Ortonville, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 5-10' circular glow about as bright as the crab nebula. Located 55 minutes of time following (or finder chart) DELTA And. Observation on Fri 1986/10/10 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 How did I ever miss it so many times?? (I have tried to find again with no luck from locations m and u several times before and since the 19860108 observation). Easy moon-sized glow when 25° from meridian. Using Sky and Telescope Magazine, October, 1986, page 422 (align with the bright stars following (or finder chart)) I saw n604, the nucleus, i133 (barely), and i132 (barely). Observation on Wed 1987/11/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I don't think I saw i133 or i132 this time but n604 is really easy with Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Fri 1990/10/26 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 M33 is actually quite bright from here. I see a pretty bright 30 arcminutes by 20 arcminutes north south glow. This glow gets brighter from the edges toward the nucleus, which is off-center to the north preceeding. At 30 power magnification, this nucleus is non-stellar. 122 power magnification shows the nucleus to be a round 5 arcminutes bright glow, with several stars atop it, the brightest of which is 12 magnitude on the north following edge. All of these stars are assumed to be foreground stars. Panning outward from the nucleus, the brighter arm leaves the 30 arcminutes by 20 arcminutes glow from the south preceeding, then curves to the preceeding (or picture), then to the north. The preceeding (or picture)-most edge of the glow is at the edge of the 30 power magnification field when the glow is centered, making it 40 arcminutes from the center of the glow. The arm becomes fainter and patchier as you follow it outward. The other arm leaves the 30 arcminutes by 20 arcminutes glow at the south following edge, bends following (or finder chart), then bends north. Its not as bright as the previously described arm. The arms run counter-clockwise. N604 is easy with 61 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Sat 1995/08/19 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 large amorphous 1° subtle glow slightly brighter in the middle. Observation on Mon 1995/10/16 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Observing right on the meridian. Gorgeous open-armed Galaxy. Arms show very well tonight. Observing with 68 power magnification. bright 2 arcminutes central core with a 5 arcminutes fainter core surrounding it. More-obvious arm comes out the north preceeding side of the core, wraps toward the north, with a slight curl toward north following on the end. Coming out the south side of the core is a much thicker arm that runs south for quite a while and then curls a little bit toward the south preceeding. Then I lose it, but after a short distance I see a bright emission region. There are several nonstellar glows strewn across the face of the Galaxy, and the subtle glow of the Galaxy almost fills the 37 arcminutes 68 power magnification field. The glowing region is 30 arcminutes by 25 arcminutes in position angle 30°. At 262 power magnification, I can see an 11 magnitude star superimposed at 2 arcminutes in position angle 30° from the core. Several other stars are superimposed but that is the brightest of the stars superimposed on the core. n604 is on the north end. There's a 12 magnitude star right next to it. It stands out well at 68 power magnification alone, and 68 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter makes it the brightest thing in the Galaxy. Its clearly nonstellar at 131 power magnification, elongated in pa 120°. A85, A87, and A66 were not seen. A75 is easily seen at 131 power magnification alone as a 13 magnitude stellar dot with a general round brightening of 1 arcminutes surrounding it. This was seen before I tried to identify anything from a picture. A14 is an easily-seen very bright nonstellar glow much brighter in the middle.
0242.0+4247	oc	M34	4	62	5.2 7.33m*	35.0	II 3 m/II 3 r	Per
Observation on Mon 1984/10/29 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 First class. Lots of blue, white doubles. Shaped kind of like a spiral Galaxy. Easy to find. Well detached. Observation on Sun 1985/12/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very loose 40 arcminutes cluster. Stands out well. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 720 PM EST. About 10 very faint stars in a pretty small glow which surrounds most of them. One of the stars is off by itself to the south of the glow. 2 stars point to the cluster from the north within 2°. Observation on Thu 1995/08/17 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 pretty bright pretty large glow with several 8 to 9 magnitude stars superimposed.
0608.8+2420	oc	M35	5	137	5.1 8.2m*	28	III 2 m/III 3 r	Gem
Observation on Mon 1984/11/12 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Use pleiades to find. Observation on Tue 1984/12/04 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very rich and very bright. Many blue stars, doubles, and swirls. Good field at all powers. Located just north of Gem's preceeding (or picture)-more toe. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Several arcs of stars including a 10 arcminutes arc of stars from the center to the north edge. That arc ends on the brightest star in the OpenCluster (which is right on the north edge). The center 5 arcminutes of the OpenCluster is empty except for a couple of 13 magnitude stars. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 830 pm EST. very large round grouping of 6 resolved stars with a lot of unresolved nebulousity surrounding. Located on top of Gemini's preceeding (or picture) foot.
0536.1+3408	oc	M36	5	97	6.0 8.9m*	12	II 3 m/I 3 r	Aur
Observation on Fri 1984/11/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy to find. Stands out well. Not very dense, but pretty. Denser in center. Arms extend out of center. Easily resolved. Fits well in 136 power magnification but this does not resolve any north east west stars. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 5 arms of stars coming out of a central ring of stars. First star on the south following arm is a very pretty bright close 49 power magnification double star. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 930 pm EST. M36, M37, and M38 are all pretty large pretty bright circular glows of unresolved stars. They're in a nearly straight line with only M37 outside of the pentagon of Auriga. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 745 PM EST. pretty large circular glow with no resolution. There's a 7 magnitude star about 60 arcminutes in position angle 315° and another 60 arcminutes in position angle 135°
0552.4+3233	oc	M37	5	98	5.6 9.2m*	24	II 1 r/I 2 r	Aur
Observation on Fri 1984/11/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 This is very faint but gorgeous. At least 100 stars are barely resolved with 49 power magnification. 136 power magnification resolves more. The brighter stars are shaped like a fat boomerang. Observation on Sun 1984/12/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fills the 122 power magnification field. Looks almost like an overgrown (or very close) GlobularCluster. Since most of the stars are so faint I'd assume this OpenCluster is distant therefore very large. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 The OpenCluster is a salt-and-pepper speckling of mainly faint stars displaying a central knot. The brightest stars are in the central knot and a bar extending from the center to the following (or finder chart) edge and a bar from the center to the south preceeding edge. These brightest stars form the boomerang-shape. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 930 pm EST. M36, M37, and M38 are all pretty large pretty bright circular glows of unresolved stars. They're in a nearly straight line with only M37 outside of the pentagon of Auriga. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 750 PM EST. pretty large round glow with no resolution. north following-most of 3 "stars". The other 2 are real stars, about 7 magnitude.
0528.6+3550	oc	M38	5	97	6.4 9.5m*	21 i	III 2 m/II 2 r	Aur
Observation on Fri 1984/11/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Denser than OpenCluster n1960 (at 0534). Approximately the same shape. Many doubles that turn into triples if I study long enough. Roughly star-shaped. Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System calls this PI-shaped. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 The brightest stars are organized into nearly straight lines that radiate north south preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart) of OpenCluster center. The north arm is curved toward the following (or finder chart). following (or finder chart) the following (or finder chart) arm are the 2 brightest stars in the field. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 930 pm EST. M36, M37, and M38 are all pretty large pretty bright circular glows of unresolved stars. They're in a nearly straight line with only M37 outside of the pentagon of Auriga. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 740 PM EST. pretty large round glow with no resolution. Located at the north point of a 2° eye-outline-shape.
2132.2+4827	oc	M39	9	86	4.6 6.83m*	32	III 2 p/III 2 m	Cyg
Observation on Wed 1985/01/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 A lot like the Beehive. Just as bright and dense and rich but much smaller. Found using Deneb north following to arrow asterism which points to line asterism. Follow the line following (or finder chart) for twice its length. Observation on Sat 1986/08/02 at Utica, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Obvious in binoculars. Observation on Fri 1988/08/19 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=4/9 The brightest stars which there are a lot of form a triangle-shape with one point pointing to the psp. A loose 40 arcminutes OpenCluster which has very few faint stars compared to the number of bright ones. Probably very close in space. Observation on Wed 1991/10/16 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 Detailed cmap completed. Observation on Thu 1993/07/15 at Zion Campground, Zion National Park, UT using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 1026 PM MDT. Triangle shape of about 10 stars + glow. 2 cluster stars and 1 non-cluster star form an equally spaced line north preceeding-south following. south following-most of those 3 is the non-member. Observation on Fri 1993/09/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Drawing was updated a bit. Riyad sees 1 magnitude fainter. Observation on Fri 1994/12/02 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 35 arcminutes Equilaterial triangle of 15 8 to 9 magnitude stars with many fainter stars. Sides of triangle are in pa 105°, 165°, and 45°. Corners are at 135°, 85° and 25°. Not condensed at all. Rich field, but stands out well because of the very extremely bright members. There are many fainter stars but its impossible to know which are part of the OpenCluster and which are background stars. The spike of stars just left of center of Deep Sky Magazine, September, 1991, page 45 picture was not seen, but the bright clump around the bright star at left edge is very pretty, and the clump of faint stars just north of that spike is visible at 131 power magnification and higher. The north following-most star in the OpenCluster is a pretty red-blue wide pair. following (or finder chart) that pair is a 5 arcminutes wide dark lane which runs in pa 15°, and right on the other side of the dark lane from the red-blue star is a beautiful condensed 3 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 0° bowtie-shaped group of 22 13..15 magnitude stars. The bowtie is seen when viewed with following (or finder chart) on the bottom. Its a misty patch at 43 power magnification which resolves nicely at higher powers. The dark lane can be traced about 1.5°s, then you run into stars. Right there, turn following (or finder chart) and follow the very wide dark lane, b168. This can be traced easily for about 3° toward the i5146 cocoon BrightNebula. Both north and south of this 1°-wide dark lane are rich star fields. Observation on Sat 2016/06/25 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=3/9 transparancy=5/9 50 arcminutes cluster of about 20 9 magnitude or brighter stars, and another 20 of 10 magnitude and 11 magnitude, with several fainter stars especially to the north preceeding.
122219.071+580510.77	ms	M40	2	47	9.0 9.3	50.1"83°	F8	UMa
Observation on Sun 1985/03/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy. Near bright star. 9 magnitude star, 9.3 magnitude star 50 arcseconds in position angle 83°. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 Easy double. bright 6 magnitude Sky Atlas 2000.0star 70 UMa 20 arcminutes south south preceeding.
0647.0-2043	oc	M41	19	318	4.5 6.9m*	38 round	II 3 m/I 3 r	CMa
Observation on Wed 1985/01/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 It doesn't look like 2 groups to me. 2 red 8 magnitude stars surrounded by 60-70 fainter. Fits 122 power magnification nicely. Too bad the city leaves a bright background glow. Located 4° due south of Sirius. Observation on Sat 1988/02/13 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 large bright circular OpenCluster. Center star red. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 820 pm EST. pretty large round grouping of about 15 stars located almost 1 binocular field south (and just a little following (or finder chart)) of Sirius. bright star is just outside the south following edge of the cluster.
0535.3-0523	gn	M42	11	225	5 2.9m*	66x60	E+R	Ori
Observation on Sun 1984/12/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Gorgeous bright nebula with a bite taken out. bright 4 star multiple near the bite. Observation on Wed 1985/02/27 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I can't see stars east following (or finder chart) or h on Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System page 1327. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 810 pm EST. 2 bright stars with a very bright pretty large 30 arcminutes glow surrounding. Glow extends much further to the preceeding (or picture) of the stars than the following (or finder chart), and just a bit further south than north. The glow is oval-shaped with a ratio of about 3 to 2, aligned 90°. Observation on Sun 1995/10/22 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 I've been so overwhelmed by M42 that in almost 11 years of telescopic observation with perhaps 200 times of observing it, I've written a grand total of 15 words of observing notes. How did I ever get my Messier certificate? Its time to make amends. In 68 power magnification with no filter, M42 is a gorgeous site, easily the most detailed nebula in the sky. The 37 arcminutes field is completely aglow, with more nebulosity outside the field toward the south. The trapezium is at one end of a dark bite in the nebula that points following (or finder chart). This dark nebula is often called the fish's mouth, or Sinus Magnus, the Great Gulf. A look at the complete field makes the fish rather obvious. Just preceeding (or picture) the trapezium is the brightest part of the nebula itself. Its definitely green, with the strongest green nearest to the trapezium and becoming paler green as it moves outward from there. The green area is definitely square-shaped, with a very sharp and straight cutoff toward the south preceeding and south following. The north preceeding edge of the square is a bit less squared-off and is softer. There's all kinds of texture throughout M42, especially in and near this inner square. At 478 power magnification, this region is a mass of overlapping swirls of nebulosity which I've read others describe as cirrus. Steve Coe calls them storm clouds. The bright central area surrounding the Trapezium is named Regio Huygeniana. Moving preceeding (or picture) from the trapezium is a whisp of very bright nebulosity that becomes thinner the further I move from the trapezium. About 20 arcminutes away from the trapezium is a fork where part of the nebulosity continues in a straight line, and the other fork sharply bends to the south following and runs in that direction for a small distance. Running south following from the trapezium is a thick whisp of nebulosity that curls gradually toward the south, and this has just the slightest reddish twinge to it. It has a real sharp cutoff on the inside (preceeding (or picture)), and is much more gradual cutoff on the outside (following (or finder chart)). This whisp is broken into two tendrils, Proboscis Major and Proboscis Minur, the Greater and Lesser Trunks. The darkness between is dubbed Regio Messierana. Running south preceeding from the trapezium is the real sharp edge of green mentioned before, then a very thin 1 arcminutes dark lane, and then faint gray nebulosity picks up again. Running north following, in addition to the fish's mouth there's a dark lane a few arcminutes wide separating M42 from M43. M43 is a definite comma-shape of nebulosity, which I'll describe in two parts. The M42-ward, round part of the comma has a bright star embedded off-center toward the north following. Attaching to the north following quadrant of the round part is the fainter arc part of the comma. It shows white nebulosity toward the north preceeding and lack of nebulosity toward the north following. At 170 power magnification, there's a definite dark lane between the round part and the arc part, so the arc part is really a separate detached nebula that's about 6 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes. Another part of M42 that looks a little bit reddish is the south preceeding-most edge of the nebula. A whisp of nebulosity bends south preceeding, with the strongest reddish twinge along its north preceeding edge. 6 stars are easy in the trapezium at 170 power magnification. The two stars that are added to the 4 bright stars of the trapezium are one thats between the 2 north preceeding stars (east on my diagram, 11 magnitude), and another that's right following (or finder chart) the south-most star (following (or finder chart) on my diagram, 11 magnitude). The texture in this part of the nebula becomes much more enhanced at 170 power magnification. Along the wing that comes away from the trapezium toward the following (or finder chart), there's a long thin piece of nebulosity thats detached, north of the main wing. With the Lumicon UHC filter, the brightest part of the nebula is about 40 arcminutes. In the south part of the nebula is a large oval 30 arcminutes by 15 arcminutes in position angle 90° hole missing nebulosity, surrounded by a by a loop of faint nebulosity further south which almost reaches the bright stars south of M42. This loop connects the preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart) wings of M42. The following (or finder chart) edge of M42 is much sharper than the preceeding (or picture) edge, which just gradually fades into background sky.
0535.5-0516	gn	M43	11	225	vBT 6.85m*	20x15	E+R	Ori
Observation on Tue 1985/02/19 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Tried all Lumicon UHC filter/powers. Observation on Thu 1985/11/07 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Surrounds NU Ori. Easy at 49 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter and 122 power magnification. Poor at 122 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. pretty faint under best conditions. Observation on Sun 1988/01/10 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=4/9 very faint glow around the star just north of Orion nebula. Tonight I found it easiest at 49 power magnification alone. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Sun 1995/10/22 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 See tonight's observations of M42.
0840.0+1959	oc	M44	12	141	3.1 6.3m*	95	II 2 m/II 3 m	Cnc
Observation on Mon 1984/11/12 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 25 very bright stars in almost 50 arcminutes. Located at the center of the triangle formed by Pollux, Procyon and Regulus. Observation on Sat 1988/02/13 at Utica, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 Easily seen in viewfinder and a nice sight in binoculars, too. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Several bright multiple stars. Very sparse in any telescopic power. Best view is through viewfinder or binoculars. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Fairly sparse 90 arcminutes round group of about 80 6 to 13 magnitude stars. Even spread in magnitude. Pretty yellow / blue pair at center. Very isolated. Well detached. Not condensed. Observation on Wed 1992/05/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 None of the egs on picture Sky and Telescope Magazine, March, 1990, page 347 were seen at 122 power magnification. M44 is pretty low, but I suspect I need more aperture to see them. By the way, M44 has a 20 arcminutes house-shape of bright stars in the center. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 915 PM EST. very bright very large (1.5°) round group of at least 20 stars. Many fainter outliners beyond the 1.5° are probably not members. Easy find just a bit Castorward of the center of the triangle made by Castor, Procyon, and Regulus. Located in the center of a 3° triangle of 5 magnitude stars. At the averted vision naked-eye limit for this site after I know where to look. This is really one of the better binocular objects in the sky. No noticable nebulousity. Observation on Sun 1995/04/02 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=8/9 transparancy=5/9 Doesn't quite fit into the 30 power magnification field. Many outstandingly colorful stars. A tight 3 arcminutes triangle of a very red, blue, and purple star is just a bit following (or finder chart) the center of the cluster and points in pa 30°. Another triangle is near the north preceeding edge of the cluster and contains a yellow, blue, and purple stars in a slightly larger triangle. 14 arcminutes south from the first triangle is a 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes triangle of stars which points in pa 210° with a red star at the south point and 2 blue stars along the north edge. Just south following those is a wide pair that look yellowish and blueish. There's a chevron-shape of bright stars at the north preceeding edge of the cluster which points toward the north preceeding (actually pa 150°). The second triangle mentioned above is at the north following corner of that chevron. Cluster is not condensed at all, but stands out extremely well from the field and is naked eye even in these hazy skies.
0347.0+2407	oc	M45	4	132	1.2 2.87m*	110	I 3 r n	Tau
Observation on Thu 1984/10/25 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Huge easy dipper-shaped group of bright stars. Easily seeable with naked eye. Won't nearly fit in 49 power magnification. Best overall view is through viewfinder. 49 power magnification shows many multiple stars. Observation on Thu 1984/12/20 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Saw the 2 flair stars but no magnitude change. Observation on Wed 1985/02/27 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 From Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System page 1884 saw A 20 arcseconds in position angle 100° wrong. B=100"215°. C=4"340°. D=5"260°. E=7"250°. Observation on Mon 1991/08/05 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 Slightly larger than the 30 power magnification field. Counted 50 stars in 1/3 of the cluster at 30 power magnification, so I'll estimate 150 4 to 12 magnitude stars. Most stars are blue-white, but a few are green, a few are blue, and a couple have a hint of yellow. The bowl is toward the preceeding (or picture), and the handle is toward the following (or finder chart). The bowl opens north following. There is an interesting chain of stars south of the star that joins the bowl to the handle. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 800 pm EST. 6 bright stars in the shape of a very short-handled dipper, with about 10 fainter stars surrounding. Fills 1/4 of my binocular field. Right below where the bowl meets the handle, there's a pretty arc-shaped chain of 5 faint stars.
0741.8-1448	oc	M46	12	274	6.1 8.7m*	27	III 2 m/II 2 r	Pup
Observation on Sun 1984/12/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Rich with very faint stars. Observation on Sun 1985/03/10 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easiest to find via M47. Move 25 arcminutes south 6 arcminutes following. Observation on Tue 1985/03/12 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 100 faint stars + PlanetaryNebula n2438 spread across a full 30 arcminutes field. No central knot noted. Not as dense as winter salt-and-pepper but same salt-and-peppery appearance. Observation on Tue 1991/10/15 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=7/9 30 arcminutes cluster of 100 11 to 13 magnitude stars with 2 10 magnitude stars, too. Slightly compressed. Well detached. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 900 pm EST. About 1/4 field finder chartand sketchand finder chart of M47, a very faint pretty large circular glow of unresolved stars. Required averted vision to see.
0736.6-1429	oc	M47	12	274	4.4 5.68m*	30	III 2 m/I 3 m	Pup
Observation on Tue 1985/01/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very bright and large. 60 stars in a 30 arcminutes area. Double stars ads6208 and ads6216 were seen clearly. Observation on Sun 1985/03/10 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 brightest stars sketched. Both doubles seen at 49 power magnification. Both orange stars in Burnham's Celestial Handbook: An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System page 1512 seen. Observation on Tue 1991/10/15 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=7/9 Easy bright 30 arcminutes group of about 70 5 to 13 magnitude stars. Central star is a tight double in 61 power magnification. Just north of that double is a greenish star. The star chains here are amazing. Just north of those central stars is a V-shape of 9 stars very nearly in straight lines. south following the central stars is a nearly perfect half-circle of 6 stars. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 850 pm EST. 3 unequally spaced bright stars in a preceeding following line with about 10 fainter ones surrounding the preceeding (or picture)-more 2 of those, mainly toward the south of those 2 stars.
0813.7-0547	oc	M48	12	275	5.8 8.2m*	54.0	I 2 m/I 3 r	Hya
Observation on Sun 1984/12/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 40-50 pretty bright stars and many more faint ones in 50 arcminutes. Observation on Mon 1985/03/18 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Sketched. Best viewed in 49 power magnification. Observation on Thu 1987/03/19 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 There's an south-shape in the middle. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Central knot is pronounced. brightest stars are in central knot and on north edge. Surrounding the central knot is a ring of almost no stars at all then the outliners. Observation on Tue 1991/10/15 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=7/9 large 50 arcminutes cluster of about 70 10 to 13 magnitude stars. Slightly compressed. Well detached. Many 10 magnitude stars in this cluster. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 920 pm EST. very faint pretty small glow which makes a perfect equilateral triangle with 2 stars at the following (or finder chart) edge of Mon (29 and 30 Mon). smaller than M50. No stars resolved.
122946.5+075958	eg	M49	14	193	8.41:9.37	10.23x8.32 155°	E2	Vir
Observation on Sat 1985/02/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 In fair seeing at home I tried 5 times. Sure of location each time. There was 7/8 moon low in the preceeding (or picture). Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same results with no moon. Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 pretty bright glow. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 5 arcminutes faint glow with a 1 arcminutes bright nucleus. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 Same observation + 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes following the bright nucleus. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 pretty bright 3 arcminutes glow gradually brighter in the middle to a 0.5 arcminutes core. 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes following core. Possibly slightly elongated 0°. bright stars 50 arcminutes following and 35 arcminutes preceeding and 50 arcminutes preceeding.
0703.2-0820	oc	M50	12	273	5.9 7.8m*	16.0 oval	II 3 m/II 3 r	Mon
Observation on Tue 1985/01/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fairly rich splash with many doubles. Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 sketch is perfect. Center of the OpenCluster is richer than outlining area. Observation on Fri 1985/03/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Heart-shaped. 1 red star 7 arcminutes south of center. Center is about 7 arcminutes. Full OpenCluster is 30 arcminutes. Observation on Sat 1988/03/05 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 The heart-shape is sideways with the point of the heart to the preceeding (or picture). Those are only the brightest stars. Others surround. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 A central knot of about 15 stars in 7 arcminutes surrounded by a fairly empty area surrounded by the bright heart-shaped outliners. Observation on Sat 1994/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using Sears Dosciver 7x50 Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 910 pm EST. pretty small fuzzy glow. Begin at Sirius, go through GAMMA CMa, then 2 more times that distance in the same direction. There is a bright star just preceeding (or picture) the cluster. No stars were resolved.
132953.3+471148	eg	M51	7	76	8.36:8.96	11.22x6.92 163°	SA(s)bcP I	CVn
Observation on Sun 1985/03/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 small glows. bright star following (or finder chart). Observation on Thu 1986/05/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Mottled surface but no tracable arms. Observation on Mon 1986/06/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Definite mottling glimpsed with averted vision. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 2 1 arcminutes bright non-stellar nuclei aligned north south separated by 7 arcminutes. The south-more is slightly brighter and has a faint 5 arcminutes glow surrounding it. No mottling was seen tonight in that glow. 7 magnitude or 8 magnitude star 20 arcminutes following. Observation on Sun 1990/05/27 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 I'm a little bit disappointed in this one. From these dark skies I was hoping to see lots of clear detail in the Whirlpool but all I see is some mottling at 61 power magnification. Observation on Mon 1994/05/02 at Utica, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=4/9 First light night for Felicity. Easily visible 2 bright cottonballs with a very faint haze surrounding the pair. Observation on Fri 1994/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 First dark-site night for Felicity. Superb view. The spiral arms around the n5194 are clearly visible with direct vision. The connection to the companion n5195 is harder and fainter, but still visible. That arm becomes much brighter in the vicinity of n5195. This sight makes all the time and work involved in making Felicity worthwhile. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Spiral structure obvious. An arm comes out of the south preceeding quadrant of the nucleus and wraps clockwise around the north edge, then the following (or finder chart) edge, and on to the south following edge, where a bright star is just inside the arm. Then the arm becomes fainter and fainter as it wraps south, preceeding (or picture), and north preceeding to n5195. Either I cannot see the other arm, or I'm confusing the arms. Observation on Sat 1994/05/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Showed it to Ed Watson and he agreed that the spiral arms are easy to see. Looked for the supernova, but to no avail. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 I was misinterpreting the arms before, joining the 2 distinct arms together into one arm which wrapped once too many times around the nucleus. The 2 egs are aligned in pa 0°.
132958.7+471621	eg	M51	7	76	9.55:10.45	5.75x4.57 79°	I0P	CVn
Observation on Sun 1990/05/27 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 2 arcminutes glow with an obvious stellar nucleus at all powers.
2324.3+6135	oc	M52	3	34	6.9 8.22m*	13	I 2 r/II 2 r	Cas
Observation on Sat 1984/12/22 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small and gorgeous. One 9 magnitude star surrounded by a dense speckling of many faint 11 magnitude and fainter stars. Find by beginning at AR Cas (2nd star off BETA Cas), 36 arcminutes preceeding, then north to OpenCluster. Observation on Fri 1985/08/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 west south sketch is poor. Observation on Mon 1985/09/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 40 faint stars glimmering around a 9 magnitude star. Most of the faint stars are following (or finder chart) the bright star. Unresolved nebulousity on following (or finder chart) edge. Observation on Sat 1989/09/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Area and detailed cmap sketched. Observation on Thu 1993/07/15 at Zion Campground, Zion National Park, UT using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 1030 PM MDT. small very faint ghostly glow with no stars resolved. Located jost south the line from BETA Cep to IOTA Cep to M52. An arc of 6 faint stars in a cup shape opening to the following (or finder chart) is jost following (or finder chart) the glow, and it reminds me of CrB. brightest nearby star is just north the glow of M52. Observation on Wed 2005/11/02 at Casco Twp Lindsay & Meldrum using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 12 arcminutes round cluster with a red star toward the preceeding (or picture) edge. Many fainter stars are added at 262 power magnification, bringing the total up to well over 100 stars. Not compressed. Stands out well from the field. Interesting grouping a bit following (or finder chart) the center of the cluster. There are 3 pairs of stars, the center is actually 3 stars, and they're oriented like the rays of sunshine a child draws around the sun.
131255+1810.2	gc	M53	14	150	7.7 13.8m*	12.6 i	V	Com
Observation on Sat 1985/02/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 5 stars barely resolved. Very difficult. Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same results. Observation on Wed 1985/05/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 5 or 10 stars barely resolved against the haze with 272 power magnification. very faint. Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 large bright glow with 5-10 stars resolved at 272 power magnification. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very bright. More like 20-30 stars resolved at 272 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1988/06/04 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 About 10-15 stars resolved over the central glow at 272 power magnification. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Same observation, plus there is a bright star at the south following edge, and a 10 magnitude pair is 10 arcminutes in position angle 160°. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 At high power, I have about 50 stars resolved over the bright central glow. Oddly, there are almost no stars following (or finder chart) the glow. Observation on Mon 1997/06/09 22:25:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Pretty compressed, with a 2 arcminutes diameter glow and stars resolved over the center and out to a diameter of 4 arcminutes. Resolves easily at 262 power magnification. 11 magnitude star or 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 15° from center.
185503-3028.7	gc	M54	22	378	7.7 15.2m*	9.1 round	III	Sgr
Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Nearly stellar and all alone in the field at 49 power magnification. 122 power magnification and 272 power magnification don't resolve at all but clearly show its a GlobularCluster. Observation on Sun 1988/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 very bright central 1 arcminutes surrounded by a faint 3 arcminutes glow. No resolution at 122 power magnification or 272 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1992/08/29 at Fish Lake, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Suddenly very bright stellar 1 arcminutes core with 1 2 arcminutes glow surrounding. No resolution. 10 magnitude star 15 arcminutes following south following.
193959-3057.7	gc	M55	22	379	6.3 11.2m*	19.0 round	XI	Sgr
Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very large and very faint glow at 49 power magnification. At 122 power magnification the glow disappears but I resolve about 10 stars. Observation on Mon 1988/08/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Extremely difficult to see at 49 power magnification. Required meridian. 1 hour preceeding (or picture) meridian in tree notch I was unable to see. In 122 power magnification I resolve about 30 stars with no underlying glow at all. Observation on Sat 1992/08/22 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=4/9 very faint 5 arcminutes glow with a few resolved stars at 122 power magnification.
191636+3011.1	gc	M56	8	118	8.4 13.0pm*	7.1 i	X	Lyr
Observation on Thu 1985/06/13 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint. Hints of resolution at 122 power magnification and 272 power magnification. Use THETA Lyr to find. Observation on Sun 1987/07/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 10 stars resolved in 272 power magnification + averted vision in the central 3 arcminutes. About 20 more stars out to about 5 arcminutes. Those 20 stars are beyond the quoted size but they sure look isolated and faint enough to be members. Observation on Sat 1992/08/01 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 4 arcminutes very soft glow with a few stars resolved at 122 power magnification. Not really brighter in the middle -- pretty even glow. 9 magnitude star about 3 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Sat 1993/10/23 at Doug Bock's house, Fenton, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=4/9 3 arcminutes very soft glow with about 20 12 magnitude and fainter stars sprinkled in the surrounding 5 arcminutes. 8 magnitude star 5 arcminutes preceeding. Best at 188 power magnification. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 Very unremarkable 3 arcminutes round glow with about 15 stars resolved at 378 power magnification. Easy find 1/2 of the way from Albireo to GAMMA Lyr.
185335.09+330144.5	pn	M57	8	117	9.7 14.8m*	86"x62"/150"	4+3	Lyr
Observation on Mon 1984/10/29 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small fuzzy and faint. I could see the outside and the inside of the donut-shape. Observation on Mon 1985/06/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 With reticle, I measured it at 6 seconds transit = 1.25 arcminutes. Observation on Sun 1988/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 After 4 years of observation this there's still not a better description than "a bright easy donut-shape". Its easily seen in 49 power magnification and 122 power magnification both without Lumicon UHC filter. Lumicon UHC filter doesn't enhance it at all. Several neighbors have seen it in my telescope and none has had trouble seeing the donut structure. I've never seen the central star. Observation on Mon 1992/07/27 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Elongated in 70°. very faint 13 magnitude star 2 arcminutes following. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1042 PM MST. Not seen. Observation on Sat 1993/08/14 at Port Austin, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 No central star was seen, but an extremely faint star is 30 arcseconds following. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 That extremely faint star 30 arcseconds following is not so faint at all in Felicity. PlanetaryNebula is elongated about 9 to 7 in pa 60°. 2 extremely faint stars 1 arcminutes preceeding. Still no central star was seen, in either Felicity or Fred Judd's 16 inch f4.5. Observation on Mon 1995/07/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Cannot see either of the stars inside the ring, nor either of the 2 stars on the ring. Several faint stars surround. Observation on Sat 1995/09/23 at Birmingham, OH using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 I see no stars on the ring, but at the very center is a very subtly peak which might be the central star. It appears best at 478 power magnification. That is the only thing that I see within the ring, though, so since there are brighter stars than the central star inside the ring this observation is doubtful. Observation on Fri 2005/09/30 at Casco Twp Lindsay & Meldrum using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 Elongated 90°. brighter on the following (or finder chart) edge than the preceeding (or picture) edge. 13 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 105°. 14 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 315°. At 378 power magnification still no central star shows.
123744.2+114911	eg	M58	14	194	9.66:10.48	5.89x4.68 95°	SAB(rs)b	Vir
Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 arcminutes circular glow. very bright star 5 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 2 arcminutes glow with a bright stellar nucleus. 8 magnitude star 8 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Exact same observation. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 large and very faint 3 arcminutes round halo with a 10 magnitude 1 arcminutes core with wings which run in pa 60°. Looks like the bar of a face-on barred spiral. 8 magnitude star 10 arcminutes preceeding.
124202.5+113849	eg	M59	14	194	9.63:10.57	5.37x3.72 165°	E5	Vir
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 3 arcminutes glow. bright star 10 arcminutes north preceeding. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 2 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes north south glow surrounding an 122 power magnification stellar nucleus. Observation on Sun 1992/05/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 3 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 15° glow becomes gradually slightly brighter to a nonstellar core, and at 122 power magnification, to a 12 magnitude stellar nucleus. Forms a 3-4-5 right triangle with a 10 magnitude star 6 arcminutes in position angle 10° and a 9 magnitude Uranometria 2000.0star 10 arcminutes in position angle 315°. 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes north. 12 magnitude star 4 arcminutes preceeding. The much larger and brighter M60 is 30 arcminutes following. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 3 arcminutes by 1.5 arcminutes in position angle 0° halo with bright core and 11 magnitude stellar nucleus. 11 magnitude star in north tip. M60 30 arcminutes in position angle 105°. 9 magnitude star 8 arcminutes in position angle 30°. 8 magnitude star 10 arcminutes in position angle 330°. Just south of the line connecting M59 and M60 are n4637 and n4638.
124340.3+113258	eg	M60	14	194	8.84:9.81	7.41x6.03 105°	E2	Vir
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 4 arcminutes very bright glow. bright star 20 arcminutes north preceeding. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 At 122 power magnification I see a 10 magnitude stellar nucleus with a gradually fading glow out to about 3 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes preceeding following. Observation on Sun 1992/05/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 3 arcminutes round glow gradually much brighter in the middle to a sudden 11 magnitude stellar nucleus at 122 power magnification. n4647 is an very extremely faint 1.5 arcminutes glow 3 arcminutes north preceeding. M59 30 arcminutes in position angle 285°. 9 magnitude Uranometria 2000.0star 20 arcminutes north preceeding. 10 magnitude star 18 arcminutes following. 12 magnitude star 6 arcminutes north north following. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Almost in contact with n4647 4 arcminutes in position angle 330°. pretty large faint 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 105° homogenous halo with a bright 11 magnitude nonstellar core. 11 magnitude star 8 arcminutes in position angle 60°. 12 magnitude star 8 arcminutes in position angle 165° is part of a tiny triangle. Nearest Uranometria 2000.0star is 9 magnitude 20 arcminutes in position angle 330°. Just south of the line connecting M59 and M60 are n4637 and n4638.
122154.7+042820	eg	M61	14	238	9.65:10.18	6.46x5.75	SAB(rs)bc I	Vir
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint glow. Observation on Tue 1988/05/17 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=3/9 Not found, or not observed. Sure of location. Observation on Wed 1988/05/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=3/9 extremely faint 1 arcminutes glow forms a 30 arcminutes equilateral triangle with a 8 magnitude star north preceeding and a 10 magnitude star north following. Observation on Wed 1991/06/05 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 pretty bright 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 45° glow with a bright stellar nucleus. The triangle mentioned before is not an equilateral, but a right triangle with M61 at the 90° vertex. The stars in that triangle are 8 magnitude star 18 arcminutes in position angle 250° and 10 magnitude star 27 arcminutes in position angle 10°. Observation on Sat 1996/02/24 at Doug Bock's house, Fenton, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 3 arcminutes round fairly bright glow with mottling in the halo and a bright 12 magnitude stellar nucleus. Looks very much like a face-on spiral. 14 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 225°. No sign of n4303a. Observation on Fri 1996/03/22 at Ed Watson's, Forestville MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 4 arcminutes round glow very gradually brighter in the middle. Very mottled. very bright stellar nucleus. Definitely saw a spiral arm running tangent to the pa 60° edge of the glow, running out toward pa 330°. It then takes a sharp turn toward pa 240°. There is a star superimposed right at that bend. Tangent to the pa 240° edge of the glow and running in pa 150° is another arm, but much fainter. 14 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 60°.
170113-3006.8	gc	M62	22	376	6.4 13.0pm*	14.1	IV	Oph
Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Nearly stellar center with slight 5 arcminutes haze at 49 power magnification. Not bright but still conspicuous in the field. 122 power magnification shows unresolved glow. 272 power magnification gives hint at resolution but no stars for sure. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Not round. Oval-shaped north south with central bright glow off center to the north preceeding. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 pretty faint 3 arcminutes GlobularCluster brighter in the middle to a 0.5 arcminutes bright core. No resolution at 122 power magnification. Core appears centered tonight. Possibly slightly elongated 45°. 13 magnitude star 4 arcminutes south following. 12 magnitude star 8 arcminutes south preceeding. 9 magnitude star 20 arcminutes south preceeding. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Tried to see the beard Steve Coe mentioned, but couldn't. Perhaps there's too much skyglow here. Try from Hawthorn Hollow. Observation on Wed 1992/05/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 Central glow is off-center to the preceeding (or picture). Most faint stars are off the south following, following (or finder chart), and north following edges of the glow, and almost none are preceeding (or picture). That must be the beard Steve Coe mentioned. Observation on Thu 1993/07/15 at Zion Campground, Zion National Park, UT using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 1020 PM MDT. very faint very small round glow slightly brighter in the middle. Barely nonstellar. 9 magnitude star just north. Observation on Fri 1997/06/27 23:53:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Located in an area rich in gcs; 15 in a 15° circle. largest and brightest GlobularCluster in the area. 3 arcminutes glow slightly elongated south preceeding-north following, gradually brighter in the middle until a suddenly much brighter 0.5 arcminutes core is reached. Looks like the south following edge is blocked by an intervening dust cloud. Very well resolved, with a bunch of 13 magnitude stars preceeding (or picture) and north preceeding, just outside the glow. Observation on Mon 1997/08/04 10:50:00 EDT at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 very small core compared to the size of the resolved halo. 3 brightness tiers. Pretty intense 1 arcminutes bright core, then fainter glow that's 3 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes elongated roughtly 0°. Resolved stars form the 3rd tier, roughly 5 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 0°. small bright core fades very suddenly to the fainter glow. Outer core is flattened on the north following side, though Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects says south following.
131549.3+420206	eg	M63	7	76	8.59:9.31	12.59x7.24 105°	SA(rs)bc II	CVn
Observation on Wed 1985/05/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint 3 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes preceeding following streak. Observation on Thu 1986/05/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 pretty faint. 6 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes preceeding following glow. Steady brightness increase towards the nucleus which is off-center to the south. Observation on Mon 1987/06/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 9 magnitude star 3 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Sun 1992/05/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 100° glow which is fairly bright but is overpowered by a 9 magnitude star 4 arcminutes in position angle 80°. Central 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes is mottled, but a persistant 12 magnitude stellar spot is assumed to be the nucleus. south edge of the Galaxy ends more abruptly than the north edge, making the nucleus appear off-center to the south. Probably a dust lane. !Comparing picture Atlas of Deep-Sky Splendors page 142, I'm not seeing the arms at all. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 pretty bright oval glow with ratio of 3 to 1, in pa 100°. Gradually brighter in the middle to a core, then suddenly much brighter at a stellar nucleus. south edge of Galaxy is sharper than north edge.
125644.3+214105	eg	M64	7	149	8.52:9.36	10.00x5.37 115°	(R)SA(rs)ab	Com
Observation on Thu 1986/05/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint 7 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 120° glow. No black edge spotted but the brightest area is off-center to the south. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 large bright 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 120° glow. Very gradual brightness increase towards the nucleus which is off-center to the south. Observation on Sun 1992/05/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 large bright 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 110° mottled glow at 122 power magnification with a stellar nucleus which is slightly off-center toward the preceeding (or picture). I do not see any arms or the dark lane at 122 power magnification, 65 power magnification, 49 power magnification, or 30 power magnification. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 very bright 6 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 95° glow. Entire disk is very bright, and becomes a very little bit brighter toward the center until a suddenly very extremely bright 10 magnitude stellar nucleus. At 1 arcminutes in position angle 60° from the nucleus is the black eye, easy with averted vision. Its about 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes, in an arc shape with the nucleus located toward the center of the curved arc. 10 magnitude star 5 arcminutes in position angle 60°.
111855.3+130535	eg	M65	13	191	9.33:10.25	9.77x2.88 174°	SAB(rs)ab II	Leo
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy find with M66 in field. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 6 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes north south glow. Not very bright, distinctly non-stellar nucleus -- at 122 power magnification it looks like its about 1.5 arcminutes by 1.5 arcminutes. 11 magnitude star on south preceeding edge. Observation on Mon 1992/04/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=9/9 Very soft and pretty faint 5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 175° glow becomes suddenly much brighter in the middle at a 1.5 arcminutes round core. I see no stellar nucleus within that core. No dust lane was seen. Observation on Sat 1994/05/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 pretty bright 8 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 160° oval which becomes gradually brighter to a 3 arcminutes round core and then very suddenly to an 11 magnitude stellar nucleus. Core becomes gradually brighter toward the nucleus, then the nucleus really jumps out. No dark lanes show up. 10 magnitude star 4 arcminutes south. 11 magnitude star 4 arcminutes in position angle 30°. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 very bright 8 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 165° streak slightly brighter in the middle to a 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes in position angle 45° core with a stellar nucleus superimposed at the center. Halo is brighter on the north side than on the south side, and on the north side it has a bit of a curve toward the following (or finder chart). I see no texture in the halo, but the following (or finder chart) side of the Galaxy is cutoff more sharply than the preceeding (or picture) side, so I might be seeing a dark lane on the following (or finder chart) side, but I see no glow from the Galaxy beyond the supposed dark lane. 11 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 210° from nucleus. 12 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 45°. M66 20 arcminutes in position angle 120°. Observation on Sat 1995/04/22 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Core in pa 330°. Arm on the north side of the Galaxy seems to be brighter on the preceeding (or picture) edge, making me suspect it comes out of the preceeding (or picture) edge of the core. Arm on south side seems to come out of the following (or finder chart) edge of the core.
112014.5+125942	eg	M66	13	191	8.92:9.65	9.12x4.17 173°	SAB(s)bc II	Leo
Observation on Wed 1985/02/27 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small faint smear. At 49 power magnification its the 3rd "star" of 3 in a line each 5 arcminutes apart. Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy find with M65. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 bright 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 150° glow. Pretty stellar nucleus seems to be off-center towards the preceeding (or picture) edge. 9 magnitude star couple'np. Observation on Mon 1992/04/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=9/9 pretty bright 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 0° glow which becomes gradually brighter in the middle to a 1.5 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes in position angle 0° core with a stellar nucleus at the center. 10 magnitude star 5 arcminutes north preceeding. Observation on Sat 1994/05/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 pretty bright 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 0° glow with a bright 2 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 135° core and a very bright nonstellar nucleus. No dark lanes show. Chain of bright stars preceeding (or picture). Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 bright very large 6 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 15° irregularly-shaped glow with a 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes in position angle 150° core and a stellar nucleus inside it. The halo is of very uneven surface brightness. At 170 power magnification, I see an appendage coming out of the south edge of the main halo which curves toward the south preceeding and ends on a star that is 4 arcminutes in position angle 210° from the core. The offset in angle between the halo and the core is obvious at this power. M65 20 arcminutes in position angle 300°. 4 9 magnitude stars just north preceeding the Galaxy. The closest is 4 arcminutes in position angle 330° from the core. The 2nd is 7 arcminutes in position angle 330°.
0850.4+1149	oc	M67	12	187	6.9 9.7m*	30	II 2 m/III 3 r	Cnc
Observation on Sun 1984/12/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Medium-rich speckling of faint stars in an empty background field. Only a few bright stars. Sort of like winter salt-and-pepper. Fills an 122 power magnification field. This is an old OpenCluster. Should see several red giants. Observation on Thu 1985/02/07 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 50 member stars seen. All faint except 1 red giant. The rest were too faint to see any color. Observation on Wed 1985/02/27 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 No color seen. 60 stars. Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 sketch has fewer stars than I see at 49 power magnification. 12 arcminutes south preceeding the bright star is a super dense nebulous area. Observation on Mon 1985/04/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 The south preceeding corner is extremely rich. Its a great area to use 272 power magnification on with averted vision. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Round 15 arcminutes group of about 60 10 to 13 magnitude stars just 10 arcminutes preceeding south preceeding an 8 magnitude stars. Looks poor at first, but the longer I look the more stars appear and the group begins to look dense. No star colors were seen. Well isolated. A few condensations of faint stars, especially on the psp side. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 935 PM EST. very extremely faint 30 arcminutes unresolved glow. Near the limit of direct vision with binoculars. Located as the center of 5 stars in the "dish of the radio telescope" asterism, a slightly curved 4° chain of 5 6 magnitude stars with ALPHA Cnc at one end. The dish curves such that the "feed" is a pair of 6 magnitude stars 5°n, which turn out to be OMICRON-1 and OMICRON-2 Cnc. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Easy in finder. Gorgeous rich cluster of at least 100 and probably more than 150 stars. 25 arcminutes fan shape with bright star at north edge, which is where the fan points. south edge is ragged, but the other 2 edges of the triangle appear pretty sharp. No red stars noticed. Quite a condensation of stars at pa 225° about 5 arcminutes from the edge. This condensation is in the Sky and Telescope Magazine, March, 1989, page picture, stars D, east, following (or finder chart), K area. I used that picture to derive a limiting magnitude for tonight of 15.4 magnitude, based on seeing star north (15.30 magnitude) but not seeing star O (15.58 magnitude) or star preceeding (or picture). Observation on Sun 1995/04/02 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=8/9 transparancy=5/9 The condensation in the preceeding (or picture) quadrant is in an area with no bright stars which is surrounded by a semicircle of brighter stars on the north, following (or finder chart), and south side. The brightest star in the field is a blue 8 magnitude star 10 arcminutes north following the center. The brightest stars in the cluster form an elongated 10 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 30° ellipse. Other equally bright stars are mainly at the north north preceeding edge of the cluster. A couple of stars have a very pale tinge of reddishness to them, but no outstandingly colorful stars were seen. Observation on Sat 1995/05/06 at Note added at desk, not observing using Note added at desk, no equipment used seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Precessed 2000.0 coordinates from the RNGC are 085104+114821.
123928-2644.6	gc	M68	21	329	7.3 12.6m*	12.0 i	X	Hya
Observation on Tue 1987/06/16 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Way following (or finder chart) meridian. Sure of location. Observation on Tue 1988/05/17 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=3/9 extremely faint 3 arcminutes glow with no resolution. Just barely glimpsed. Has a very tough time competing against the skyglow. Forms a near-equilateral triangle with a 9 magnitude star 10 arcminutes south preceeding and 10 magnitude star 10 arcminutes south following. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Same observation, except slightly mottled at 122 power magnification.
183123-3220.9	gc	M69	22	378	7.7 13.7m*	7.1 round	V	Sgr
Observation on Sun 1988/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 extremely faint glow. 9 magnitude star 7 arcminutes north north preceeding. Found it in a 10 min notch in the trees. Requires 49 power magnification + averted vision. Pretty solid glow at 122 power magnification but no resolution. Can't hold it in 272 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1992/08/29 at Fish Lake, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Rather sickly 2 arcminutes round glow with no resolution. Located 7 arcminutes south following a 9 magnitude star. Due preceeding (or picture) of M70.
184313-3217.5	gc	M70	22	378	7.8 14.0pm*	7.8 round	V	Sgr
Observation on Sun 1988/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 extremely faint glow. 10 magnitude star 4 arcminutes north. Found in a 10 minute notch in the trees. 11 magnitude star 1 arcminutes north following. Very slight resolution at 272 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1992/08/29 at Fish Lake, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 Another sickly 2 arcminutes round glow with no resolution. Located 15 arcminutes north following following a 9 magnitude star. Due following (or finder chart) M69.
195346+1846.7	gc	M71	16	162	8.4 12.1m*	7.2		Sge
Observation on Fri 1985/08/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 20 faint stars resolved over a slight glow at both 122 power magnification and 272 power magnification. faint but seeable at 49 power magnification. Observation on Wed 1985/09/11 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Looks more like an OpenCluster than GlobularCluster to me. Too resolved for GlobularCluster. No haze. Not round. To find, put the near double star on preceeding (or picture) edge and just a little south in 49 power magnification. GlobularCluster now should be centered in 122 power magnification. Observation on Sun 1987/09/13 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 There is indeed a lot of resolution but there's also a glow underneath. Observation on Mon 1992/07/27 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 5 arcminutes irregularly round glow with about 10 faint stars resolved. Very irregular shape. Most prominent resolved stars form a nearly preceeding (or picture)-following (or finder chart) line. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Well-resolved irregularly shaped GlobularCluster. Elongated 90° overall with very irregular outline. Unresolved glow under the resolved stars.
205328-1232.2	gc	M72	16	299	9.2 14.2m*	5.9 round	IX	Aqr
Observation on Mon 1986/08/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint glow barely discernable in 49 power magnification or 122 power magnification and still at 272 power magnification but with no stars ever resolved. following (or finder chart) an optical 9 magnitude 11 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 330° double. Field sketched. Observation on Sat 1988/08/06 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 Exact same observation except it is preceeding (or picture) (not following (or finder chart)) the wide pair of stars. Observation on Sat 1994/08/06 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 pretty faint 3 arcminutes GlobularCluster MBM. Mottled but not resolved at 170 power magnification. Just barely marginally resolved at 262 power magnification. 8 magnitude/9 magnitude pair 7 arcminutes following.
2059.1-1238	oc	M73	16	299	8.9p 10.00pm*	2.8	IV 1 p	Aqr
Observation on Mon 1986/08/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 arcminutes Y-shaped asterism. No nebulousity seen. Lumicon UHC filter shows no nebulousity. Observation on Wed 1987/09/23 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 small 2 arcminutes faint OpenCluster of 4 stars in a Y-shape.
013642.1+154711	eg	M74	10	173	9.39:9.95	10.47x9.55 25°	SA(s)c I	Psc
Observation on Tue 1986/10/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1987/10/23 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Using Atlas of Deep-Sky Splendors page 35 I could hop from ETA to M74 and just barely see an extremely faint glow. Observation on Mon 1988/01/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=4/9 Using same procedure I saw an extremely faint 2 arcminutes glow. Orion Light Pollution Rejection filter enhances ever-so-slightly. Observation on Sat 1993/10/23 at Doug Bock's house, Fenton, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 4 arcminutes extremely faint glow with a few superimposed 13 magnitude stars. Very slightly brighter in the middle. Mottled. Observation on Sat 1994/09/03 at Doug Bock's house, Fenton, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 very bright 1 arcminutes core with a faint 4 arcminutes glow surrounding. Close field stars within 10 arcminutes at 60° and 240°.
200605-2155.3	gc	M75	23	343	8.6 14.6m*	6.0 round	I	Sgr
Observation on Sat 1986/06/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very small (nearly stellar) at 49 power magnification, but seems brighter than 8.5 magnitude. 122 power magnification and 272 power magnification prove its a GlobularCluster but don't resolve. Observation on Sat 1988/08/06 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 Exact same observation. The skyglow really ruins this GlobularCluster. Only about 1 arcminutes shows through and I don't resolve any stars at any power. Observation on Mon 1990/09/17 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 Tiny GlobularCluster with an intensely bright core and a faint 3 arcminutes halo. A couple of stars resolved at 272 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1994/10/01 at Boon, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 pretty bright 2 arcminutes glow very slightly elongated 45° with a very bright 30 arcseconds core. stars resolve over the glow with averted vision. A few very extremely faint stars are outside the glow to a 3 arcminutes diameter with averted vision. All this is at 262 power magnification. At 378 power magnification, the core has a bright nuclear pip. A crescent of 4 11 magnitude stars outlines the cluster at a 6 arcminutes diameter on the north, following (or finder chart), and south edges.
014219.7+513435	pn	M76	1	37	8.0 12m*	65"	3+6	Per
Observation on Sun 1985/02/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Nothing seen without Lumicon UHC filter. With Lumicon UHC filter a haze was seen at all powers. Confirmed with star at same declination 4 minutes of time following (or finder chart). No distinguishable shape--just a smear. Observation on Thu 1985/11/07 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Hourglass-shape evident at 122 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. very faint. Observation on Mon 1988/01/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=4/9 Easily seen at 49 power magnification alone or with Lumicon UHC filter or Orion Light Pollution Rejection filter. Filters increase definition a lot. Observation on Fri 1990/10/26 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 1.5 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes in position angle 45° bar-shape, pinched in the middle. very faint glow surrounds the whole thing at 122 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 730 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. I have the Sky Atlas 2000.0star right next to it, but see no PlanetaryNebula. Observation on Thu 1995/08/17 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Not found, or not observed.
014219.7+513435	pn	M76	1	37	11 17.00m*	163"x107"	3+6	Per
024240.2-000048	eg	M77	10	220	8.87:9.61	7.08x6.03 70°	(R)SA(rs)bP	Cet
Observation on Tue 1986/10/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy 1 arcminutes fuzzball. Observation on Mon 1988/01/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=4/9 Easy 1 arcminutes glow with a bright center located 2 arcminutes north preceeding a 10 magnitude star. Galaxy n1055 was also found easily because of the easy bright stars near it. Observation on Sat 1993/10/23 at Doug Bock's house, Fenton, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 bright 2 arcminutes glow with a very bright center. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 800 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. Abundant skyglow. Observation on Sat 1996/02/24 at Doug Bock's house, Fenton, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Just a really small 0.5 arcminutes cottonball with this bright moon nearby. 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 120°.
0546.8+0003	gn	M78	11	226	8 10.49m*	8x6	R	Ori
Observation on Wed 1987/02/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint fuzzy 7 arcminutes glow surrounds an 49 power magnification double star. Easy with Lumicon UHC filter. Found by using viewfinder xhairs on the 3 bright stars 2° north and preceeding (or picture). None of the other nebulae in the area were seen. Observation on Wed 1988/02/17 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Not really very hard with 49 power magnification alone. Same description. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 725 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1996/02/16 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 In 131 power magnification, 2 10 magnitude stars separated by about 1 arcminutes in position angle 165° surrounded by a 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes glow. 14 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 135°, and the glow extends out to there. The north edge of the glow is right along the north-more of the 2 bright stars. It extends more to the following (or finder chart) of those 2 stars than to the preceeding (or picture). Lumicon UHC filter shows a dark patch running nearly 90° between the part of the BrightNebula surrounding the 2 bright stars and the part surrounding the 14 magnitude star.
052411-2431.5	gc	M79	19	315	7.7 13.1m*	8.7	V	Lep
Observation on Mon 1987/01/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Near ads3954. faint star 20 arcminutes north and 20 arcminutes south. very faint fuzzball at 49 power magnification. Seeable but not resolved at 272 power magnification. !Should show mottling but probably no resolution.
161703-2258.5	gc	M80	22	336	7.3 13.4m*	8.9	II	Sco
Observation on Tue 1985/05/28 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Will take up to 272 power magnification but no resolution. Too far south. Skyglow. Observation on Mon 1986/06/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not much skyglow but this GlobularCluster is very small and not very bright. No resolution. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 small 2 arcminutes GlobularCluster with a couple of stars resolved finally at 272 power magnification + averted vision. bright 1 arcminutes core with surrounding fainter glow. Located in a 50 arcminutes group of sparse of about 15 9 to 10 magnitude stars including one 10 arcminutes south and one 5 arcminutes north north following. Observation on Fri 1993/07/09 at Trailer Village on South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, AZ using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=9/9 1015 PM MST. Possible very faint very small glow at the right location. Not positive that what I'm looking at is nonstellar. I'm really not sure if thats it or if its averted imagination. Observation on Fri 1996/07/19 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 very bright 4 arcminutes round glow very much brighter in the middle with about 100 faint stars resolved. Very gradually very much brighter in the middle, till a very suddenly very extremely bright 0.5 arcminutes central core is reached. 12 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 30°. 9 magnitude star 5 arcminutes in position angle 30°.
095533.5+690400	eg	M81	2	23	6.94:7.89	26.92x14.13 157°	SA(s)ab I-II	UMa
Observation on Tue 1984/12/04 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fuzzy. No arms or detail. Observation on Fri 1985/02/01 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Seeable, but only as a small extremely faint and fuzzy glow. Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed using 49 power magnification with or without Lumicon UHC filter. Using A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets page 176 I followed stars nearby to Galaxy at left of picture. stars match perfect. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 6 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 135° glow. Inner 2 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes is pretty brightr than the softer outer regions and centered in that brighter region is a very bright stellar nucleus. Observation on Wed 1992/05/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 8 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 150° glow suddenly brighter in the middle to a stellar extremely bright nucleus. More of the faint extensions show on the south south following arm than on the north north preceeding arm. THere is a 10 magnitude star just barely within the glow of the south south following extension. The outermost parts of the arms, which run north-south preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart) the core, were not seen. Try again for outer arms when near meridian. Observation on Sat 1993/04/24 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 Saw the supernova 1993j as an 11 magnitude replacement for the 14.5 magnitude star of the 3 triangle stars. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 1010 PM EST. pretty small 10 arcminutes round glow 1° due south of M82. 1° further south is a very faint star. Observation on Mon 1994/05/02 at Utica, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=4/9 First light on first light night for Felicity. Easily visible. Much brighter than Meade 8 arcseconds. bright core with faint halo which is elongated and includes the easy 2 stars which are just barely visible in the 8 arcseconds from here. Observation on Fri 1994/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 First light on first dark-site night for Felicity. very bright nonstellar nucleus with bright core and faint large halo which is elongated in a ratio of approximately 3 to 2 in position angle 150°. Observation on Thu 1995/08/17 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 pretty large pretty bright smudge brighter in the middle located just north of a 9 magnitude star. 2 stars north preceeding point right at it.
095554.0+694057	eg	M82	2	23	8.41:9.30	11.22x4.27 65°	I0spP	UMa
Observation on Wed 1985/02/27 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Long thin 15 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 70° smear. Observation on Mon 1988/03/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Hydrogen filaments were not seen with Orion Light Pollution Rejection filter or Lumicon UHC filter. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Very mottled surface at 122 power magnification. About 3 arcminutes following the center is a north south dark lane that cuts the Galaxy. The part of the Galaxy just following (or finder chart) that lane is brighter than the rest of the Galaxy. Observation on Fri 1991/05/10 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 8 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 10° very extremely bright glow. Very mottled. Dark lanes cut north south near following (or finder chart) edge and also just following (or finder chart) the center. Between the dark lanes is the brightest part of the Galaxy. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 1010 PM EST. 10 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes cigar-shaped streak of glow located 1° due north of M81. Observation on Mon 1994/05/02 at Utica, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=4/9 First light night for Felicity. Easily visible, with prominent perpendicular dust lanes. Observation on Fri 1994/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 First dark-site night for Felicity. Looks like I can touch it. Dark lanes are no work at all. They're easy direct vision features. The bright spot between the 2 major dark lanes has a stellar dot in the center. The Galaxy is slightly curved. Its very mottled, with several bright stellar spots superimposed all along the central axis. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Beginning from the south end and working toward the north end, the Galaxy begins with a diffuse edge which gradually becomes brighter and thicker for about 1/3 of the Galaxy'south length. Then a very weak dust lane cuts the Galaxy in pa 20°. The north side of this dust lane is slightly brighter than the south side, and both are diffuse edges. The Galaxy then becomes very rapidly brighter to another dust lane cutting in pa 0°. There's a very bright core just south of the lane, with a stellar dot in it. The north side of the lane is even brighter, and has a bright dot within it, too. Then the Galaxy fades rapidly as I move north. Observation on Thu 1995/08/17 at Porcupine Mountain State Park, Western Upper Peninsula, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Not found, or not observed.
133700.3-295204	eg	M83	21	370	7.54:8.20	12.88x11.48 55°	SAB(s)c I-II	Hya
Observation on Tue 1987/06/16 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 4 arcminutes extremely faint glow. preceeding (or picture) a star by 1/2 of that star to brighter north-more star'south separation. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 extremely faint 2 arcminutes smear has a tough time competing with the skyglow. preceeding (or picture) the star by the same amount (not 1/2 the amount). Not seeable in 122 power magnification. Observation on Wed 1992/05/06 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 very extremely faint 1 arcminutes glow with a stellar nucleus.
122503.7+125315	eg	M84	14	193	9.11:10.09	6.46x5.62 135°	E1	Vir
Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Barely saw a haze. Best in 49 power magnification alone. Observation on Tue 1986/03/11 at South River Road, near Selfridge AFB, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 bright glow easy to see. Same field as M86, n4435, and n4438. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Twin of M86 except slightly fainter. Circular 3 arcminutes glow with a pretty bright nearly-stellar nucleus. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 2 arcminutes round glow with a pretty bright stellar nucleus. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 2.5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 150° very suddenly much brighter in the middle to a 10 magnitude 30 arcseconds core. Does not look mottled or granular. M86's halo is brighter, but M84's core is brighter.
122524.7+181127	eg	M85	14	148	9.11:10.00	7.08x5.50	SA(s)0+P	Com
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow with a star near south following. No trace of n4394. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 11 magnitude stellar nucleus with a 2 arcminutes faint glow surrounding. 10 magnitude star 4 arcminutes south following nucleus. 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes north following nucleus. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 pretty bright 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 170° glow becomes gradually brighter in the middle to a stellar nucleus. 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes north following nucleus, centered within the glow of the arms. 10 magnitude star 5 arcminutes south following.
122611.8+125649	eg	M86	14	193	8.90:9.83	8.91x5.75 130°	E3	Vir
Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Barely saw a haze. Best in 49 power magnification alone. Observation on Tue 1986/03/11 at South River Road, near Selfridge AFB, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Easy to see. bright glow. Same field as M84, n4435, and n4438. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 Twin of M84 except slightly brighter. Circular 3 arcminutes glow with a pretty bright nearly-stellar nucleus. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 2 arcminutes round glow with a pretty bright stellar nucleus. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 3 arcminutes round. brighter in the middle to an 11 magnitude core. M86's halo is brighter, but M84's core is brighter. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 I don't see a companion at the edge.
123049.7+122324	eg	M87	14	193	8.63:9.59	8.32x6.61	E+0.5P	Vir
Observation on Tue 1986/03/11 at South River Road, near Selfridge AFB, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely bright glow. I see a fainter Galaxy south preceeding. What is it? Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Same observation. The south preceeding Galaxy must be n4476 (12.32 magnitude) or n4478 (11.23 magnitude). n4478 assumed. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 very bright 2 arcminutes circular glow with an extremely bright stellar nucleus. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 Same observation. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 extremely bright pretty large 4 arcminutes round elliptical. At about 1 arcminutes diameter it brighteast north south suddenly to a core, and that core continues to brighteast north until a 10 magnitude stellar nucleus is reached. 8 magnitude star 7 arcminutes in position angle 345°. I do not see a companion butted-up against it, however, at about 10 arcminutes in position angle 240° is n4478. !Try for gcs and jet (see barbara wilson's observation).
123159.6+142517	eg	M88	14	193	9.63:10.36	6.92x3.72 140°	SA(rs)bc I	Com
Observation on Sun 1987/04/19 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 150° glow. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 Confirmed. Central 1 arcminutes is brighter than the rest of the glow. Non-stellar nucleus was seen. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 150° oval glow slightly brighter in the middle. Central 1.5 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 150° core is mottled, with an occasional stellar nucleus showing as the seeing permits. 10 magnitude/12 magnitude 1 arcminutes pair is 5 arcminutes south. 13 magnitude star 4 arcminutes north. 9 magnitude star 15 arcminutes north north preceeding. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 135° with a surprisingly very small core. Entire halo appears to be slightly mottled. Wider on the preceeding (or picture) side of the core, and narrows down much quicker on the following (or finder chart) side of the core. At south following edge just barely inside the halo is a 15 magnitude star. 13 magnitude star 4 arcminutes in position angle 330°. Pair of stars 13 magnitude star 14 magnitude star 7 arcminutes in position angle 150°. n4516 25 arcminutes north following.
123539.9+123325	eg	M89	14	194	9.75:10.73	5.13x4.68	S0	Vir
Observation on Tue 1986/03/11 at South River Road, near Selfridge AFB, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint glow. Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Pretty easy 2 arcminutes circular glow. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 Easy 2 arcminutes glow with a bright 1 arcminutes non-stellar nucleus. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 2 arcminutes round glow with a very bright stellar nucleus. M-shaped zig-zag of 11 magnitude stars is south.
123650.1+130948	eg	M90	14	194	9.54:10.26	9.55x4.37 23°	SAB(rs)ab	Vir
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fat sliver 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 45°. bright stellar nucleus. bright star 20 arcminutes south preceeding. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 very faint 5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 20° glow not really brighter in the middle until a sudden stellar nucleus. Triangle with 9 magnitude star 10 arcminutes south following and 10 magnitude star 10 arcminutes south preceeding.
123526.3+142949	eg	M91	14	194	10.15:10.96	5.37x4.27 150°	SB(rs)b	Com
Observation on Sun 1987/04/19 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint 2 arcminutes glow. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 extremely faint glow wouldn't have been found without Atlas of Deep-Sky Splendors page 127. Observation on Wed 1988/05/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=3/9 extremely faint glow. 10 magnitude star 7 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Fri 1991/06/07 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 very faint 6 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 80° with a 2 arcminutes brighter region in the middle and a stellar nucleus at the center of that region at 122 power magnification + aversion. 10 magnitude star 8 arcminutes preceeding. 9 magnitude Uranometria 2000.0star 20 arcminutes preceeding north preceeding. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 faint 3 arcminutes round hazy glow with a moderately bright 0.5 arcminutes core that runs in pa 60° and might be a bar. 10 magnitude star 10 arcminutes in position angle 240°. 11 magnitude star 12 arcminutes in position angle 60°.
171707+4308.2	gc	M92	8	81	6.5 12.1m*	11.2	IV	Her
Observation on Sat 1985/02/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 10 stars resolve. This GlobularCluster seems brighter in the center that most do. To find, follow side of Her with M13 up to 50 arcminutes past 1st arm*, then 50 minutes of time following (or finder chart). Observation on Wed 1985/04/03 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Very easily resolved to the center at 272 power magnification. Total width 20 arcminutes. 3 arcminutes dense nucleus. Very sparse outliners, especially to the north north following. Observation on Fri 1992/07/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=6/9 4 arcminutes round cluster, very bright in the middle, with resolution of about 20 stars in 122 power magnification. stars radiate outward towards the north. That chain looks loke a long tapered spike coming out of the core of the GlobularCluster. Observation on Thu 1993/07/15 at Zion Campground, Zion National Park, UT using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 1012 PM MDT. faint glow with a bright core. Just barely nonstellar. Is the right-angle "star" in a right triangle with 2 8 magnitude stars. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 3 arcminutes brighter in the middle core with stars resolved from the center to a 4 arcminutes radius, totalling 8 arcminutes diameter. One chain of stars extends to 8 arcminutes radius to the north. Observation on Mon 1995/05/29 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=4/9 pretty bright GlobularCluster with an intensely bright center. Most of the outliners surrounding the core are in a 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 75° oval, but some are also north and south of that oval. The glow is round, about 3 arcminutes, and becomes suddenly brighter in the middle to a 1.5 arcminutes very bright core. stars are resolved all the way to the center. No dark lanes nor colorful stars were seen. Observation on Sat 2016/06/25 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=3/9 transparancy=5/9 Very compressed, very much brighter in the middle GlobularCluster with a very condensed core that falls off rapidly. M13 is much more flat of a GlobularCluster. About 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 45°. Inner core is about 1 arcminutes in size. bright star 6 arcminutes in position angle 105°.
0744.6-2351	oc	M93	19	320	6.2 8.2m*	22	IV 1 p/I 3 r	Pup
Observation on Tue 1985/03/12 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 About 40-50 stars 15 arcminutes. Shaped like a butterfly. Observation on Fri 1985/03/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Salt-and-pepper smaller than winter salt-and-pepper but just as dense. 2 bright 7 magnitude stars on following (or finder chart) edge. About 20 blue-white 8 magnitude stars. Many 9 magnitude stars. Observation on Sat 1988/02/13 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 Gorgeous salt-and-pepper OpenCluster. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 905 PM EST. very extremely faint 15 arcminutes round glow with no resolution. Not quite only-averted-vision, but nearly so. Located in a pretty rich star field. Need to try from a darker site (or when it gets a bit higher above the skyglow). Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 955 PM EST. very extremely faint very small 15 arcminutes round glow with no resolution at all. Located 2°np XHI Pup toward Sirrius. brighter in the middle, but no stars resolved.
125053.6+410710	eg	M94	7	75	8.24:8.99	11.22x9.12 105°	(R)SA(r)abP II	CVn
Observation on Wed 1985/05/08 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Solid fuzz seen clearly at all powers up to 272 power magnification. No detail. Observation on Thu 1986/05/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very bright 1 arcminutes nucleus with fainter surroundings that fade out by 4 arcminutes. Circular. No arms seen. Observation on Mon 1987/06/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Confirmed. extremely bright. Observation on Sun 1992/05/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 very bright 10 magnitude 0.5 arcminutes round core with a 4 arcminutes slightly mottled fading glow around it. Occasionally at 122 power magnification I think I see more faint extensions preceeding (or picture) and following (or finder chart), making it a 6 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 100° overall glow. First impression at low power appears like a GlobularCluster. 9 magnitude star Uranometria 2000.0star 10 arcminutes north. 10 magnitude star 6 arcminutes in position angle 280°.
104358.0+114215	eg	M95	13	190	9.73:10.53	7.41x5.01 13°	SAB(r)b II	Leo
Observation on Fri 1985/03/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow. Observation on Tue 1986/03/11 at South River Road, near Selfridge AFB, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow. Observation on Fri 1987/05/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 arcminutes faint glow. fainter than M96. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 2 arcminutes nondescript glow. Like M96, the nucleus isn't really much brighter than the haze (or else I'm only seeing the nucleus). 9 magnitude star less than 10 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 2 arcminutes round glow with a 0.5 arcminutes suddenly brighter core. No stellar nucleus. 10 magnitude star 8 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 At 94 power magnification, its a very faint round 3 arcminutes homogenous glow suddenly brighter in the middle to a pretty bright 10 magnitude 30 arcseconds core. Looks like a face-on spiral, but no spiral structure is evident in the halo at either 94 power magnification or 188 power magnification. 10 magnitude star 8 arcminutes preceeding. 12 magnitude star 8 arcminutes following. 14 magnitude star 1 arcminutes north of the core. fainter than M96. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 I wanted to reobserve this to try and see the bar, but I cannot.
104645.2+114916	eg	M96	13	190	9.25:10.11	7.59x5.25 5°	(R)SAB(rs)abP	Leo
Observation on Fri 1985/03/15 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow. Observation on Tue 1986/03/11 at South River Road, near Selfridge AFB, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint glow. Observation on Fri 1987/05/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 3 arcminutes pretty bright glow. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 3 arcminutes nondescript glow. Very even brightness increase -- not an overpowering nucleus at all. brighter than M95. No stars in the same 122 power magnification field. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 faint 4 arcminutes by 1.5 arcminutes in position angle 30° glow. Gradually brighter in the middle to a 1 arcminutes core, then suddenly brighter to a stellar nucleus. 10 magnitude star 15 arcminutes preceeding north preceeding. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 120° eyeball-shaped halo pretty suddenly brighter in the middle to a 30 arcseconds 9 magnitude nonstellar core which occasionally shows a stellar nucleus at its center. Much brighter than M95. 13 magnitude star 4 arcminutes preceeding. 14 magnitude star 6 arcminutes following. No details in the spiral arms at 94 power magnification. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 135°. very bright 30 arcseconds by 15 arcseconds core elongated in the same direction, and offset toward the north preceeding. This off-center core could also be caused by asymmetric brightness of the arms. No stellar nucleus shows at either 94 power magnification or 188 power magnification.
111447.71+550107.7	pn	M97	2	46	12.0 15.88m*	194" round	3a	UMa
Observation on Tue 1985/03/12 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Field sketched. Need Lumicon UHC filter to see at all. 4 arcminutes haze. No central star seen. Best view is 49 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. Just barely visible with 122 power magnification+Lumicon UHC filter. Located 2 hours 9 minutes of time preceeding (or picture) Mizar. Observation on Mon 1986/06/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Seeable in 49 power magnification. Lumicon UHC filter still enhances. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 Seeable in 49 power magnification alone. 3 arcminutes featureless glow. Lumicon UHC filter enhances greatly. Orion Light Pollution Rejection filter does not enhance much at all. Observation on Wed 1992/05/27 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=5/9 4 arcminutes round slightly-mottled glow. No eyes stand out. Viewed at 62 power magnification and 122 power magnification both with and without Lumicon UHC filter. Best at 62 power magnification + Lumicon UHC filter. 12 magnitude star 4 arcminutes in position angle 20°. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 1020 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. Observation on Sat 1994/05/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 bright 3 arcminutes round glow appears slightly mottled. Easy without Lumicon UHC filter, but Lumicon UHC filter still enhances considerably. Couldn't really make out any definite "eyes", but mottling is apparent. 12 magnitude star 3 arcminutes north.
121348.2+145343	eg	M98	14	193	10.14:10.95	9.77x2.75 155°	SAB(s)ab I-II	Com
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint glow found preceeding (or picture) 6 Vir. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint 6 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 135° glow. Observation on Sun 1992/04/05 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 faint 5 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 155° spindle. brighter 2 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes core seems more toward the preceeding (or picture) edge. Fatter in middle, tapers-off north and south. Definite 13 magnitude star 3 arcminutes following the north edge, and a few other very close stars come and go. 6 magnitude Sky Atlas 2000.0star (6 Com) 30 arcminutes following. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 8 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 135° very nice edge-on spiral. bright core elongated in pa 120° with a stellar nucleus at the center. The core is off-center toward the south preceeding edge. south preceeding edge of halo seems sharper than the north following edge. 12 magnitude star 3 arcminutes north. Halo is brighter on the north preceeding end than the south following end. Halo is very slightly curved at the north preceeding end toward the north (toward the star). Halo does not bulge outward at the nucleus. Instead it maintains a flat edge along the entire major axis. n4186 at 15 arcminutes in position angle 135° is an very extremely faint very small Galaxy, at the preceeding edge of a group of stars. No sign of n4192a or n4192b. Observation on Fri 1996/03/22 at Ed Watson's, Forestville MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=8/9 pretty bright 7 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 150° slightly warped and mottled disk brighter in the middle to a 0.5 arcminutes by 0.25 arcminutes in position angle 150° oval core, with a slightly brighter stellar nucleus. The tip at pa 330° bends a bit toward pa 0°. Galaxy isn't really very smoothly oval shaped, but instead has irregular edges. It is more poined on the pa 150° end of the major axis than the more rounded pa 330° end. The entire halo is very mottled. 10 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 15°.
121849.4+142507	eg	M99	14	193	9.87:10.44	5.37x4.68	SA(s)c I	Com
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint glow found via location relative to 6 Vir. Forms an equilateral triangle with the Sky Atlas 2000.0star and one non-T*. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 Very soft 2 arcminutes glow. No bright stellar nucleus was seen. I'm probably seeing a large evenly-BT nucleus. Observation on Sun 1992/04/05 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 faint 2 arcminutes round glow becomes brighter in the middle to a 30 arcseconds core. Stellar nucleus is occasionally seen at 122 power magnification. The arm which extends south from the following (or finder chart) side (mentioned in Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects) was not seen. 13 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 70°. 7 magnitude Sky Atlas 2000.0star 12 arcminutes in position angle 35°. 9 magnitude Uranometria 2000.0star 15 arcminutes in position angle 80°. 12 magnitude star 7 arcminutes in position angle 70°. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 pretty bright 3 arcminutes round glow brighter in the middle to a 1 arcminutes core and nonstellar nucleus. Could not trace any arms. 12 magnitude star 4 arcminutes in position angle 120°. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 Spectacular 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 45° overall glow. bright nonstellar core off-center toward the south preceeding of the overall glow. The spectacular thing is that I'm seeing a spiral arm. The main body of the Galaxy is a round 3 arcminutes glow with a bright nonstellar core, and coming out of the south following edge of that core and curving south, south preceeding, then preceeding (or picture), and north preceeding is a long thick, sweeping arm. It unwinds counterclockwise out from the core. The arm gets brighter near its end - perhaps there's a stellaring. The arm is not especially difficult, although it comes and goes with the seeing. The overall shape of the Galaxy is a backwards comma, with a very exhaggerated hook. I don't see a corresponding arm on the north following edge of the Galaxy. 14 magnitude star 2 arcminutes following. 7 magnitude star 10 arcminutes in position angle 15°. Based on the picture, there other main arm extends almost straight out of the following (or finder chart) edge of the core, and extends to the 14 magnitude star 2 arcminutes following. I can indeed see glow here, but it doesn't really look like an arm to me, the way the other major arm does. I do not see the notch between the arms on the following (or finder chart) side. The Observing Handbook and Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects sketch is excellent and shows what I see very well. Rating changed from 57 to 21 based on this observation. Observation on Sat 1995/04/22 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 No arm shows tonight in about 10 minutes of observation.
122255.2+154923	eg	M100	14	193	9.35:10.05	7.41x6.31 30°	SAB(s)bc I	Com
Observation on Tue 1986/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 5 arcminutes faint glow with a pretty bright nucleus and some mottling. Observation on Sat 1988/05/14 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=2/9 1 arcminutes nucleus stands out over a faint 4 arcminutes glow. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 very extremely faint 4 arcminutes round glow with a 1 arcminutes brighter core. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 150° very faint halo with a pretty bright 1 arcminutes core and a very bright 10 magnitude stellar nucleus.
140312.9+542103	eg	M101	2	49	7.86:8.31	28.84x26.92	SAB(rs)cd I	UMa
Observation on Tue 1985/04/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 No trace. Sure of location. No moon. Eyes well adjusted. Observation on Wed 1986/05/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. This is the third utica try -- give up. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 large 10-15' faint glow was seen with no picture or assistance. No detail was seen. Observation on Fri 1987/06/26 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I've never seen it again -- weather has been hot and humid with poor seeing. Tonight is the best seeing since March but this is following (or finder chart) meridian at dusk. Observation on Sun 1988/06/12 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 Huge and extremely faint 10 arcminutes by 10 arcminutes glow. No details seeable. Not seeable in 122 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 extremely faint 10 arcminutes round glow very slightly brighter in the middle. The Sky and Telescope Magazine, June, 1987, page 678 picture is only about 15 arcminutes in size. At 122 power magnification I could make out 2 of the superimposed stars shown on that picture but nothing else. Tried to trace arms with no luck. Observation on Sat 1994/05/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Difficult to see the details at first, but after I worked on it for a while, I could see many of them. First of all, I can see it in the finder, which really surpised me. The first look in the scope showed a faint 5 arcminutes round glow, becoming gradually brighter in the middle to a 2 arcminutes core, then suddenly brighter at a 13 magnitude stellar nucleus. The 11 magnitude star 2 arcminutes north and a 13 magnitude star 5 arcminutes preceeding are the obvious stars to use when orienting a picture on Sky and Telescope Magazine, June, 1993, page 102 or Sky and Telescope Magazine, June, 1987, page 679, or the 12.5-inch sketch on Sky and Telescope Magazine, June, 1993, page 103. On the sketch, the 13 magnitude star is the one all alone about 1 inch left of the nucleus. The arm segments shown on that sketch are clearly visible when time is taken to study the image, and the HII regions n5447, n5455, n5461, n5462, and n5471 are all plainly visible. N5447, n5461, and n5462 Blinking the UHC in and out of view to make a nebula more easily visible pretty well. Observation on Tue 1995/05/30 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 15 arcminutes round halo with a sharply brighter 1 arcminutes central core and a bright stellar nucleus. 12 magnitude star 3 arcminutes in position angle 15° from the nucleus. Coming out of the south end of the halo is an arm sweeping out toward the following (or finder chart). It runs through a bright star. The HII region n5455 is just an very extremely faint 14 magnitude dot. As that arm curves up (following (or finder chart) and north following), it passes through a bright HII region, n5461. This is one of the brightest HII regions I see. Its a 12 magnitude 0.5 arcminutes by 0.25 arcminutes in position angle 60°. The arm continues, to a larger HII region, n5462, which is 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes in position angle 30°, and is not as concentrated as n5461. Another very faint arm leaves the north following side of the core. It curls up north, then north preceeding. It doesn't curl around the Galaxy as much as the 1st arm. Coming out of the north preceeding edge of the core is a 3rd very extremely faint arm which curves preceeding (or picture), then south. It ends on a fairly bright star. If I trace where it would have gone had it not ended on the star, I come to another HII region, n5447. This one is pretty large 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes in position angle 150°. I do not see n5471. The Lumicon UHC filter doesn't enhance these HII regions at all.
150630.2+554546	eg	M102	2	50	9.89:10.74	4.68x1.95 128°	SA0+spP	Dra
Observation on Wed 1986/05/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint thin glow. This is an elliptical -- edge on? Aren't these contradictory? Observation on Mon 1987/06/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Homogeneous 4 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 150° glow. bright star 7 arcminutes preceeding. Just about atop a 11 magnitude star. Observation on Sun 1988/06/12 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 3 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 120° glow. Slightly brighter non-stellar nucleus. bright and easy find. Observation on Sat 1990/06/30 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 3 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 135° glow. 2 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes non-stellar nucleus surrounded by a fainter glow. Easy to find. Observation on Sat 1992/05/02 at Camp Hawthorn Hollow, near Richmond, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 pretty bright 3 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 135° glow suddenly much brighter in the middle to a 1 arcminutes by 0.5 arcminutes core. No stellar nucleus shows. 2 stars very close - a 10 magnitude star 2 arcminutes north preceeding and a 12 magnitude star 2 arcminutes south preceeding. Located in a 25 arcminutes triangle of 8 to 9 magnitude stars. Observation on Sat 1994/08/06 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=8/9 pretty bright 13 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 165° streak with a suddenly bright 3 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 165° core at the center of the following (or finder chart) edge. No stellar nucleus shows at 131 power magnification, but 262 power magnification shows a very faint stellar nucleus within the core. Galaxy seems to widen toward the ends of the 13 arcminutes axis. 13 magnitude star 2 arcminutes preceeding.
0133.2+6043	oc	M103	1	37	7.4 11m*	6 round	III 2 p/II 2 m	Cas
Observation on Fri 1984/11/02 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Fan-shaped with a dipper asterism in the same field of view. Observation on Tue 1984/12/04 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Sketched 61 power magnification field. Observation on Wed 1985/01/09 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 I don't resolve the doubles in the dipper that are shown in the Webb Society Deep Sky Observer's Handbooks, vol 1-7 sketch, but I do see ads1209. Observation on Sun 1985/02/17 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Central star is a red giant. Observation on Sat 1989/09/30 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 Detailed cmap completed tonight. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 725 PM EST. very small pretty bright nebulous round glow with 2 stars inside. Pretty obvious object located exactly 1/2 of the way from DELTA Cas to the arc of 3 7 magnitude stars that guards n663. Observation on Sat 2005/10/29 at Casco Twp Lindsay & Meldrum using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 At 262 power magnification, I find 35 stars in the 10 arcminutes triangle. Red star on the north following edge. brightest stars are at the corners of the triangle. The north preceeding corner is made of 3 stars equidistant in a straight line. There are several stars north following that triangle, which changes this into an almost round cluster, and adds several stars making there be 40 stars down to 14 magnitude.
123959.4-113722	eg	M104	14	284	8.00:8.98	8.71x3.55 89°	SA(s)absp	Vir
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 faint smear with 1 hard edge. following (or finder chart) an asterism of 4 bright and colorful stars. Observation on Fri 1987/03/20 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Long thin 0.5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes bright nucleus with a surrounding glow of 1 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes preceeding following. south edge is hard and this edge also contains the nucleus. Observation on Sat 1988/06/04 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 1 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes preceeding following. pretty faint. Early in evening Saturday night. Observation on Sun 1989/05/28 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 4 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes preceeding following. very bright stellar nucleus stands out over the softer glow. Just south of the nucleus is a hard edge to the Galaxy. The north edge is much softer, fading gradually to nothingness. Found by moving from GAMMA Vir (1242-1.5) south thru CHI to double star north of Galaxy. Observation on Sun 1992/05/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 Same observation. Extremely easy to find by beginning at Spica and move 40 minutes preceeding (or picture) until you see an unmistakable 5 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 120° L-shape of 4 8 to 10 magnitude stars. Then M104 is 30 arcminutes following. Observation on Fri 1994/05/13 at Fish Lake, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 bright 90° glow not quite as bright as M81. Becomes suddenly very much brighter at a stellar nucleus. south edge is hard, and on the other side of the dust lane (on the south side) is a very faint 90° glow. 2 bright stars on the preceeding (or picture) side, slightly south of the Galaxy. Observation on Fri 1995/03/24 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 pretty small pretty bright 3 arcminutes by 1.5 arcminutes in position angle 90° glow with a very bright nonstellar core which is on-center if I ignore the dark lane. Right at the south edge of the core a 30 arcseconds-wide dark lane cuts all the way across the Galaxy, parallel to the major axis, and beyond that the Galaxy'south glow picks up again for about 30 arcseconds more. The overall shape of this Galaxy is unusual in that the ends are not rounded at all. The Galaxy is shaped rather like a very long diamond-shape rather than the oval shape so typically seen in a spiral. 14 magnitude star 2 arcminutes in position angle 15° from the core. Many bright field stars. Closest one is 5 arcminutes in position angle 255°. Pretty easy to find off the double star at the north following corner of Corvus. If you go north from there you'll find a bright arrow-shaped asterism of stars shown in Sky Atlas 2000.0 which points you very close to the Galaxy. Observation on Sat 1995/03/25 at Note added at desk, not observing using Note added at desk, no equipment used seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 The picture on The Universe from Your Backyard page 181 looks almost exactly like what I saw last night.
104749.9+123457	eg	M105	13	190	9.28:10.24	5.37x4.79	E1	Leo
Observation on Fri 1987/05/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 2 arcminutes pretty bright glow 30 arcminutes south following a bright Sky Atlas 2000.0star. Observation on Fri 1988/04/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=6/9 2.5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes north south glow. bright nucleus stands out above the rest of the egs glow. n3384 is about 10 arcminutes in position angle 105°. Observation on Wed 1990/04/18 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 Same observation. Observation on Tue 1991/06/04 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 3 arcminutes round glow which very linearly increases in brightness from the edge to the pretty bright nuclear area, until a suddenly much brighter nucleus is reached. 13 magnitude star 5 arcminutes in position angle 5° is the same star as the one mentioned in n3384 observation of this date. n3384 is 8 arcminutes in position angle 65°, not 105°. Triangle of bright stars 40 arcminutes in position angle 60°. Observation on Thu 1995/03/23 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=5/9 transparancy=7/9 3 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 30° halo with a very bright 10 magnitude nonstellar core but no other details. Its a high surface brightness bland elliptical. 12 magnitude star 6 arcminutes in position angle 45°. Forms a bright easy isoceles triangle with n3384 and n3389, which all easily fit in 94 power magnification. north-south chain of 3 stars follows the triangle. n3384 10 arcminutes north following. n3389 15 arcminutes following.
121857.9+471816	eg	M106	7	74	8.41:9.10	18.62x7.24 150°	SAB(s)bcP	CVn
Observation on Fri 1986/05/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Elongated glow with a bright nucleus. Observation on Thu 1986/05/08 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very bright long slender glow. Looks like a very tilted spiral. Central glow noticable and faint spiral edge-wise disks extending north north following and south south preceeding. Observation on Fri 1988/05/06 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=3/9 Tonight (poor conditions) I see only a 1 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 150° glow. Central 0.5 arcminutes is brightest. No stellar nucleus was seen. Orientation in 19860508 observation was wrong? Observation on Fri 1991/05/10 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 5 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 165° glow. brighter in the middle with a 11 magnitude stellar nucleus which seems to be off-center to the following (or finder chart). 11 magnitude star 4 arcminutes preceeding 11 magnitude star 5 arcminutes south following. Observation on Wed 1992/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=9/9 8 arcminutes by 4 arcminutes in position angle 170° pretty bright glow gradually brighter in the middle. Observation on Fri 1994/06/03 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 bright 8 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 160° glow. Entire halo is bright and not really brighter toward the middle, until an very extremely bright 11 magnitude 0.5 arcminutes by 0.25 arcminutes nucleus is reached, which is off-center slightly. Entire disk is slightly mottled.
163232-1303.2	gc	M107	15	291	7.8 13.0m*	10.0 round	X	Oph
Observation on Sun 1986/06/22 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Thu 1986/07/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Barely saw the glow. No resolution. Found via location relative to the star north following. Observation on Fri 1988/06/03 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=5/9 transparancy=6/9 very faint glow. No resolution at all. 3 arcminutes. Can see at 122 power magnification but not at 272 power magnification. Observation on Sat 1990/06/30 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 very faint glow but easy to resolve at higher powers. 272 power magnification resolves about 15 stars with 1/4 moon about 15° above horizon. Later (after moonset, with GlobularCluster past meridian) about 20 stars were resolved over a very faint remaining glow. Observation on Fri 1992/07/31 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=6/9 extremely faint 3 arcminutes round soft glow. Right at the limit of resolution with 122 power magnification. Seems like 10 stars or so are just barely brighter than the glow. Located on the long edge of a triangle of 3 stars - an 11 magnitude star 5 arcminutes preceeding, a 12 magnitude star 4 arcminutes following, and a 12 magnitude star 3 arcminutes south. Observation on Fri 1996/07/19 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=7/9 transparancy=6/9 pretty faint 3 arcminutes central glow speckled with stars which extend to 5 arcminutes. About 50 stars resolved at 189 power magnification, the brightest of which is an 11 magnitude star on the pa315° edge of the central glow. Glow is very slightly elongated 90°.
111131.8+554015	eg	M108	2	46	10.03:10.69	8.71x2.24 80°	SB(s)cdsp	UMa
Observation on Fri 1987/04/24 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 very faint 5 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes preceeding following glow. Easy find off nearby guide stars. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 faint 5 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 80° glow. bright stellar nucleus. 9 magnitude star 10 arcminutes following. 9 magnitude star 20 arcminutes following. 8 magnitude star 25 arcminutes south preceeding. After observation I see that Astronomy Magazine, April, 1988, page 95 says a foreground star is superimposed at the center of the Galaxy so maybe my 'bright stellar nucleus' is just that star. Observation on Fri 1991/05/10 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=6/9 transparancy=5/9 6 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes in position angle 85° pretty bright glow with a 13 magnitude stellar nucleus (or, apparently, a foreground star). 10 magnitude star at preceeding (or picture) edge. 10 magnitude star 7 arcminutes preceeding. 9 magnitude star 13 arcminutes preceeding. Observation on Wed 1992/02/05 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=8/9 transparancy=9/9 5 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 80° faint glow. Lens shaped. 11 magnitude star 1 arcminutes preceeding center. 8 magnitude star 15 arcminutes preceeding center. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 1020 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. Observation on Sat 1994/05/28 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=6/9 bright 8 arcminutes by 2 arcminutes in position angle 70° glow with a stellar nucleus or superimposed star just inside the north edge and a bit following (or finder chart) of center. The Galaxy is a bit mottled, but no dark lanes or hard edges show.
115736.2+532231	eg	M109	2	47	9.83:10.60	7.59x4.68 68°	SB(rs)bc	UMa
Observation on Mon 1986/06/02 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1987/04/24 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1987/05/15 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Not found, or not observed. Observation on Sat 1988/04/09 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=3/9 transparancy=4/9 extremely faint 1 arcminutes-3 arcminutes glow surrounding a faint (but brighter than the glow) stellar nucleus. Very hard to define the boundary since its so faint. I don't understand how Messier could have seen something so faint. To find, 40 arcminutes following GAMMA UMa is a 10 magnitude star. Another 10 magnitude star is 20 arcminutes in position angle 190° from first 10 magnitude star. Galaxy is 5 arcminutes north following the second 10 magnitude star. Observation on Tue 1991/05/07 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=7/9 transparancy=7/9 4 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 60° soft glow with a stellar nucleus. Best at 61 power magnification. A star is within the glow @1.5'345° from the nucleus. 10 magnitude star 5 arcminutes north preceeding. 12 magnitude star 7 arcminutes in position angle 280°. Easy find off GAMMA UMa.
004022.5+414111	eg	M110	4	60	8.07:8.92	21.88x10.96 170°	E5P	And
Observation on Wed 1985/10/16 at Madison Hts, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 extremely faint shapeless glow was seen. Located 40 arcminutes north preceeding M31. Observation on Tue 1986/10/07 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Confirmed. Observation on Sun 1986/12/21 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 Using Catalog of the Universe plate 2 I tried to see arms but nothing in the glow stands out as a nucleus at all. I'm probably just seeing nucleus. Observation on Wed 1987/11/11 at Utica, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=?/9 transparancy=?/9 7 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 175° glow surrounding a 3 arcminutes nucleus. Note that I don't think this is elliptical -- it looks like a spiral. Observation on Fri 1990/08/24 at Imlay City, MI using 8" f6 Newtonian seeing=4/9 transparancy=7/9 7 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 175° glow. No stellar nucleus. Very gradual brightness increase from edge to center. No structure, mottling, or dust lanes show. Observation on Fri 1994/02/11 at Stargate Observatory, Ray Twp, MI using Bushnell 7x50 SportView Binoculars seeing=7/9 transparancy=5/9 725 PM EST. Not found, or not observed. Observation on Fri 1994/08/05 at SMURFS star party airport runway, 25 miles n of Mio, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=8/9 8 arcminutes by 3 arcminutes in position angle 160° halo with a 3 arcminutes by 1 arcminutes brighter core and a stellar dot 12 magnitude nucleus. The following (or finder chart) side of the core was sharply cut off as if by a dust lane, but I could not see any black sky there, but instead only a lighter gray of the halo. A 12 magnitude star lies within the halo near the south edge, and a 13 magnitude star is near the north edge. Observation on Fri 1994/09/02 at Imlay City, MI using Hand-made 14.5" f4.7 Newtonian Dob seeing=6/9 transparancy=7/9 Saw G73 as a 14 magnitude stars. !Try to observe the dust patch.