Other Deep Sky Objects

So you have observed the Messier and Caldwell objects and want to know what other wonders are out there, the Herschel 400 would be a good start, but if you are after inspiration why not look at what others are observing by having a browse below.

Face on Spiral in Aquila, NGC6814

This face on spiral galaxy lies at a distance of about 66 million light years and is about 75,000 light years across or about half the size of the Milky Way Galaxy. This object has a fairly low surface brightness, and so will be a tougher to observe than the mag 11.3 would suggest. You’ll need dark skies and a large aperture to really appreciate this.

NGC6814, Face on Spiral in Aquila, Imaged by Debra Holton, using the Faulkes 2m telescope

Globular Cluster in Serpens, NGC6539

NGC 6539 is a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens. It was discovered by Theodor Brorsen in 1856

Globular Cluster NGC6539 Imaged by Debra Holton using the Faulks 2m Telescope.

Globular Cluster in Baade’s Window, NGC6522

Two globular clusters very close to each other seen through the dense star field in the direction towards the centre of our Galaxy, in the constellation Sagittarius. These systems are relatively young for globular clusters, being only about 10 million years old.

They can be spotted between gamma1 and W Sagitarii (see finder chart below). NGC6522 (right) sits right in the centre of Baade’s Window

Image by Debra Holton of NGC6522 taken with the 2m Faulkes Telescope.

Seyfert’s Sextet, NGC6027

Seyfert’s Sextet is a group of galaxies about 190 million light-years away in the constellation Serpens Caput. The group appears to contain six members, but one of the galaxies is a background object and another “galaxy” is actually a separated part of one of the other galaxies. The gravitational interaction among these galaxies should continue for hundreds of millions of years. Ultimately, the galaxies will merge to form a single giant elliptical galaxy.

NGC 6027 Seyfert’s Sextet, imaged by Deborah Holton using the Faulks 2m Telescope

Edge on Spiral in Serpens – NGC5964

Edge on Spiral galaxy in Serpens

NGC5964 Imaged by Deborah Holtan using the Faulkes 2m Telescope

The California Nebula – NGC1499

The California Nebula (NGC 1499) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually. It can be observed with a H-Beta filter (isolates the H-Beta line at 486 nm) in a rich-field telescope under dark skies. It lies at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth.
The California Nebula was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884.

California Nebula by Julian Tworek.
DSLR, Light Pollution Filter, Short focus Refractor

The Leo Triplet – M65, M66 and NGC3628

NGC 3628 is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. It has an approximately 300,000 light-years long tidal tail. NGC 3628 along with M65 and M66 form the famous Leo Triplet, a small group of galaxies. Its most conspicuous feature is the broad and obscuring band of dust located along the outer edge of its spiral arms, effectively transecting the galaxy to our view.

Imaged by Martin Crow.

80mm Equinox ED Refractor @ f6 with Canon 400D, 8 x 60s

Altair Astro AO EQ6-R, ZWO ASI294MC Pro

Total exposure ~4hrs
St Mary’s Platt, Kent.

Image by Kevin Langford

The Horsehead Nebula, Barnard 33

The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 in bright nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the constellation of Orion.

The nebula is located just below Alnitak, the star furthest left on Orion’s Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of the shape of its swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, which is similar to that of a horse’s head. The shape was first noticed in 1888 by Williamina Fleming on photographic plate B2312 taken at the Harvard College Observatory.

The red glow originates from hydrogen gas (hydrogen alpha) predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead’s neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funnelled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula’s base are young stars just in the process of forming.

Image by Julian Tworek,
Widefield 4″ Semi-Apo refractor and Canon DSLR

Imaged By Julian Tworek
80mm Orion ED Refractor, MX716 CCD

Imaged By Keith Rickard
SBIG ST7-XME CCD camera, 8″ Meade LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain Classic at F3.3, 30 x 2min in red, green and luminance and 10 x 2min in blue