My Visual Deep Sky Observations (Complete List of Visually Observed DSO)

Preface | Introduction | Overview of Observed Objects | Remarks | References

Since 2016, I conducted simple visual "deep sky observations," which might be of interest to other beginners and are therefore listed here. This page provides an overview of the respective visual observations (about 100 objects).

Note: I also added some observations with the Atik Infinity camera (sold) and ASI cameras.

Note: See also

 

Preface

When entering "EAA" (electronic augmented astronomy; Atik Infinity, eVscope, ...), the numbers of observing objects become "inflationary", and it does not make much sense (but a lot of work...) to list all objects, which one has discovered on one's own photos or had discovered with nova.astrometry.net. I therefore changed this list into a list of visually observed objects.

 

Conditions

Observation Location

Most observations were conducted in Mühlhausen/Kraichgau (Germany):

I conducted further deep sky observations in Erkerode (near Braunschweig, Germany) ...

... as well as in France (Sumène, close to Saint Julien-Chapteuil, Haute Loire, France):

Devices Used

I used all my telescopes (as long as I owned them...). In September/October 2019 I observed with a borrowed StarTravel 120/600.

Moreover, I used my 10 x 25 binoculars (Leica Trinovid), which are not all night glasses. In October 2017, I also acquired TS 10 x 60 binoculars.

Mounts: Star Discvery AZ GoTo, AZ Pronto, AZ-GTi, and AZ4 (sold) mounts.

I used all kinds of eyepieces, but preferred my UWA eyepieces (16 mm, 7 mm, 4 mm) as well as a 32 mm Plössl eyepiece, and two WA eyepiece (10 mm, 24 mm). Recently, I also use some 2" eyepieces (long focal lengths).

General Conditions

In general, the sky above Mühlhausen/Kraichgau is "light-polluted" and does not invite you to search for deep sky objects. This is certainly one of the reasons why I found some of the deep sky objects that I wanted to observe only sometimes or not at all. Often, the sky was not yet dark enough for observing deep sky objects.

I conducted further deep sky observations in Erkerode (near Braunschweig, Germany) and later in autumn also in France (Sumène, Haute Loire, France). The sky above Sumène, Haute Loire (France) is relatively dark (the Betz observatory used by the Orion43 group is near-by).

Note

Some of the GT = Goto observations may actually have been done with the Atik Infinity camera, and not visually.

 

Overview of Observed Objectsbjects

Messier Catalog

DSO Details Name Constellation Type Bino Telescope Prime Season* When Observed? Remarks Rec.
M 1 Crab Nebula Taurus GE   P130 GT, GSD 680, 150PDS GT, C8, C8R Winter Jan-Mar, Nov Very faint, n.f. with 100P C8
M 2   Aquarius GC   PS72, 100P, ST120, SM127, C8 Autumn Aug-Dec Very similar to M 15 +
M 3   Canes Venatici GC TS 150PDS GT, SM127 GT, PS72 GT, TLAPO1027 Spring Mar-Sep Similar to M 5 and M 92, somewhat grainy at high magnifications +
M 4   Scorpius GC   ST120, SM127 Summer Sep, May, Jul Very low, very faint, with 4 mm probably resolved a bit into stars +
M 5   Serpens Caput GC TS 150PDS GT, SM127 GT, PS72 GT Spring Mar, May-Aug Similar to M 3 and M 92, somewhat grainy at high magnifications +
M 8 Lagoon Nebula Sagittarius OC+GN   100P, 100P GT, SM102 GT, PS72, ST120 Summer May-Sep Saw only stars, perhaps some glow  
M 9   Ophiuchus GC   ST120, SM127 Summer May-Sep Small, bright core, appeared as somewhat irregular; not resolved  
M 10   Ophiuchus GC   SM102 GT, ST120, SM127 Summer May-Sep A faint glow, with 4 mm probably resolved a bit into stars  
M 11 Wild Duck Cluster Scutum OC LT, TS SM102 GT, SM127, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, ST120, SM127, TLAPO1027 Summer May-Nov Saw stars, a nebula within; no nebula impression at higher magnifications +
M 12   Ophiuchus GC   SM102 GT, ST120, SM127 Summer May-Sep A faint glow, with 4 mm probably resolved a bit into stars  
M 13   Hercules GC LT, TS, OM21 100P, 100P GT, SM102, SM102 GT, SM127, P130, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD 680, PS72, ST120, TLAPO1027, C8 Summer Mar, May-Nov Largest observed GC, grainy, somewhat resolved into stars from 100 x on +
M 14   Ophiuchus GC   ST120, SM127 Summer May-Sep Small, faint at 4 mm, not resolved  
M 15   Pegasus GC   100P, 100P GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, SM127, C8, C8 GT, C5 Autumn Aug-Dec, Jan Not as large as M 13, very similar to M 2; took it for a star at low magnifications; supposedly, it is the best globular cluster in autumn. +
M 16 Eagle Nebula Serpens OC+GN   SM102 GT, PS72, ST120 Summer May-Oct Loose, IC 4703 not found; +
M 17 Omega/Swan Nebula Sagittarius GE   SM102 GT, PS72, ST120 Summer May-Oct Saw only stars, a faint glow at best; saw later also a glow  
M 18   Sagittarius OC   ST120 Summer

May, Jul-Sep

 Saw only few stars  
M 19   Ophiuchus GC   ST120 Summer Sep, May-Jun Somewhat larger, faint, because already low, but just seen; not resolved  
M 20 Trifid Nebula Sagittarius GE   100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, ST120 Summer May-Sep Saw only stars, perhaps a faint glow  
M 21   Sagittarius OC   ST120 Summer May, Aug-Oct Saw fine stars (24 mm)  
M 22   Sagittarius GC   PS72, ST120 Summer May, Aug-Sep Large and beautiful, particularly at 24 and 10 mm; appeared resolved differently on various days +
M 23   Sagittarius OC   ST120 Summer Aug-Sep, May-Jun Seen well, large, fine stars (there was a star next to it) +
M 24 Small Sagittarius Cloud Sagittarius SC   ST120 Summer Aug-Sep, May The Sagittarius Cloud is part of the Milky Way, is large, and has many stars (24 mm) +
M 25   Sagittarius OC   PS72, 100P, ST120 Summer Aug-Oct, May Open, wide-spread cluster close to a yellow star  
M 26   Scutum OC   ST120 Summer May-Jun, Aug-Sep Forms an obtuse triangle with two other stars, saw only few stars, but there should be 30 and more...  
M 27 Dumbbell Nebula Vulpecula PN   100P GT, 100P GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, ST120, SM127 Summer Jan, Apr, Jul-Nov A glow; seen quite well with PS72, and large and beautifully in Betz; with Exp150 and ST120 nice, large, and maybe a bit "square". +
M 28   Sagittarius GC   PS72, ST120 Summer May-Jun, Aug-Sep Close to M 22, much smaller, resolved into fine stars with 4 mm +
M 29   Cygnus OC   C8 Summer Jan-Feb, Jun Only a few stars (as Karkoschka writes), 4-6 stars fine stars  
M 31/32   Andromeda G LT, TS, OM21 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, GSD680, SM102, SM127, PS72, ST120, C8 Autumn Jan-Mar, Aug-Nov Seen best in France, even with binoculars; M 32 seen with C8 +
M 33   Triangulum G LT PS72, ST120, C8 Autumn Sep-Nov, Jan-Mar Seen only very faint  
M 34   Perseus OC LT, TS 100P, PS72, ST120, C8 Autumn Sep-Nov, Jan- Mar In binoculars more of a glow, in France resolved in single stars; wide-spread  
M 35   Gemini OC LT, TS 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD680, SM102, SM127, PS72, PS72 GT, ST120, C8, C8R, C5, C5R, C5R GT, TLAPO1027 GT Winter Oct-May Rich of stars and nice, large +
M 36   Auriga OC LT, TS 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD680, PS72 GT, C8R, C5R Winter Nov, Jan-May The "middle" cluster of M 36-38, regarding brightness and location +
M 37   Auriga OC LT, TS 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD680, PS72, PS72 GT, C8R, C5, C5R Winter Nov, Jan-May Outside of Auriga's "body"; brighter, larger and has more stars than M 38 +
M 38   Auriga OC LT, TS 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD680, PS72 GT, C8R, C5R Winter Nov, Nov, Jan-May Most difficult to find of M 36-38; the most Western of the three clusters +
M 39   Cygnus OC LT, TS 100P, PS72, C8, C5R Summer Aug-Nov, Jan-Feb, Jun At the upper left end of an Y; a wide, triangular field of stars; triangle seen well in the C8  
M 41   Canis Major OC   100P, P130 GT, PS72, GSD680, 150PDS GT Winter Feb-Apr Large and nice open star cluster, reminds me of M 34 ; not as dense as M 35-38  
M 42/43 Orion Nebula Orion GE LT, TS 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD680, SM102, SM127, PS72, ST120, C8, C8R, C8R GT, C5, C5R, C5R GT, TLAPO1027 GT Winter Oct-Apr Beautiful, particularly at higher magnifications; at higher magnifications, the Trapezium can be resolved; best with C8 and UHC filter +
M 44 Praesepe/Crib Cancer OC LT, TS 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, PS72 GT Winter Feb-May Very nice also in binoculars; ditto in the telescope +
M 45 Pleiades Taurus OC LT, TS, OM21 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, GSD680, SM127 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72 GT, ST120, C8,TLAPO1027, C5, C5R GT Winter Sep-May Large and nice, particularly in binoculars and ST120; too large for C8 s +
M 46   Puppis OC   100P, P130 GT, PS72 Winter Feb-Mar M 46 cluster seen, faint but nice; like a nebula at low magnifications; PN NGC 2438 not seen  
M 47   Puppis OC   100P, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72 Winter Feb-Mar Large, contains some large bright stars; brighter than M 46  
M 48   Hydra OC   P130 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72 Spring Feb-Mar Nice, but not bright  
M 49   Virgo G   150PDS GT Spring Mar, May Elliptical galaxy; small, but seen well  
M 50   Monoceros OC   P130 GT, GSD680, 150PDS GT, PS72, C5R Winter Feb-Apr Nice large open star cluster with many fine and some bright stars; appeared nicer than M 48 +
M 51 Whirlpool Galaxy Canes Venatici G   150PDS GT, PS72, ST120 Spring Mar-Sep Glow (brighter nucleus?), diffuse "something"...  
M 52   Cassiopeia OC   PS72/432 North Aug-Oct, Feb Medium-sized open star cluster; hard to find for me  
M 53   Coma Berenices GC   150PDS GT, SM127 GT Spring Mar-Jun, Aug Smallest visually observed GC, somewhat grainy, brighter nucleus at high magnification  
M 54   Sagittarius GC   ST120 Summer Aug-Sep Very small, but seen well, bright core, not resolved  
M 55   Sagittarius GC   ST120 Summer Sep Found M 55 more or less by chance, nice, larger than the nearby M 75; resolved at 7 and 4 mm, fairly faint at 4 mm. +
M 56   Lyra GC   100P, 100P GT, SM102, SM127, 150PDS GT, ST120 Summer Aug-Nov, Apr, Jun Sphere visible, but definitely smaller than M 13 and M 92; seen very well in Betz; small with 24 mm, then observed with 10, 7, and 4 mm; slightly resolved at 4 mm  
M 57 Ring Nebula Lyra PN   SM102, SM102 GT, SM127, P130 GT, 100P, 100P GT, 150PDS GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, ST120, C8, TLAPO1027 Summer Apr, Jun-Dec Ring may be guessed at high magnifications at best, seen well with larger telescopes (Betz, C8) +
M 64 Black Eye Galaxy Coma Berenices G   150PDS GT Spring Mar-Jun Glow, but seen well  
M 65/66   Leo G   150PDS GT, C8 Spring Feb-May Sometimes, I could see two faint galaxies, often only one  
M 67   Cancer OC   150PDS GT Winter Feb-Mar, May Somewhat widespread OC  
M 69   Sagittarius GC   ST120 Summer Aug-Sep Still small at 4 mm, faint at 4 mm (small star nearby -> for identification)  
M 70   Sagittarius GC   ST120 Summer Aug-Sep Small (located close to a longer chain of stars -> for identification)  
M 71   Sagitta GC   150PDS GT, PS72, ST120, SM127 Summer Aug-Okt, Jan M 71 was very lose; with PS72 probably seen faintly; with ST120 somewhat resolved at 4 mm, nice, but faint  
M 75   Sagittarius GC   ST120 Summer Aug-Sep Very hard to find, at 4 mm still very small, not resolvable  
M 76 Small Dumbbell Nebula Perseus PN   ST120, Summer Sep, Feb-Mar Very small; not found with 24 mm, only with 10, 7, and 4 mm  
M 78   Orion GR   P130 GT, C8, C5R, C5R GT, PS72 GT, TLAPO1027 GT Winter Dec-Mar Was hard to find, but no problem with C8 C8
M 80   Scorpius GC   ST120, SM127 Sommer May, Jul, Sep Low, but a little higher up than M 4, therefore somewhat brighter, small, located between two stars (vertical line), with 4 mm perhaps resolved in to stars  
M 81 Bode Galaxy Ursa Major G   100P, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, ST120 North Feb-Jul, Sep Nice spiral galaxy +
M 82 Cigar Galaxy Ursa Major G   100P, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, PS72, ST120 North Feb-Jul, Sep Elongated irregular galaxy (cigar), dirsturbed by an encounter with M 81  
M 87   Virgo G   150PDS GT Spring Mar, May Perhaps a spherical glow, not much to see  
M 92   Hercules GC LT, TS 100P, 100P GT, 102 GT, P130, P130 GT, 150PDS GT, GSD680, PS72, ST120, TLAPO1027, C8 Summer Apr-Oct Similar to M 3 and M 5, somewhat grainy at high magnifications +
M 93   Puppis OC   100P, P130 GT, 150PDS GT Winter Feb-Mar Nice at high magnification, only a glow otherwise  
M 94   Canes Venatici G   150PDS GT Spring Mar-May

Small spiral galaxy,visually a glow

  
M 95   Leo G   C8 Spring Mar-Apr Small barred spiral galaxy, relatively faint, but the bar is visible. Forms a pair with M 96.  
M 96   Leo G   150PDS GT, C8 Spring Feb-May

Spiral galaxy, forms a pair with M 95; visually, sometimes one galaxy (M 96) faintly visible, but often none...

 
M 103   Cassiopeia OC   100P, PS72, ST120, C8 North Sep-Oct, Jan-Mar Open star cluster with many fine stars; the brighter stars form a triangle  
M 104 Sombrero Galaxy Virgo G   150PDS GT Spring Mar-Jun Spiral galaxy, seen nearly edge-on; the dust ring and the bright nucleus led to the name; visually flat glow, but no sombrero...  
M 105   Leo G   C5 GT Spring Mar, Jun Bright elliptical galaxy  
M 106   Canes Venatici G   150PDS GT Spring Mar-Jun, Sep Larger and bright spiral galaxy with bright core; visually found, weak glow?  
M 107   Ophiuchus GC   ST120, SM127 Summer May-Jul, Sep Seen well with ST120, because higher up than the Scorpius globular clusters, with 4 mm perhaps resolved into stars. Faint with SM127.  

Further Catalogs
DSO Details
 Name Constellation Type Bino Telescope Prime Season* When Observed? Remarks Rec.
C/2017 T2 C/2017 T2 (Panstarrs) --- C   C8 --- Jan, Feb, Apr The comet is only a guess in the C8... (2020)  
C/2020 F3 C/2020 F3 (Neowise) --- C LT, TS SM127, eVs --- Jul, Aug The nicest comet in 2020 TS
Cr 399 Coat Hanger Vulpecula OC LT, TS, OM21 100P, ST120, SM127, TLAPO1027 Summer Aug-Nov In binoculars better than in the telescope, on OM21 mostly only partially visible; with ST120 just fits the field of view at 24 mm, nice (turned upside down) +
IC 4665   Ophiuchus OC   SM102 GT Summer May, Aug-Sep Can already be seen with the naked eye as a faint glow  
Mel 20 Alpha Persei Cluster Perseus OC LT, TS, OM21 100P, PS72, ST120 Autumn Sep-Nov, Jan-Mar Very nice, even to the naked eye +
Mel 25 Hyades Taurus OC LT, TS 100P, 100P GT, P130 GT, 150PDS, GSD680, C8 Winter Oct-Mar Very large +
Mel 111 Coma Berenices Cluster Coma Berenices OC LT, TS 100P Spring May, Jun Distant OC of relatively bright stars, only for opera glasses; a faint glow to the naked eye +
NGC 457 Owl/E.T. Cluster Cassiopeia OC   100P, PS72, ST120, C8, C8 GT North Sep-Oct, Dec, Jan-Feb Rather small, the "eyes" stand out; found it surprisingly well with ST120 and 24 mm thanks to the "bright eyes"; large with 10 mm; wonderful with 10 and 24 mm, never seen so clearly (I think so...) +
NGC 663/NGC 654   Cassiopeia OC   100P, SM127, PS72, ST120, C8 North Sep-Nov, Jan-Feb 663 seen (a lot of small stars and star pairs), 654 probably not +
NGC 752   Andromeda OC   PS72, ST120 Autumn Mar, Sep, Nov Large, many small stars, wide-spread +
NGC 884/NGC 869 Perseus Double Cluster Perseus OC LT, TS, OM21 100P, P130 GT, GSD680, PS72, ST120, C8, TLAPO1027, C5 Autumn Sep-Mar Seen with the naked eye, nice in binoculars (both together) and with ST120 and 35 mm eyepiece +
NGC 2237/2244 Rosette Nebula/Open star cluster in R. N. Monoceros GE+OC   P130 GT, PS72 Winter Feb-Mar Only star cluster NGC 2244 seen  
NGC 2264 Christmas Tree Cluster Monoceros OC   P130 GT, 150PDS GT Winter Feb-Apr "Christmas Tree" not recognized in Feb, but in Mar; saw only the star cluster +
NGC 2362   Canis Major OC   100P, P130 GT, GSD680 Winter Mar Primarily, I saw an "L" shape...  
NGC 2392   Gemini PN   P130 GT Winter Feb-Mar Guessed a small dot...  
NGC 2903   Leo G   C8 Spring Mar-Apr One of the brighter spiral galaxies; unclear why Messier missed it... Very faint in C8  
NGC 3184/80   Ursa Major G   C5R GT Winter Mar NGC 3184 is a barred spiral, NGC 3180 a nebula (HII region) in NGC 3184  
NGC 6633   Ophiuchus OC   P130 GT Summer Sep, May Not found, too low in September; according to Stoyan on par with M 11 and M 16  
NGC 6960/6992/5 Cirrus Nebula Cygnus GN   ST120 Summer Aug-Nov Faint...  
NGC 7000 North America Nebula Cygnus GE   ST120 Summer Feb, Jun, Aug-Nov Oct 2019: searched for with 24 and 10 mm, perhaps a glow - that would be more than ever...  
St 2 Muscle Man Cassiopeia OC LT, TS PS72, C8 North Oct-Nov, Jan Saw stars, but initially did not recognize the shape - did so in 2018  

Double Stars
DSO Details
 Name Constellation Type Bino Telescope Prime Season* When Observed? Remarks Rec.
beta Cyg Albireo Cygnus DS   100P, PS72, TLAPO1027 Summer Aug-Sep, Nov Nice difference in color +
alpha Gem Castor Gemini DS   100P Winter May    
epsilon Lyr Double Double Lyra DS TS, OM21 100P, SM102, SM127, PS72 Summer Aug-Sep Seen as "double pair" from a magnification of about 100 x on  
zeta UMa Mizar/Alkor Ursa Major DS   100P, PS72 North Aug-Sep, May Double star; visual double star with Alkor +

Legend

*) "Prime Season" describes when the sky objects are in the South (this is how they are assigned to season in books etc.). Of course, you can observe most sky object in other sky regions at other times of the year. Column "When observed?" lists, when I observed the sky objects.

Rec.: + = preliminary recommendation of (fairly) easy to find objects; (+) = these objects are nice, but harder to find or require a darker sky; ? = not found or details forgotten

Bino: LT = Leica Trinovid 10 x 25 BC, TS = TS 10 x 60 LE; Telescope: GT means GoTo mount

PN = planetary nebula, GN = galactic nebula, GE = galactic emission nebula, GR = galactic reflection nebula, OC = open star cluster, GC = globular star cluster, DS = double star, SP = star pattern, SC = star cloud

 

Remarks

The above lists contain (almost) all celestial objects that I have tried to observe. For many, I succeeded, for some more or less, and for others not at all. Some of the latter objects are listed as a reminder to try again...

Observation details can be found on the pages describing my observations, as well as on the pages dedicated to the individual celestial objects; the latter pages are linked to in the tables above.

 

References

Books

Websites

Lists of Own Observations

On this Website

 

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15.04.2024