22:00- 22:30     Zmijonosa - Mars sa okolinom (GC M62, M19, M9, 6356)

NGC6266 / M62  in OPH ,   R.A.: 17:01.2   Dec : -30.1   Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

6.5M; 9' diameter; soft glow with brighter center; uneven outline with brightest part of central region off center; brighter stars well resolved over diffuse background glow; easy in binoculars

NGC6273 / M19  in OPH ,   R.A.: 17:02.6   Dec : -26.3  Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

7M; 5' diameter; bright, large (easy in binoculars) and compressed; resolved to 13M members; two 13M stars bracket N sector; GLOB N6284 is 1.5? to NNE; GLOB N6293 is 1.5? E and a little S

NGC6333 / M9  in OPH ,   R.A.: 17:19.2   Dec : -18.5   Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

8M; 9' diameter; scraggly and uneven for a GLOB; easy in binocs; telescope reveals a center little condensed; looks like very rich OPN CL; GLOB N6356 is 80' to NE

NGC6356 / H48-1  in OPH ,   R.A.: 17:23.6   Dec : -17.8   Type: GLOB 

8.5M; 3.5' diameter; bright and small; individual stars not resolved at 200?/span>

22:30- 23:00   Strelac - Stit  (M17, M16, M26, 6712, M11)

NGC6618 / M17  in SGR ,   R.A.: 18:20.8   Dec : -16.2   Type: DIF NEBULA ,    Visible in binoculars

6M; 45' ?5' extent; impressive "SWAN" swimming WNW-ward, head to the S; 11M stars at neck and beak; N-filter yields mottled appearance; brightest portion is wing folded over back; a.k.a. "OMEGA" and "CHECK-MARK" (and "DUCK," according to Tectron's Tom Clark); rivals M42 for detail; very faint nebulosity (the swan's wake?) extends to E; wonderful binocular target, especially if fitted with dual N-filters

NGC6611 / M16  in SER Cau ,   R.A.: 18:18.8   Dec : -13.8   Type: OPN CLUSTER+ ,    Visible in binoculars

6M; 7' diameter; many 8M and dimmer members; surrounded by scads of faint nebulosity of emission, reflection, and dark types, called the "EAGLE" or Burnham's "STAR QUEEN"; much detail visible with N-filter; nebula complex is 20' ?2' extent; easily withstands high-?with N-filter; OPN CL H19 (Tr-32) 5' diameter is 30' to NW; reference: BCH-III-1783 and VADSS-190; cluster is visible in binoculars

NGC6694 / M26  in SCT ,   R.A.: 18:45.2   Dec : -09.4   Type: OPN CLUSTER ,    Visible in binoculars

9.5M; 9' diameter; sparse and dull; 30-plus 11M thru 14M members; zzzzzzzzzzzz! when snooze is over, try it in binoculars

NGC6712 / H47-1  in SCT ,   R.A.: 18:53.1   Dec : -08.7  Type: GLOB 

9M; 3' diameter; formless glow with brighter center; just barely resolved at 200?; 14M stars over diffuse background glow; if you're feeling really lucky, try PL NEB IC1295 (14M; 1.5' diameter) 20' E and a little S; use low-?and N-filter

NGC6705 / M11  in SCT ,   R.A.: 18:51.1   Dec : -06.3   Type: OPN CLUSTER ,    Visible in binoculars

6M; 12' diameter; bright, large, irregular in shape; very, very rich for an OPN CL; brightest star is 9M; 200-plus 11M thru 14M members; truly a beauty! the "WILD DUCK" cluster; a.k.a. the "Dark Star" cluster after the shape of the void in the SE sector noted by Mary Verkuilen and George Chaktoura; OPN CL N6704 is 1? due N; while in the area, try it with binoculars; the nearby Scutum Star Cloud (mostly W and SW) will take your breath away

23:00- 00:00   Strela - Lisica - Lira (A2 Linear, M71, M27, Albireo, M56, M57) 

NGC6838 / M71  in SGE ,   R.A.: 19:53.8   Dec : +18.8  Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

9M; 6' diameter; oddly shaped; not round! many 12M and dimmer stars resolved against glow of diffuse background; dimly visible in binoculars just 1? WSW of 3.5M YELO ST (K5) Alpha a  SGE, and 1.5? E and a bit N of 4M ORNG ST (M2) Delta d  SGE; sparse and dim OPN CL Harvard-20 (9.6M; 8' diameter) is 30' SSW of M71

NGC6853 / M27  in VUL ,   R.A.: 19:59.6   Dec : +22.7  Type: PL NEBULA ,    Visible in binoculars

8M; 8' ?' extent; NNE-SSW-oriented, double-lobed, bright, 5' ?' hourglass-shaped nebulous patch visible in binoculars 3.5? due N of 3.5M Gamma g  SGE; SSW section brighter; fainter nebulosity extends outward between lobes (along SE-NW axis), enhanced greatly by N-filter, makes total shape an ellipse with an 8' major axis; much detail visible in nebula, but few foreground stars visible in 8-inch; view thru 25-inch, with a dozen or so foreground stars superimposed, is dazzling! the "DUMBELL" or "BARBELL" nebula

Beta b  CYG / Albireo  in CYG ,   R.A.: 19:30.7   Dec : +28.0  Type: DBL STAR ,    Visible in binoculars

35" separation at PA 054; 3-5.5M; great color contrast! deep yellow (K3)/blue (B8); actually looks better in smaller scopes; a prime treat at the Swan's head! can be split in steadily held binoculars

NGC6779 / M56  in LYR ,   R.A.: 19:16.6   Dec : +30.2  Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars 

8M; 5' diameter; just barely resolved at 200?with 13M and dimmer members; much like N6760 but much larger and more easily resolved; rather easy binocular target on a line, and 40% of the distance between Beta b  CYG and Gamma g  LYR; ruddy, bright star 25' to NW is 6M SAO 68040, a spectral class M2 red giant 

NGC6720 / M57  in LYR ,   R.A.: 18:53.6   Dec : +33.0  Type: PL NEBULA ,    Visible in binoculars

9.7M; 80" ?0" extent; this astral doughnut requires higher-?to appreciate fully; almost midway and just S of a line between Beta b  LYR and Gamma g  LYR (a bit closer to the former); 14M center star tough because of extremely high spectral class (early O) and lack of contrast in interior glow; too small for hand-held binoculars of <10?; 10?0 and 14?0 binocs show small, bright oval; good reference photos BCH-II-1165,6; the "RING" nebula 

00:30- 01:00   Vodolija - Jarac   (M72, M73, 7009, Uran, Neptun, M30, 7293)

NGC6981 / M72  in AQR ,   R.A.: 20:53.5   Dec : -12.5  Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

8.6M; 3' diameter; fairly unremarkable but easily resolved object; faintly visible in binoculars; 1.5? to E is M73 (you talk about excitement!)

NGC6994 / M73  in AQR ,   R.A.: 20:59.0   Dec : -12.6  Type: AST 

8.9M; Very economical of stars (4) this "OPN CL"; only looks nebulous in scopes of <1-inch aperture, or in larger, mis-aligned or mis-figured light buckets; move on!

NGC7009 / Saturn  in AQR ,   R.A.: 21:04.2   Dec : -11.4   Type: PL NEBULA 

8M; 25' ?5' extent; bright, blue-green ellipse with detail visible at high-?with N-filter; faint "Ansae" extend E-W giving the appearance of "rings" like the planet Saturn; radial brightness non-uniform

NGC7099 / M30  in CAP ,   R.A.: 21:40.4   Dec : -23.2  Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

8M; 6' diameter; small and soft-edged with much brighter middle and 12M stellar core; little larger and brighter than N7006; not quite round with brighter stars concentrated in NW quadrant; 10M star 8' to W; two stellar strings extend 1' from core-one radial due N-the other, tangent to outer edge, heads N and a little W; bright star 20' E and a little S is 5.5M 41 CAP; find both in binoculars

NGC7293 / Helix  in AQR ,   R.A.: 22:29.6   Dec : -20.8  Type: PL NEBULA ,    Visible in binoculars

7.3M; 13' diameter; N-filter helps greatly on this!; four faint stars on W side (two NW and two SW); N-filter shows center more rarefied; 13M central star not visible in interior glow; the "Helix" is visible in binoculars, more readily so with dual N-filters!

01:00- 02:00   Vodolija - Pegaz - Andromeda (M2, M15, 7331, 7217, 7662, 7686)

NGC7089 / M2  in AQR ,   R.A.: 21:33.5   Dec : -00.8   Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

6M; 7' diameter; bright and round with bright central condensation; easy in binoculars; just resolved at 100?; 13M and dimmer members; 11M star 2' due N of core; 10M star 5' NNW of core

NGC7078 / M15  in PEG ,   R.A.: 21:30.0   Dec : +12.2   Type: GLOB ,    Visible in binoculars

6.5M; 10' diameter; round and well resolved at 100?; 12M thru 14M members; a pile of diamonds on black velvet! (includes a 14M, 1" diameter PL NEB, but I'll be hanged if I can find it); good binocular target; bright star 8' to NNE is 7.7M SAO 107179; brighter star 15' E is 6M SAO 107195; 2? to ENE lies very faint PL NEB N7094; 4? to ESE lies 2.5M YELO ST (K2) Enif (Epsilon e  PEG)

NGC7331 / H53-1  in PEG ,   R.A.: 22:37.1   Dec : +34.4   Type: SP GALAXY 

9.5M; 10' ?.5' extent; bright and much elongated glow with stellar nucleus; edge-on spiral or lenticular galaxy; axis oriented N-S; SNP; many small, faint GALs nearby; closest and brightest is SP GAL N7335 (13M; 1' ?.5' extent) 4' ENE of N7331's core; fainter, smaller SP GAL N7336 (13.4M; <1' diameter) appears faintly 2' NNE of N7335; very faint, small SP GAL N7337 (13.5M; 1' diameter) is 5' SW of N7331's core; SNP; see photos at HAG-17 and NAG-40; Stephan's Quintet (soft glow of five very faint and distant GALs) is 30' due S; entire retinue given the moniker "Deer Lick Group" in commemoration of one of the finest nights of viewing EVER, at Deer Lick Gap, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the NC mountains

NGC7217 / H207-2  in PEG ,   R.A.: 22:07.9   Dec : +31.4   Type: SP GALAXY 

10.2M; 2.7' ?.4' extent; small and a little oblong; stellar core; 12M star 5' ESE; 14.5M star N of core, within non-visual outer ring; SNP; see photo at NAG-62

NGC7662 / H18-4  in AND ,   R.A.: 23:25.9   Dec : +42.6  Type: PL NEBULA 

8.3M; 2' diameter with 20" diameter inner annulus; bluish and bright at >300?; N-filter shows void in center; 13M star 1' due E; a.k.a. the "Blue Snowball," it's found 30' SSW of 6M 13 AND; about 2? to SSW is faint SP GAL N7640

NGC7686 / H69-8  in AND ,   R.A.: 23:30.2   Dec : +49.1  Type: OPN CLUSTER 

7M; 12' diameter; 12-plus 7M thru 13M members; large irregular and sparse; knot of dimmer stars surrounds brightest member E of center of knot

02:00- 02:30   Andromeda ? Persej (M31, M32, M110, M76, 404, Almach)

NGC224 / M31  in AND ,   R.A.: 00:42.7   Dec : +41.3   Type: SP GALAXY ,    Visible in binoculars

3.4M!; 3??? extent; huge, nebulous ellipse with much detail and bright, stellar nucleus; axis oriented NE-SW; includes faint, small star cloud designated N206 40' SW of core; dark lanes visible using wide field and P-filter; see, also, EL GALs N221 (M32) and N205 (M110) each less than 1? to S and NW respectively; a great binocular object; easily visible to the naked eye, and at 2.36 million l.y. distance, probably the farthest thing you can see with the unaided eye; SNPs; see photo at HAG-18; photos and info at BCH-I-129-50

NGC221 / M32  in AND ,   R.A.: 00:42.7   Dec : +40.9   Type: EL GALAXY 

8.2M; 8' ?' extent; bright companion to M31; fairly compact with condensed nucleus; 24' due S of M31's center

NGC205 / M110  in AND ,   R.A.: 00:40.4   Dec : +41.7   Type: EL GALAXY 

8M; 17' ?0' extent; large, amorphous, faint, oblong blob; faintly brighter toward center; companion of, and 35' NW of the core of M31; a member of the local group along with M31, M32, N147 and N185; see photo at HAG-3

NGC650 / M76  in PER ,   R.A.: 01:42.4   Dec : +51.6   Type: PL NEBULA 

10.1M; 2' ?' extent; elongated, bright and compact; two lobes (N650-651) to this bi-polar PL NEB; axis oriented NE-SW; SW lobe brighter; large aperture and high-?show radial filaments; find it about 50' NNE of 5M Phi f  PER; called the "LITTLE DUMBELL"; a.k.a. the "CORK" nebula

NGC404 / H224-2  in AND ,   R.A.: 01:09.4   Dec : +35.7  Type: SP GALAXY 

10.1M; 1.5' diameter; soft blur with little brighter center 6' NNW of 2M, deep gold (spectral class M0) Beta b  AND (Mirach); a.k.a. "COMET KOMOROWSKI"; look for small, faint crescent (partial dust lane) just NE of center; SNP; see photo at HAG-6; info and photo at BCH-I-113,4

Gamma g  AND / Almach  in AND,   R.A.: 02:03.9  Dec : +42.3  Type: TPL STAR,    Visible in binoculars

10" separation at PA 063; 2.2-5M; beautiful, colorful, gold/blue pair! compares with Beta b  CYG (Albireo); smaller star is difficult pair (0.5" separation at PA 103; 5.5-6.3M); while the major pair is unresolved in binoculars, the primary's K2 spectral class lends it a rich golden hue, swamping the blue of the secondary

03:00- 03:30   Kit - Ribe (Mira, 66 Cet, M77, M74)

Omicron o  CET / Mira  in CET,   R.A.: 02:19.3  Dec : -03.0 Type: LP VAR,    Visible in binoculars

Period 332 days; 2?10M; Mira means "WONDERFUL" (Lat.); at its brighter apparitions, Mira is enjoyable in binoculars, not only for its variability, but also for its ruddy hue as it bears spectral type M; find a 12M companion 73" distant at PA 085, and a reddish 9M compadre 2' distant at PA 078, making it a MTPL ST as well; finder chart and information at BCH-I-631; a sweet set of DBL STs can be found by moving 1.5? NE of Mira, the first is ADS1835 (12" separation at PA 136; 9.2-9.7M) the N-most of a 25'  -long 4-star bent chain; next in line going S in the chain is squeaky tight (good luck!) RST4204 (0.2" separation at PA 317; 9.3-9.6M); at the S-most end of the 4-star chain is ADS1839 (8" separation at PA 267; 9.5-10M); 3.5? ENE of Mira is yet another fine, tight DBL ST, ADS1945 (0.6" sepa ration at PA 094; 9.2-9.8M); go 3.2? E of Mira, then 1.2? N; you'll find it! 1.5? WNW lies DBL ST Struve 231

Struve 231 / 66 CET  in CET,   R.A.: 02:12.8  Dec : -02.4  Type: DBL STAR,    Visible in binoculars

16.5" separation at PA 234; 5.7-7.5M; both white; easily found 1.5? WNW of LP VAR Omicron o  CET (Mira) which may or may not be so easily found depending upon its phase of variability

NGC1068 / M77  in CET,   R.A.: 02:42.7  Dec : -00.1  Type: SP GALAXY,    Visible in binoculars

8.8M; 7' ?' extent; oblong nebulosity surrounds bright nucleus of this anomalously energetic Seyfert GAL and strong radio source (3C71); includes very faint 6' diameter outer ring; 8M star 2' from core to ESE; see photo at HAG-16; bright, central core can be seen in 14?0 binocs 50' ESE of 4M BLUE ST (B2) Delta d  CET; SP GAL N1055 (12M; 5' ?' extent) 25' to NNW is an E-W slash with brighter center located at S point of isosceles triangle with two 7M stars; has equatorial dust lane and 11M star 1' NNW of core; SP GAL N1087 lies 1? ESE of M77

NGC628 / M74  in PSC ,   R.A.: 01:36.7   Dec : +15.8   Type: SP GALAXY ,    Visible in binoculars

9.2M; 10' diameter; large and faint with small, bright center; 14M star appears 20" due S of core; this is the most difficult Messier object! face-on spiral; tiny bright knots (H-II regions) 2.5' SSW, 2.5' NNW, 1' E, and 3.5' E between two 12M stars; try N-filter; quite a few 12-13M stars within bounds of spiral arm structure; sketch necessary; find it 70' ENE of 3.5M Eta h  PSC; much detail visible under clear, dark skies; it's a challenge, but Messier 74 can be seen in 10?0 and 14?0 binoculars on a very good night; SNP; see photos at HAG-29,31 and NAG-26,45

03:30- 04:00   Bik (Saturn, 4Vesta, P19/Borrelly)

04:00- 04:30  Jupiter, Venera, Mesec