Objects Viewable From Metro Phoenix
For SAC Award
by Thad Robosson and Ken Reeves
version 0.9, May 2000
This observing list is a selection of 110 of the brightest deep sky objects in the night sky that can easily be viewed with a telescope from light polluted sites. A light polluted site is one with enough light that the Milky Way is not visible with the unaided eye.
This list contains 100 objects that must be observed and 10 others to be selected at the observer’s discretion. Room for listing the 10 others has been allowed for at the end of the list.
A record of each observation must be made from an urban site and should include at least date, site, observing conditions, telescope size, power and a description of the object. The site should not be from a dark sky site; use dark sky site observations of these objects for comparing and contrasting the difference between the two sites.
There is no time limit. However, it suggested the list be completed in 3 years or less. It can be done in under a year; but that requires considerable dedication. How long you take should be dictated by enjoyment. After all entries have been observed, turn in your records to the Deep Sky Chairman for verification. Soon afterwards you will be awarded the “URBAN LIST” tag at a SAC Meeting.
| Abbreviations for Named objects are as follows: | |||||
| M=Messier | NGC=New General Catalogue | IC=Index Catalogue | |||
| Mel=Melotte |
|
||||
| Tr=Trumpler | |||||
| Cr=Collinder | |||||
| Type abbreviations | ||||
| Gal | Galaxy | GC | Globular Cluster | |
| OC | Open Cluster | Var | Variable star | |
| PN | Planetary Nebula | Neb | Emission or Reflection Nebula | |
| Dbl | Double Star | |||
| It is suggested the following terms be used for descriptions. For magnitude, bright or faint For size, large or small For the form of an object, round, extended, elliptical or irregular. For additional terms to qualify the prior descriptions use moderate, very or pretty. Don’t like these? Make up your own! |
For double stars the Separation in arcseconds and Position Angle in degrees are given. Observers should beware that these measurements can change over time. Therefore some observations may not correspond to what has been printed. These differences should be noted in the description of the observation.
For extended objects the positions and magnitudes are from SAC database, v 7.2.
Abbreviations in the CON column are the accepted IAU versions.
|
Item
|
Name
|
Con
|
RA_2000
|
Declination
|
Type
|
Mag
|
Notes
|
| 1 | M 31 | And | 00 42.7 | +41 16 | Gal | 3.4 | Andromeda Galaxy |
| 2 | NGC 752 | And | 01 57.7 | +37 40 | OC | 5.7 | shows well in RFT |
| 3 | Gamma And | And | 02 04.9 | +42 20 | Dbl | 2.2/5.5 | Sep 9.8″ PA 63deg |
| 4 | NGC 7662 | And | 23 25.9 | +42 33 | PN | 9.2 | Blue Snowball Nebula |
| 5 | M 2 | Aqr | 21 33.5 | -00 49 | GC | 6.5 | Bright, very large. |
| 6 | Lambda Ari | Ari | 01 58 | +23 35 | Dbl | 4.9/7.7 | Sep 38″ PA 47deg yellow/deep blue |
| 7 | NGC 1907 | Aur | 05 28.1 | +35 20 | OC | 8.2 | round, stars 9…12m |
| 8 | M 38 | Aur | 05 28.7 | +35 51 | OC | 6.4 | bright, irr. figure |
| 9 | M 36 | Aur | 05 36.3 | +34 08 | OC | 6.0 | bright, stars 9…11m |
| 10 | M 37 | Aur | 05 52.3 | +32 33 | OC | 5.6 | 500 stars |
| 11 | Xi Bootes | Boo | 14 51.4 | +19 06 | Dbl | 4.7/7.0 | Sep 6.6″ PA 318deg yellow/orange |
| 12 | Webb | Cam | 03 43 | +59 58 | Dbl | 5.9/8.5 | Sep 55″ PA 35deg gold/deep blue. |
| 13 | NGC 129 | Cas | 00 30.0 | +60 13 | OC | 6.5 | very large, stars 9…13m |
| 14 | Eta Cas | Cas | 00 49.1 | +57 49 | Dbl | 3.4/7.5 | Sep 12.8″ PA 317deg |
| 15 | NGC 457 | Cas | 01 19.5 | +58 17 | OC | 6.4 | bright, stars 7…10m |
| 16 | M 103 | Cas | 01 33.4 | +60 39 | OC | 7.4 | pretty large, stars 10…11m |
| 17 | NGC 654 | Cas | 01 44.0 | +61 53 | OC | 6.5 | irr. figure, stars 11…14m |
| 18 | Stock 2 | Cas | 02 15.0 | +59 16 | OC | 4.4 | nice star chains |
| 19 | M 52 | Cas | 23 24.2 | +61 35 | OC | 6.9 | stars 9…13m |
| 20 | NGC 7789 | Cas | 23 57.4 | +56 43 | OC | 6.7 | stars 11…18m |
| 21 | IC 1396 | Cep | 21 39.1 | +57 30 | OC | 3.5 | 50′ dia |
| 22 | Mu Cep | Cep | 21 43.5 | +58 47 | Var | 3.4~5.1 | Herschel’s Garnet Star |
| 23 | Nu CMa | CMa | 06 36 | -18 40 | Dbl | 5.8/8.5 | Sep 17″ PA 262deg yellow/blue |
| 24 | M 41 | CMa | 06 46.0 | -20 45 | OC | 4.5 | south of Sirius |
| 25 | NGC 2362 | CMa | 07 18.7 | -24 57 | OC | 4.1 | Tau CMa |
| 26 | M 44 | Cnc | 08 40.0 | 19 40 | OC | 3.1 | Praesepe or Beehive cluster |
| 27 | 48 Cnc | Cnc | 08 46.7 | +28 46 | Dbl | 4.2/6.6 | Iota, colors, Sep 30.5″ PA 307deg |
| 28 | Mel 111 | Com | 12 25.0 | +26 00 | OC | 1.8 | Coma Star Cluster |
| 29 | 24 Com | Com | 12 35.1 | +18 23 | Dbl | 5.2/6.7 | Sep 20.3″ PA 271deg |
| 30 | M 53 | Com | 13 12.9 | +18 10 | GC | 7.7 | bright |
| 31 | STF 1669 | Crv | 12 41.3 | -13 01 | Dbl | 6/6 | Sep 5.4″ PA 312deg, variable? |
| 32 | Y CVn | CVn | 12 45.1 | +45 26 | Var | 7.4~10 | La Superba |
| 33 | M 51 | CVn | 13 29.9 | +47 12 | Gal | 8.4 | Whirlpool Galaxy |
| 34 | M 3 | CVn | 13 42.2 | +28 23 | GC | 6.4 | bright, stars 11…m |
| 35 | Beta Cyg | Cyg | 19 30.7 | +27 58 | Dbl | 3.1/5.1 | Sep 34.3″ PA 54deg Albireo! |
| 36 | NGC 6811 | Cyg | 19 38.2 | +46 34 | OC | 6.8 | large |
| 37 | NGC 6826 | Cyg | 19 44.8 | +50 32 | PN | 8.8 | Blinking Planetary |
| 38 | NGC 6910 | Cyg | 20 23.2 | +40 47 | OC | 7.4 | pretty bright |
| 39 | 61 Cyg | Cyg | 21 06.9 | +38 45 | Dbl | 5.2/6 | Sep 30.3″ PA 150deg Piazzi’s Star |
| 40 | NGC 7027 | Cyg | 21 07.0 | +42 14 | PN | 9.6 | 15″ dia, 10.4mag |
| 41 | Gamma Del | Del | 20 46.6 | +16 08 | Dbl | 4.5/5.5 | Sep 9.6″ PA 268deg |
| 42 | NGC 6543 | Dra | 17 58.6 | +66 38 | PN | 8.3 | Cat’s Eye Nebula |
| 43 | NGC 1535 | Eri | 04 14.3 | -12 44 | PN | 10.4 | very bright, small |
| 44 | M 35 | Gem | 06 08.2 | +24 22 | OC | 5.1 | very large |
| 45 | M 13 | Her | 16 41.7 | +36 28 | GC | 5.9 | Hercules Globular Cluster |
| 46 | NGC 6210 | Her | 16 44.5 | +23 48 | PN | 9.7 | very bright, very small |
| 47 | M 92 | Her | 17 17.1 | +43 08 | GC | 6.5 | very bright, very large |
| 48 | V Hydrae | Hya | 10 51.6 | -21 15 | Var | 6~12 | can be very deeply red star |
| 49 | R Lep | Lep | 04 59.6 | -14 48 | Var | 5.5~11.7 | Hind’s Crimson Star |
| 50 | M 79 | Lep | 05 24.2 | -24 31 | GC | 8.4 | pretty large |
| 51 | M 56 | Lyr | 19 16.6 | +30 11 | GC | 8.3 | bright, stars 11…14m |
| 52 | Beta Lyr | Lyr | 18 50 | +33 22 | Dbl | 3.5/8.6 | Sep 45.7″ PA 149deg |
| 53 | M 57 | Lyr | 18 53.6 | +33 02 | PN | 9.4 | Ring Nebula |
| 54 | STF 2481 | Lyr | 19 11 | +38 47 | Dbl | 8.3/8.3 | Sep 5″ PA 201deg deep red/blue |
| 55 | NGC 2215 | Mon | 06 20.8 | -07 17 | OC | 8.4 | considerably large |
| 56 | Beta Mon | Mon | 06 28.8 | -07 02 | Dbl | 4.7/5.2 | Sep 7.3″ PA 132deg |
| 57 | NGC 2244 | Mon | 06 31.9 | +04 57 O | C | 4.8 1 | 2 Mon, in Rosette Nebula |
| 58 | NGC 2251 | Mon | 06 34.7 | +08 22 | OC | 7.3 | very large |
| 59 | NGC 2252 | Mon | 06 34.7 | +05 22 | OC | 7.7 | very large |
| 60 | NGC 2324 | Mon | 07 04.1 | +01 03 | OC | 8.4 | large |
| 61 | IC 4665 | Oph | 17 46.3 | +05 43 | OC | 4.2 | course cluster, 40′ dia. |
| 62 | NGC 6633 | Oph | 18 27.3 | +06 31 | OC | 4.6 | 27′ little compressed |
| 63 | STF 688 | Ori | 05 19 | -10 45 | Dbl | 8.6/8.7 | Sep 11″ PA 273deg orange/blue |
| 64 | M 42 | Ori | 05 35.3 | -05 23 | Neb | 4.0 | Great Nebula in Orion |
| 65 | Sigma Ori | Ori | 05 38.7 | -02 36 | Dbl | 4/7.5/6 | Sep 12.9″/42.6″ PA 84deg/61deg |
| 66 | STF 790 | Ori | 05 46 | -04 16 | Dbl | 6.4/8.7 | Sep 7″ PA 88deg orangish/blue |
| 67 | NGC 2169 | Ori | 06 08.4 | +13 58 | OC | 5.9 | The “37” cluster |
| 68 | 1 Peg | Peg | 21 22 | +19 48 | Dbl | 4.1/8.2 | Sep 36″ PA 312deg yellow/deep red |
| 69 | M 15 | Peg | 21 30.0 | +12 10 | GC | 6.4 | very bright |
| 70 | NGC 869 | Per | 02 19.1 | +57 08 | OC | 5.3 | western half of Double Cluster |
| 71 | NGC 884 | Per | 02 22.5 | +57 09 | OC | 6.1 | eastern half of Double Cluster |
| 72 | NGC 957 | Per | 02 33.3 | +57 34 | OC | 7.6 | pretty large, stars 13…15m |
| 73 | TR 2 | Per | 02 37.3 | +55 59 | OC | 5.9 | abt 20 stars with 3 doubles |
| 74 | M 34 | Per | 02 42.1 | +42 47 | OC | 5.2 | bright |
| 75 | Eta Per | Per | 02 50.7 | +55 54 | Dbl | 3.8/8.5 | Sep 28.3″ PA 300deg |
| 76 | STF 336 | Per | 03 02 | +32 24 | Dbl | 6.9/8.4 | Sep 9″ PA 8deg white/deep blue |
| 77 | Mel 20 | Per | 03 22.0 | +49 00 | OC | 1.2 | Alpha Per. Association |
| 78 | NGC 1342 | Per | 03 31.7 | +37 22 | OC | 6.7 | very large, about 60 stars |
| 79 | NGC 1528 | Per | 04 15.3 | +51 13 | OC | 6.4 | bright |
| 80 | h1991 | Scl | 0 39 | -25 06 | Dbl | 6.6/9.7 | Sep 45″ PA 93deg orange/deep blue |
| 81 | M 80 | Sco | 16 17.0 | -22 59 | GC | 7.2 | very bright |
| 82 | M 4 | Sco | 16 23.6 | -26 32 | GC | 5.9 | 8-10 bright stars |
| 83 | M 6 | Sco | 17 40.3 | -32 15 | OC | 4.2 | large, stars 7…10m |
| 84 | M 7 | Sco | 17 53.9 | -34 48 | OC | 3.3 | very bright, stars 7…12m |
| 85 | M 11 | Sct | 18 51.1 | -06 16 | OC | 5.8 | Wild Duck, stars 9…14m |
| 86 | M 5 | Ser | 15 18.6 | +02 05 | GC | 5.8 | very bright,stars 11…15m |
| 87 | IC 4756 | Ser | 18 39.0 | +05 27 | OC | 4.6 | group of 80 stars |
| 88 | M 8 | Sgr | 18 03.7 | -24 23 | Neb | 5.0 | Lagoon Nebula |
| 89 | M 24 | Sgr | 18 17.0 | -18 35 | OC | 3.1 | Small Sag. Star Cloud |
| 90 | M 17 | Sgr | 18 20.8 | -16 11 | Neb | 6.0 | bright |
| 91 | M 22 | Sgr | 18 36.4 | -23 54 | GC | 5.1 | very bright, stars 11…15m |
| 92 | M 45 | Tau | 03 47.0 | +24 07 | OC | 1.2 | The Pleiades |
| 93 | STT 84 | Tau | 04 31 | +06 48 | Dbl | 7.3/8.2 | Sep 9″ PA 254deg orange/white. |
| 94 | M 81 | UMa | 09 55.6 | +69 04 | Gal | 6.9 | fine spiral |
| 95 | M 82 | UMa | 09 55.9 | +69 41 | Gal | 8.4 | dark lanes |
| 96 | M 97 | UMa | 11 14.8 | +55 01 | PN | 11.0 | Owl Nebula |
| 97 | Zeta UMa | UMa | 13 23.9 | +54 56 | Dbl | 2.3/4 | Sep 14.4″ PA 152deg, Mizar. |
| 98 | SS Virgo | Vir | 12 25.3 | +00 46 | Var | 6~9.6 | deep red star |
| 99 | M 104 | Vir | 12 40.0 | -11 37 | Gal | 8.0 | Sombrero Galaxy |
| 100 | Cr 399 | Vul | 19 25.4 | +20 11 | OC | 3.6 | Brocchi’s Cluster |