A selection of targets suitable for public observing

through the UMBC Physics Telescope

Notes concerning the telescope and viewing conditions.

The list of object below was viewed with the 0.8m UMBC Physics Telescope through an eyepiece at the prime focus. The sky was clear and moonless.

Normally, a telescope of this size should have no problem picking up objects. So if the contents of the list of poor objects suprises you, keep in mind that the telescope is located on the roof of the Physics building on the UMBC campus in the suburbs of Baltimore. Light pollution is the limiting factor.

Coverage is not complete. Only about 1/3 complete.

Recommended objects

See also a list of Objects not recommended

Library #RatingObjClassRANotes
031***M31Gal00:42:46 Andromeda Galaxy. Bright, but too large for field of view. no structure.
038**M38OC05:28:41 Fits well. Nothing bright.
217*****M42Neb05:35:15 Orion Nebula. Nebula bright. Trapezium bright.
036***M36OC05:36:09 Fits well. Nice. Need to slew E.
037***M37OC05:52:20 Many faint stars and 1 bright red one.
035***M35OC06:08:50 Similar to M37. More open and brighter.
050*M50OC07:02:54 Not very rich. About 12 bright stars.
230***Eskimo NebulaPN07:29:18 Bright central white dwarf with compact faint nebulosity.
047***M47OC07:36:33 With double star. Lots of bright stars.
046*M46OC07:41:51 Rich but spread out and faint.
093**M93OC07:44:34 Tighter than M46, with a few red giants
048*M48OC08:13:38 Many blue stars of similar luminosity but dispersed.
067***M67OC08:51:04 Many faint stars. Few bright.
081*M81Gal09:55:39 Obviously elongated. Not much structure.
082***M82Gal09:55:52 Exploding galaxy. Faint streak with hint of mottling.
066*M66Gal11:20:12 Faint. Hint of 2 lobes.
106*M106Gal12:18:56 Faint smudge. Bright core.
094***M94Gal12:50:59 Good. Almost a doughnut core.
053***M53GC13:12:55 Good
250*****Mizar & Alcor**13:23:56 Very good triple
051***M51Gal13:29:57 Whirlpool galaxy. See both components, but no arms.
003***M3GC13:42:15 Very nice. Easy to resolve stars.
254*xi Boo**14 51 23 White & yellow. close pair
005**M5GC15 18 34 Faint. Resolvable. Very nice. Two bright foreground stars.
257*del Ser**15 34 48 Miscatalogued. @ 15 34 59.3 +10:32:31. Nice pair. Close. Equal brightness.
258*zeta CrB**15 39 22 Bright white. Nice separation.
259****xi Sco*** **16 04 22 Clearly 2 & 2. Each different. Nice position. Nice.
013*****M13GC16 41 42 The classic. Hercules globular cluster. Rich and easy to resolve.
266***NGC 6210PN16 44 33 Small but distincly blue-green and fuzzy.
010*M10GC16 57 07 Faint. Better than M12. Pleasant.
092****M92GC17 17 10 Tight. Easy to resolve. Well positioned.
273****nu Dra**17 32 13 Beauty. Distinct. Well separated bu obvious.
006**M6OC17 40 02 Good. Many bright stars. Bigger than FOV.
518**psi Dra**17 41 57 Almost as good as nu Drac.
023*M23OC17 56 58 Fainter. Tighter. Denser, Higher. Most same luminosity.
277****NGC 6543PN17 58 35 Blue-green. Kidney-shaped. WD visible.
278*95 Her**18 01 30 Close. Yellow & White. OK.
<008>**M8Neb18 03 08 -24 23.1 Nebula to the right of FOV, left of OC. Visible but small.
281**NGC6572PN18 12 07 Blue-green. Small. Puts the "planet" in PN.
016*M16Neb18 18 49 OC only. OK. Interesting layout.
017**M17Neb18 20 44 Visible. Large. But not bright. Diagonal disc.
025****M25OC18 31 42 Red and blue stars laid out irregularly.
022****M22GC18 36 19 Diffuse but resolvable. No bright core. Very rich in red stars.
285***eps Lyr** **18 44 21 Classic double double. Tricky to separate.
026**M26OC18 45 22 Kite with tail. Compact. Cute.
011*****M11OC18 51 02 Beautiful. Mini GC.
057*****M57PN18 53 32 Ring Nebula. Classic. Distinct ring. But no colour.
054**M54GC18 55 12 Compact. Not resolved. Distant. Far south.
288****thet Ser**18 56 14 Classic double.
289*****Alberio**19:30:44 Classic pair. One red. One blue.
291**NGC 6818PN19 43 54 Frustrating. Gibbous. Little colour. I like it.
293****NGC 6826PN19 44 52 Central WD visible. Nice. Blue-green. Blinks!
027****M27PN19 59 35 Generally too faint. Big. Good on a good night.
029*M29OC20 23 55 8 main stars. Attractive little asterism.
295**gam Del**20 46 39 Nice separation. Bluish and yellow.
296PNNGC 7009****21 04 16 Saturn Nebula. Small. Good colour. Oval

Objects not recommended

Library #ObjClassRANotes
045M45OC03:47:29 Pleiades. Too diffuse to be appreciated.
001M1SNR05:34:30 Hard to see. I always think I've missed it.
078M78Neb05:46:47 Too high ZA to tell.
044M44OC08:40:02 Praesepe. Bright, but too dispersed.
095M95Gal10:43:55 Very faint.
108M108Gal11:11:33 I didn't see it.
097M97PN11:14:45 Owl Nebula. I didn't see it.
065M65Gal11:18:54 Very faint.
109M109Gal11:57:36 I didn't see it.
098M98Gal12:13:52 I didn't see anything. Not even stars.
099M99Gal12:18:52 I didn't see it.
061M61Gal12:21:59 Very faint.
100M100Gal12:22:58 Very faint.
064M64Gal12:56:44 Black-eye galaxy. I didn't see it.
101M101Gal14:03:17 Very faint.
253eps Boo**14 44 59 Not easy to resolve. Need steady seeing
416del Boo**15 15 30 Wide pair. Boring
256mu Boo***15 24 30 Difficult to separate 2nd pair.
107M107GC16 32 30 Not bright. Barely their.
012M12GC16 47 12 More open than globulars. Unimpressive. Distracting FG.
014M14GC17 37 37 V. Faint. South. Smudge.
269alph Her**17 14 39 Close pair. Colour not obvious. Both seem yellow.
270del Her**17 15 02 2nd very faint. Blah.
009M9GC17 19 17 Faint. Unresolved. Too far south.
272rho Her**17 23 41 Not thrilling. Close pari. Distracting FG object.
52690 Her**17 53 18 Impossible.
007M7OC17 53 58 Not well placed. Too far south.
020M20Neb18 02 19 Nothing.
021M21OC18 04 37 Not impressive. (mis-aimed). About dozen stars.
28070 Oph**18 05 27 Splitable but close. Red/yellow. Blah.
018M18OC18 19 57 Dull. Mini Hyades.
028M28GC18 24 32 Faint. Smudge.
069M69GC18 31 20 Fainter. Distracting FG.
284Vega**18 36 56 2nd star far too faint.
NGC 6633OC18 27 31 +6 34 12 Very wide. Too big.
056M56GC19 16 34 Not too exciting. Resolvable. Obvious. Distracting FG.
055M55GC19 40 05 V. South. Limit. Ugh.
292del Cyg**19 44 58 Too close.
071M71GC19 53 43 Hard to make out.
075M75GC20 06 10 Tight smudge. Unresolvable.
52849 Cyg**20 41 03 Too close and too disparate.
039M39GC21 32 12 Very broad.