More Southern Observing

Another observing plan of special interest to visual observers and astrophotographers with access to southern skies has been posted to the Deep-Sky Planner Plan Library. The plan is called "Sandqvist Lindroos Dark Nebulae".

The plan includes the 42 objects identified by two astronomers working at the Stockholm Observatory in their 1976 paper about dark dust clouds in the southern sky. Sandqvist and Lindroos examined  Palomar Observatory Sky Survey plates for dark clouds in previously unexplored declinations (-32° to -46°). They researched the presence of formaldehyde in the nebulae that they identified. As part of their process of identifying these dark clouds, they cataloged the area and opacity of each cloud in the survey - data which appear in the observing plan mentioned above. Objects in the plan also include their corresponding Barnard numbers where appropriate.

Observing these objects will require dark skies and large aperture. Imaging these objects should offer some interesting results since these objects are not imaged frequently.

Southern Hemisphere Observing

An observing plan called "RASC Southern Splendours" was posted recently to the Deep-Sky Planner Plan Library. The plan is based on an article of the same name from the "Observer's Handbook 2013" by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. The plan contains 75 showpiece objects that are visible to southern hemisphere observers. The most northerly object in the list is M 83 at -29° declination; the most southerly are at -72° (there are several, including the Small Magellanic Cloud).

Small Magellanic Cloud
Image credit: NASA/CXC/JPL-Caltech/STScI

We northern hemisphere observers often lament the great observing targets that are enjoyed by our southern hemisphere counterparts but not visible to us. I've read recently of the ongoing show displayed by comet C/2014 Q1 (PANSTARRS), and I admit to some envy.

While southern observers can enjoy the "Splendours" plan anytime, we northerners can make the trek south to enjoy it too. Such is the case with a small group of long time friends who are headed to the 2016 OzSky Star Safari in April. Unfortunately, those dates collide with the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) for me, but that's another story.

I look forward to hearing about the observing at OzSky, and I look forward to making the trip myself in the future. Whether you live in the southern hemisphere or not, the "Splendours" plan is available to all Deep-Sky Planner users now, and I hope observers north and south find an opportunity to use it.

Wide-Field Observing

I recently posted an observing plan to the Deep-Sky Planner Plan Library  containing most of the objects that appear in the "Wide-Field Wonders" article in the 2013 RASC Observer's Handbook. (The article also appears in the 2015 edition.) While most of the objects are nebulae and clusters, a few are more esoteric objects that aren't found in typical catalogs - things like molecular clouds. This plan contains an excellent variety of imaging and viewing targets, so I encourage readers to check out the article to get background information.

Observer's Handbook from
Royal Astronomical Society Canada

Wide-field observing (both visual and imaging) generally requires a rich-field telescope, binoculars, or a fairly fast telescope with a long focal length eyepiece. These objects often have low surface brightness, so a dark location is definitely indicated.

Wide-field observing can be a nice change of pace if your usual deep-sky observing includes galaxies, planetary nebulae and such. For example, I've observed the Veil Nebula in Cygnus dozens of times with various telescopes. I always enjoy viewing it with a UHC filter and magnification around 100x. The telescope I use most often these days is a 14.5" f/4.5 reflector. My rather ancient 20mm Nagler eyepiece produces magnification of 96x with a field of view of about .86° with this telescope. I've used this combination of equipment for several years, so the end result is somewhat expected.

14.5" f/4.5 Reflector

I got a new lower power eyepiece a year or so ago that was a game-changer on things like the Veil. The new eyepiece is a 31mm Nagler which produces 61x with FoV of 1.3°. It turns out that the view with the 31mm eyepiece allows me to see most of the nebula at once. The view with the 20mm requires a lot of scanning around to view the entire nebula. While the detail is much greater with the 96x view, the ability to 'get it all' at 61x is a welcome new capability. I've also observed the Veil through a friend's Tele Vue-NP101 (101mm, f/5.4) with a 31mm Nagler. The view was stunning and quite different from my usual result. That view really inspired the purchase of the 31mm eyepiece.

TeleVue's 31mm Nagler

From this I think it is fair to suggest that we get into familiar patterns with our observing - both imaging and visual. A simple change like using a different eyepiece can produce a very different view, even with an object that is very familiar. Perhaps we should take the next step with this by pursuing an observing plan that includes objects well off of our beaten path. The "Wide-Field Wonders" plan may be such a refreshing change of fare.

Improvements to the Deep-Sky Planner Community

Some improvements appeared this week in the Deep-Sky Planner Licensed Users' Community at knightware.biz. The improvements appeared in the Observing Plan Library and the Equipment Library. The changes make viewing data more efficient.

The old library viewing pages allowed users to page through items in the library. Items were listed in alphabetical order, 10 items per page. The libraries have grown in size so that paging through the data was no longer a sufficient way to navigate the contents.

The new library viewing pages are much more suited to the number of items in the libraries. Now items in a library can be sorted, filtered and searched. Users can also set the number of items viewed per page so that there is far less paging through the library while looking for plans and equipment. For example, the Plan Library can be filtered for plans whose names contain the word 'binocular', or the plans can be sort by their upload date. These capabilities should make using the Plan Library much easier as it continues to grow in size.

Observing Plan Library web page

Speaking of Growth

The Deep-Sky Planner 6 Plan Library has grown to nearly 300 pre-built observing plans. There are plans related to observing books, star parties and organizations. There are also plans that accompany popular monthly magazines and online articles:

• Binocular Universe (cloudynights.com): Plans that accompany Phil Harrington's monthly 'Binocular Universe' article on CloudyNights.com have been added to the Plan Library since December 2012. These plans hold a nice mix of objects for binocular observers every month.
• Deep-Sky Tour (Sky At Night magazine): Plans that accompany Steve Richards' monthly 'Deep-Sky Tour' column in Sky At Night magazine have been added to the Library since December 2011. These plans contain objects appropriate for small telescope observers. The plan file also appears on the coverdisc CD that accompanies each issue, along with a version of the plan file for Argo Navis devices. They are located in the Software section of the CD.
• New! Deep-Sky Wonders (Sky & Telescope magazine): Plans that accompany Sue French's monthly 'Deep-Sky Wonders' column in Sky & Telescope magazine are being added to the Plan Library starting December 2013. These plans contain objects appropriate for medium to large sized telescopes every month.

These plans are very handy to use when you are working through an observing list in a magazine or a book, or you haven't had time to prepare a custom plan of your own. They can also be viewed by licensed users with a web browser on any mobile device directly from the Plan Library.