STARLOG

SWAN EGGS

OCTOBER 28, 2016

According to the Clear Sky Alarm Clock email I get, tonight was supposed to be clear with above average seeing and transparency. However, as sunset approached, most of the sky was covered with high-level cirrus clouds.

Hoping that the conditions would improve as the evening wore on, I went ahead and set up my telescope in the back yard and then went back inside for a bit. Sure enough, after twilight ended, the skies had cleared some, although there were still patches of thin clouds here and there.

One of my observing goals tonight was to observe a new nova in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is low in the sky right now and unfortunately, tonight it was also mostly hidden in clouds. Hopefully, I can catch it soon before Sagittarius disappears below the horizon.

Other than the nova, I had no real plan tonight. I had a list of several new objects I wanted to try to catch, but I knew they'd be tough from my light-polluted back yard. I started with a couple of Messier objects that I haven't visited yet with the Biggie Z.

M 56	Lyra	Globular Cluster	9:00pm CST
	This globular cluster is large, but faint. The barlowed 18mm (208x) offers the best view. It reminds me more of a compact open cluster with background nebulosity than a globular. It is irregular in shape and the members are very faint. I had to use averted vision to partially resolve it.
Egg Nebula	Cygnus	Planetary Nebula	9:25pm CST
	NEW! - Using the barlowed 11mm (341x), this is an unusual planetary. It is very elongated, with a dark line bisecting it at almost the center that makes it look like it's broken in half. Perhaps the swan's egg is hatching.
M 39/strong>	Cygnus	Open Cluster	9:35pm CST
	NEW! - This is a nice, large open cluster. It is very spread out, filling up the field with my 18m (83x). Perhaps 3 dozen bright stars are visible.

I tried for the Cocoon Nebula and a few galaxies, but didn't have any luck. I noticed the Pleiades were rising in the eastern sky and so I went inside and grabbed my wife's camera and snapped this nice photo of the Pleiades and part of Taurus.

Despite the less-than-ideal sky conditions, it felt good to bag a new object. As I reviewed my StarLogs, I realized that the Egg Nebula was the 499th different celestial object I have logged over the years. It will be neat if I can catch the nova this next week and make it number 500.