KT4HX

Welcome to a new month and a new edition of the DSTM. As I normally do, I have included some finder charts to aid your search, which are made with Sky Tools 3 with the kind permission of Greg at Skyhound.

From the northern hemisphere we will take a look at an object that is often seen but seemingly given only a cursory glance at best a great deal of the time. Then we will visit a curious pair of galaxies that can inspire the imagination. Looking below the celestial equator we will pick ...

Tags: dsos, dstm, open cluster, planetary nebula, southern skies

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Deep Sky This Month

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We now move southward to take a look at the offerings for those living closer to or below the terrestrial equator. I hope you find these are fun to pursue, and they offer you something new to add to your normal sessions this month.


Southern Celestial Hemisphere:


NGC 5460 (Centaurus)


Open Cluster, mag=5.6, size=30.0’


The constellation representing the fabled centaur is the ninth largest by area and contains nearly ...

Tags: dsos, dstm, open cluster, planetary nebula, southern skies

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Deep Sky This Month

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Here we are in April now, and I am sure at least some of you are fighting with clouds and rain. But for those fortunate enough to have clear skies galaxies abound. This month for our northern targets we shall visit the front leg of the great bear for one of my favorite non-Messier galaxies. Then scratch the shoulders of our celestial lion for a galactic duo (or is that a trio?). Four our southern friends we will visit the profusely rich constellation of Centaurus for three bright galaxies that ...

Tags: dsos, dstm, galaxies

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Deep Sky This Month

Southern Celestial Hemisphere:


NGC 5128 (Centaurus):

Lenticular/peculiar Galaxy, mag=6.8, size=25.7’x20.0’, SBr=13.3 mag/arcmin²

The celestial centaur is a large and bright constellation that is rich in a variety of DSOs. One of its more famous possessions is the radio galaxy Centaurus-A. It is also known variously as Arp 153, the Hamburger Galaxy, Caldwell 77 and even Dunlop 482 (James Dunlop discovered this galaxy in 1826). I have had the ...

Tags: dsos, dstm, galaxies

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Deep Sky This Month

As we head into March the minds of more than a few observers tend to drift to thoughts of galaxies. With winter turning into spring in the north and summer into autumn in the south, a large and rich swath of prime galaxy real estate is readying to take center stage.

Cutting a wide path from Centaurus through Hydra, Corvus, Crater and Sextans, it stretches into Leo with a significant concentration in Virgo that flows into Coma Berenices. On northward it enriches the fields of ...

Tags: dsos, dstm, galaxies, globulars

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Deep Sky This Month