starlog from Hirsch Observatory

Messier Objects            
** ** Other Name(s) Type Con Mag First viewed Location / Notes
M1 Crab Nebula, Taurus A P Neb Tau 8.4 ~8/07 Very, very, very, very dim in 6” at RPI. Remnant of supernova of 1054. This is a somewhat difficult object at RPI, due to being large and diffuse. It is best viewed in the 16”, when high in the sky and fills up a good portion of the 50mm. Rocking the telescope helps.
M2 M2,NGC7089 Globular Agr 7.5 9/3/08 Like M3, but might be slightly smaller. Stars along edge barely resolvable in 16”
M3 M3,NGC5272 Globular Cvn 7 ~8/07 Similar to M13, but not as big. Like small cotton ball in 6”.
M4 Cat’s Eye Globular Sco 7.5    
M5 M5,NGC5904 Globular Ser 7 8/07 Viewed in backyard w/ 6”. Like M3 / M13, appears as cotton ball.
M6 Butterfly Cluster Open Sco 4.5    
M7 Scorpion’s Tail, Ptolemy’s Cluster Open Sco 3.5    
M8 Lagoon Nebula, Dragon Nebula Open+D Neb Sgr 5 7/07 Adirondack Star Party: easy to spot with 6”. Second brightest after Orion in N Hemisphere. Has pretty open cluster in it as well, with “grid” of stars.
M9 M9,NGC6333 Globular Oph 9    
M10 M10,NGC6254 Globular Oph 7.5    
M11 Wild Duck Cluster Open Sct 7    
M12 Gumball Globular Globular Oph 8 11/21 Nice globular for 16”. Outermost stars are apparently just barely visible, although I did not see them.
M13 Hercules Globular Cluster Globular Her 7 ~4/06 One of my most-viewed. Appears as bright cotton ball in 6”. Very impressive in 16” as individual stars visible on outer third section. Colors sometimes discernable.
M14 M14,NGC6402 Globular Oph 9.5    
M15 Great Pegasus Cluster Globular Peg 7.5 11/07 Viewed with 11”. Another nice globular, almost as impressive as M13.
M16 Eagle Nebula, The Ghost Open+D Neb Ser 6.5    
M17 Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula Open+D Neb Sgr 7 8/31/07 Barely discernable with 16” Cas & 50mm w/ H-alpha filter. Could only see one “wing”.
M18 Black Swan Open Sgr 8    
M19 M19,NGC6273 Globular Oph 8.5    
M20 Trifid Nebula, The Clover Open+D Neb Sgr 5 7/07 Rather dim in 6”. Lies above Lagoon nebula.
M21 M21,NGC6531 Open Sgr 7    
M22 Great Sagittarius Cluster Globular Sgr 6.5    
M23 M23,NGC6494 Open Sgr 6    
M24 Small Sagittarius Star Cloud Open Sgr 4.5    
M25 M25 Open Sgr 6.5    
M26 M26,NGC6694 Open Sct 9.5    
M27 Dumbbell Nebula aka “The Apple Core” P Neb Vul 7.5 9/21/07 RPI: 16” Cas w/ nebula filter: appears as 2 overlapping patches. Very nice object and one of Dave’s favorites.
M28 M28,NGC6626 Globular Sgr 8.5    
M29 Cooling Tower Open Cyg 9    
M30 M30,NGC7099 Globular Cap 8.5    
M31 Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy And 4.3 7/07 First viewed at ADK Star Party w/ my 6”, 32mm. Central bulge fills 16” Cas. May be just possible to see with naked eye under good conditions at RPI. Easy to see under dark skies.
M32 Satellite Of Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy And 9.1 7/07 Appears as star w/ slight nebulosity in 6”. Easily discernable in 16” Cas
M33 Triangulum Galaxy, Pinwheel Galaxy Galaxy Tri 6.2    
M34 Spiral Cluster Open Per 6    
M35 M35,NGC2168 Open Gem 5.5 3/22/09 Another excellent open cluster. Starfield fills the entire FOV of the 50mm in the 16”. It is nice to compare M35-M38 because they are quite close to each other in the sky. It has over 120 stars brighter than mag 13 and around 500 total, spread over an area the size of the full moon.
M36 Pinwheel Cluster Open Aur 6.5 2/13/09 There are 3 clusters lying fairly close together in Auiga, M36, 37 and 38. This one is the most sparse. It is primarily a few dozen bright stars, perhaps of slightly different hues (yellow-orange). Otherwise, not terribly interesting, and I don’t see why its called the pinwheel..
M37 Auriga Salt-and-pepper Cluster Open Aur 6 2/13/09 Very nice open cluster. A rich field of dim stars sprinkled like salt (and pepper?). Fairly large cluster (easily fills 50mm in 16”). Worth seeing in finder scope as well.
M38 Starfish Cluster Open Aur 7 2/13/09 Decent open cluster, quite large, so best viewed in finder scope.
M39 M39,NGC7092 Open Cyg 5.5    
M40 Winnecke 4 Dbl+Asterism Uma 8.7 2/14/09 This object is a rather uninteresting double star as the separation is not very close. It is believed to in fact be an optical double. Measurements show the stars are moving apart, and have moved significantly in the last century. In all likelihood, this was a mistake in Messer’s list, he was trying to find a non-existent nebula reported to be near this double. (see link for more info).
M41 Little Beehive Open Cma 5   Basically a smaller Beehive. As the Beehive is a massive cluster, this object is still pretty big, and best viewed through finder scope to get the proper view. May have been recorded by Aristotle in 325 B.C
M42 Great Orion Nebula, Orion A Open+D Neb Ori 4 2006? (first viewed w/ naked eye, unknown time) Best nebula in N. Hemisphere. !!! Trapezium easily seen in 6” and 16” Cas. Texturing and outer diffuse glow visible in 16”
M43 De Mairan’s Nebula D Neb Ori 9 11/21 This is basically an extension of the Orion Nebula. There is a bright star adjacent to M42 with faint nebulosity around it. Both this and the center of the Orion Nebula can fit in the same FOV in the 16”.
M44 Praesepe, Beehive Cluster Open Cnc 4 6/07 Easy to view in 6” w/ 32mm. Very big cluster, requires wide field of view, so can only be seen in finder scope of 16”.
M45 Pleiades, Seven Sisters, Subaru Open Tau 1.6 2002? First remember viewing this w/ naked eye on Salmon Pond trip w/ Boy Scouts. It is very nice to view w/ 6”, slight nebulosity sometimes apparent.
M46 M46,NGC2437 Open Pup 6.5 2/14/09 Dense open cluster.. 150 stars of mag 10-13 and probably over 500 total.
M47 M47,NGC2422 Open Pup 4.5 2/14/09 Sparse open cluster.. primarily a dozen or so bright stars and about 50 stars total.
M48 M48,NGC2548 Open Hya 5.5    
M49 M49,NGC4472,UGC7629 Galaxy Vir 9.3    
M50 Heart-shaped Cluster Open Mon 7    
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy Galaxy Cvn 8.9 7/07 First viewed in an APO refractor at ADK Star Party. Later viewed through 16” Cas on an exceptionally clear night in February 08. It was well after 11 and moonless, allowing clear view of galaxy and interacting companion.
M52 The Scorpion Open Cas 8 10/31/08 Nice rich open cluster.. has about 200 stars… and a few bright ones.
M53 M53,NGC5024 Globular Com 8.5 2/14/09 Smaller globular in 16” 50mm. Some granulation can be seen because of individual bright stars.
M54 M54,NGC6715 Globular Sgr 8.5    
M55 M55,NGC6809 Globular Sgr 7    
M56 M56,NGC6779 Globular Lyr 9.5    
M57 Ring Nebula P Neb Lyr 9.5 7/07 One of my most viewed objects. Appears as small smoke ring in 6”. Color visible in 16” Cas. (blue-green).
M58 M58,NGC4579,UGC7796 Galaxy Vir 10.4    
M59 M59,NGC4621,UGC7858 Galaxy Vir 10.7    
M60 M60,NGC4649,UGC7898 Galaxy Vir 9.8    
M61 Swelling Spiral Galaxy Vir 10.1    
M62 Flickering Globular / Blinking Globular Globular Oph 8 7/07 First viewed through 8in at ADK star party. Good object to explain averted vision with. Easy to see w/ 6” as well.
M63 Sunflower Galaxy Galaxy Cvn 9.3 2/14/09 Relatively faint at RPI. I could not see any sunflower like appearance.
M64 Black Eye Galaxy Galaxy Com 9.3 4/29/08 Relatively faint galaxy, but able to spot with 50mm in 16”. Imaged. Saw again on a dark night 2/14/09, and noted that this is a fairly large galaxy, just as big as M80 or M81.
M65 Leo Triplet Galaxy Leo 10.1   I thought I saw a dimmer object while looking for M66.. However, I was not able to find it again.
M66 Leo Triplet Galaxy Leo 9.7 2/14/09 Central bulge appears as star with slight nebulosity. Under good conditions it is fairly easy to see, and it seemed to have an irregular structure.
M67 King Cobra Open Cnc 7.5 2/21/09 Pretty big cluster, fills 50mm. Has about 10 bright stars, and many dim ones. (Actual count is around 500 stars). It is about the age of our solar system, which is old for an open cluster, and therefore contains a fair number of red giants.
M68 M68,NGC4590 Globular Hya 9    
M69 M69,NGC6637 Globular Sgr 9    
M70 M70,NGC6681 Globular Sgr 9    
M71 M71,NGC6838 Globular Sge 8.5    
M72 M72,NGC6981 Globular Agr 10    
M73 M73,NGC6994 Open+Asterism Agr 9    
M74 The Phantom Galaxy Psc 9.8    
M75 M75,NGC6864 Globular Vul 9.5    
M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula P Neb Per 12 2008 Excellent object for 16”. It does look like a miniature Dumbbell Nebula.
M77 Cetus A Galaxy Cet 9.7 2008 Excellent Galaxy for 16”. This is a relatively low integrated magnitude, but it is a quite small, compact object, so it is easily seen.
M78 M78,NGC2068 D Neb Ori 8   This object is sort of a mystery to me… it is apparently part of an array of reflection nebula in the Orion complex, and the brightest reflection nebula in the N. Hemisphere. It lies above the leftmost star in Orion’s belt. It should be very easy to spot under dark skies, but I’m not really sure of the scale of the thing. Starry night shows it being as very small, but it is listed as 8x6 arc mins and looks pretty big.
M79 M79,NGC1904 Globular Lep 8.5    
M80 M80,NGC6093 Globular Sco 8.5    
M81 Bode’s Galaxy Galaxy Uma 7.8 ~4/06 Good in 16”. Easy to find in 6”.
M82 Cigar Galaxy, Ursa Major A Galaxy Uma 9.2 ~4/06 Good in 16”. Good in 6” under dark skies. Both M81 & M82 fit in 32mm eyepiece and are the best galaxies after Andromeda.
M83 Southern Pinwheel Galaxy Galaxy Hya 8    
M84 M84,NGC4374,UGC7494 Galaxy Vir 10.2    
M85 M85,NGC4382,UGC7508 Galaxy Com 10    
M86 M86,NGC4406,UGC7572 Galaxy Vir 9.9    
M87 Smoking Gun, Virgo A Galaxy Vir 9.6    
M88 M88,NGC4501,UGC7675 Galaxy Com 10.2    
M89 M89,NGC4552,UGC7760 Galaxy Vir 10.9    
M90 M90,NGC4569,UGC7786 Galaxy Vir 10.2    
M91 Missing Messier Object Galaxy Com 10.9    
M92 M92,NGC6341 Globular Her 7.5 4/29/08 Similar to M13, but not nearly as big. Imaged.
M93 M93,NGC2447 Open Pup 6.5    
M94 Croc’s Eye Galaxy Galaxy Cvn 8.9    
M95 M95,NGC3351,UGC5757 Galaxy Leo 10.6 2/14/09 M95 and M96 are both excellent galaxies. Despite a low integrated magnitude, these objects where relatively easy to spot, given a clear, dark night. This is probably because they are relatively small. Both can be seen in the 50mm eyepiece at the same time, and its quite a sight to see.
M96 M96,NGC3368,UGC5882 Galaxy Leo 10.1 2/14/09 See above
M97 Owl Nebula P Neb Uma 12 2008 Imaged.. very dim object, but possible to see in 16”, as star with faint nebulosity.
M98 M98,NGC4192,UGC7231 Galaxy Com 10.9    
M99 Virgo Cluster Pinwheel Galaxy Com 10.4 2/14/09 This is an a dim object in the 16” and was viewed on a clear dark night around midnight.
M100 Mirror of M99 Galaxy Com 10.1    
M101 Pinwheel Galaxy Galaxy Uma 8.2    
M102 Spindle Galaxy (duplicate of 101?) Galaxy Dra 10.8 10/11/08 Dim, but visible in 16”. Lies between 2 dim stars. Relatively small, and nice object for imaging.
M103 M103,NGC581 Open Cas 7    
M104 Sombrero Galaxy Galaxy Vir 9.2    
M105 M105,NGC3379,UGC5902 Galaxy Leo 10.5   This galaxy lies a little ways from the M95, M96 pair. Its not as bright, and harder to find. Apparently there are also some NGC objects in the nearby field. I may have seen one of them, but I’m not sure.
M106 M106,NGC4258,UGC7353 Galaxy Cvn 9.1    
M107 M107,NGC6171 Globular Oph 10    
M108 M108,NGC3556,UGC6225 Galaxy Uma 10.6    
M109 M109,NGC3992,UGC6937 Galaxy Uma 10.6    
M110 Satellite Of Andromeda Galaxy no. 2 Galaxy And 8.9 9/12/07 Visible in 3” finder scope on 16” under good conditions.

Planets & Moons

**Planet** **Mag** **Date** **Notes**
Mercury -1.9 11/08 Was walking back to car at Highland Meadows when I happened to see Mercury by chance during a conjunction with Jupiter at sunset. (A very striking combination.. which I verified afterwards with Starry Night). This is a rather tricky object to view.. you have to be somewhere with an open western horizon at just the right time after sunset... or get up really early in the morning and have a clear eastern horizon. I hope to observe again through telescope during maximum elongation.
Venus -3.7 - -4.7 ? Varies in size and brightness. Not much to see other than phases. Have not yet seen the "Ashen glow" phenomena. I have not been able to see it with the naked eye during the day, but others have. This is a good object to view with the 16" during Solar Observing, if there are large crowds. During March 2009, we were able to discern the crescent shape with the naked eye.
Earth 7 - -26.73 3/6/88 Don't forget Earth!
Mars 1.8 - -2.91 ? I haven't had much success with Mars... it looks nice and red.. but otherwise quite disappointing. Its a shame, because its my favorite planet (after Earth of course).
Jupiter -1.6 - -2.94 ? Cloud bands and great red spot visible in 6" along with 4 Galilean moons. Shadow of Io was visible in 6" at ADK star party. Shadow has also been observed in 16". Very good object for 16" once it gets high in the sky.
Saturn +1.2 - -0.24 ? Most viewed planet. Great object in 16". Have seen Cassini division several times under good conditions as well as 5 brightest moons, Titan, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus.
Uranus 5.9 - 5.32 ~9/07 Appears as small blue-ish disk in 16", and very small blue disk in 6".
Neptune 8.0 - 7.78 ~9/07 Similar to Uranus, but smaller disk.

Comets

**Name** **Mag** **Date** **Notes**
[17P/Holmes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Holmes) 2.8-3 10/11/08 Normally dim comet which had spectacular outburst. Visible with naked eye for several weeks. It appeared as a star with nebulosity at first, but eventually expanded and lost brightness, eventually it was half the size of moon. The bright core was easily visible in 16" a few days after the outburst. Slight fragmentation may have been observed around the nucleus, although this was never confirmed. (Technically, the nucleolus is too small to be visible, what one sees is an bright inner coma). The overall halo structure was easily seen in binoculars and very impressive in the 3" finder.
# [C/2007 N3 Lulin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2007_N3) ~7-8 2/24/09 Many hoped that Comet Lulin would reach naked eye visibility. In the end it was not quite bright enough, except under perfectly dark skies. At RPI there was no chance of visual observation but it could be seen fairly easily with binoculars. I first spotted it with Dave's 10" lying just above Saturn. As the night progressed it moved quite noticeably on a path from Saturn towards Regulus. It was quite bright in the 16", but it did not have very much of a comet-like appearance; appearing as a bright cloud with a semi-circular coma. After careful inspection, it was clear that coma was in fact elliptical and extending off both sides. This overall indistinctness of the tail was due to the fact that the comet was moving towards us in the plane of the earth's orbit, and the tail was fanning out behind it. A subsequent observation was made that Saturday, 3/1/09 and it had dimmed quite noticeably in the 16". By that time it had already passed Regulus and was headed through Cancer towards Gemini. I observed it again on 3/20/09 while it was in Gemini , and it had dimmed down to magnitude 8.6 but was still fairly easy to spot in the 16". It had shrunk to at most half, maybe a quarter of its original size, and appeared a little bit more elongated. Still, it was very dim and fuzzy, and there was nothing about it by which was distinctly cometary in nature. We had to check to make sure we were not actually looking at a globular cluster or galaxy that happened to be nearby.

Spacecraft

**Name** **Mag** **Date** **Notes**
[Iridium Flares](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_flare) -1to -8 various Iridium Flares are really cool! On at least one occasion I saw one reach magnitude -8, which is about as bright as they get.
# [International Space Station](http://heavens-above.com) -1 to -2 in 2007 -2 to -3 in 2009 Various The ISS is very easy to see, and always a crowd pleaser.
# [Space Shuttle Discovery](http://www.space.com/spacewatch/090310-space-shuttle-launch-spotting.html) (during launch) around 0 to -1 3-15-09 We had a special opportunity to view the Shuttle Launch, because it was an evening launch with clear skies. I was skeptical about whether we would see it from the Hirsch Observatory, and quite amazed when we did. The shuttle launched right on time at 7:43, which we watched indoors on NASA TV. Then we went out onto the roof and stood scanning the southern horizon with no avail. We had just about given up when a bright red glow object appeared moving very fast starting in the southeast. It flickered on and off several times. We later determined this must have been due to a large complex of clouds just south of Long Island. We tracked the shuttle for about 30 seconds before main-engine cut off.
# [Space Shuttle Discovery](http://www.space.com/spacewatch/090310-space-shuttle-launch-spotting.html) (In orbit) around 2.5-3 3-28-09 I was standing out on the roof when I noticed 2 objects moving along the same arc in the North. The first was quite bright, and due to the gentle curve of the arc, I immediately suspected it was the ISS, rather than a plane. The other object was about 1-1.5 degrees away, leading the ISS. I was very sure that was the shuttle, but others were skeptical. A quick check online showed that the shuttle had undocked from the ISS about 6 hours ago.

Note: for information on NGC objects, the best database of
information I know of is not Wikipedia, it is the NGC/IC Project.
However, due to the site design, I was not able to link directly to pages there.

Other Astronomical Objects

**Common Name** **Other Name(s)** **Type** **Mag** **First viewed** **Notes**
[Albireo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albireo) Beta Cygni Double Star 3&5 2007 Part of Cygnus, a bright double star with red and blue components. Imaged.
[Coathanger Cluster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coathanger_cluster) Collinder 399 Asterism 3.6 2008 Also known as Brocchi's Cluster, it is an asterism (chance alignment), not a star cluster. It consists of 6 stars in a straight line, and a few other stars composing the hook of the "coathanger".
[Double Double](Epsilon%20Lyre) Epsilon Lyrae Multiple Star 1.1 2007 Cool double double star. The first split can be seen with binoculars. The second split can be resolved in the 11" and the 16".
[Gamma Andromeda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_Andromedae) Double Star -2.9
[Kite Cluster](http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/dec/NGC_1664.html) NGC 1664 Open Cluster 7.2 8/22/08 This is a small open cluster. The brightest stars resembled a diamond or "kite". The density of surrounding stars did not seem above normal, so it seemed like more like an asterism to me. Observed at ADK star party.
[The Mexican Jumping Star](http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n2362.html) NGC 2362 Tau Canis Majoris Cluster Open cluster + visual double 4.1 2/14/09 This one certainly has an interesting name. It is a typical open cluster.. has around 60 stars and a very faint nebula surrounding it which we could not see. The brightest star, Tau Canis Majoris, is right in the center and shines in bright blue at magnitude 4.39\. It is the brighter component of a spectroscopic binary. But, more interestingly, it is also part of a visual binary with a nearby star. We were not able to split this visual binary, so when looking at it, there definitely did seem to be something peculiar about it.. at times it appears to have an oblong shape.. due to the second star right nearby. This is probably why its called the "Mexican Jumping Star".
[Mizor and Alcor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizar_(star)) "The Horse and Rider" Visual double and binary Mizar A: .33 Mizar B:4 Alcor:3.99 a while ago Second star on handle of Big Dipper. This is the famous test of visual acuity. I can see the companion star (Alcor) under good conditions, although sometimes I have to tilt my glasses. In the telescope, it is easy to see that Mizor itself is a very close binary.
[Perseus Double Cluster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Cluster) NGC 884 and NGC 869 Globular 4.3 2007 Easy to view with 6". Only one cluster fits in 16", but both can be viewed easily with 3" finder.
[Owl Cluster aka "ET Cluster"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_457) NGC 457 Open Cluster 8.4 11/21/08 This one of the nicest open clusters I have seen with the 16". There are several bright stars in an oval, and two bright stars which are the "eyes" of the owl or ET, whichever you care to imagine. There is also a rich smattering of dim background stars.
[Sirius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius) Multiple Star -1.46 2/13/09 Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It has a famous companion, "the pup", which is a relatively dim white dwarf which is rather difficult to spot. The pup was predicted due to the proper motion of Sirius by the mathematician Bessel. We took a quick look, out of curiosity, not expecting to see it. Because of the glare of Sirius, the only practical way of observing the "pup" is to block Sirius just outside the edge of the eyepiece. But you need to know which side the pup is on. We were not able to see it, but it still is worth a look if you are in the neighborhood. The pup is currently moving away from Sirius and will be at maximum elongation in 2025\. A third component has not yet been observed visually.
[Veil Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_nebula) NGC 6960, 6962, 6979, 6992, 6995 Nebula 7.0 8/22/08 Large, diffuse nebula spread through Cygnus. Observed through very nice 8 in telescope at ADK star party. I am not sure what part I observed, but it was probably the brightest loop, NGC 6960\. Later tried to observe with 16" at RPI, (9/08), the brighter half, was difficult to see anything under given conditions and narrow field of view, but Dave said one "rope" is usually visible passing through the brightest star.
[Christmas Tree Cluster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Tree_Cluster) [NGC 2264](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Tree_Cluster) Open Cluster and Nebula 2.6 2/13/09 The Christmas Tree Cluster contains the Cone Nebula, Fox Fur Nebula and Snowflake Cluster, however very few features are visible with amateur telescopes. Primarily one sees a large, sparse open cluster, which kindof sortof looks like a Christmas tree (with a bright star on top??). There is a one bright yellow star, which does appear to have some faint nebulosity around it. In actuality there are diffuse nebula filling the entire region. Large object, good to view in finder scope.
[PacMan Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacman_Nebula) NGC 281 Diffuse Nebula

More Planetary Nebula

( In addition to the M objects,
M27-Dumbbell
M57-Ring
M76-Little Dumbbell
M97-Owl)

Name Other name(s) Date discovered Approx. Distance (kly) Apparent Mag Constellation First Viewed Notes
[Blinking Planetary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinking_Planetary) [NGC 6826](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6826 "NGC 6826") 1793 2.0 8.8 Cygnus 2007 Nice featureless planetary, very easy to see with 16". Central star is easily visible, and blinking phenomena very apparent. Great way to demonstrate averted vision.
[Bug Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_Nebula "Bug Nebula") [NGC 6302](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6302 "NGC 6302") [1888](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888 "1888") (_prior to_) 3.4 ± 0.5 7.1B Scorpius
[Bubble Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Nebula_(NGC_7635)) [NGC 7635](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Nebula_(NGC_7635)) 1787 11 ~10 Cassiopeia
[Blue Snowball](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Snowball) [NGC 7662](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7662) 1784 5 9.0 Andromeda 10/10/08 Nice bluish planetary, very easy to see with 16". Slight brightness variations in interior may be visible to trained eyes.
[Blue Flash Nebula](http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/aug1/NGC_6905.html) [NGC 6905](http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/aug1/NGC_6905.html) 1782 4.7 11 Delphinus 10/31/08 Diffuse planetary visible with 16", has a elongated oval shape, and lies in a small triangle of stars. Would probably be easier to spot under dark skies.
[Cat's Eye Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat's_Eye_Nebula) [NGC 6543](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6543 "NGC 6543") [1786](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1786 "1786") 3.3 ± 0.9 9.8B Draco 2/14/09 This was surprisingly easy to see in the 16". It is quite bright, and one can definitely tell there is some structure, but it is hard to discern what is going on. In fact, images show a very complex structure which has been heavily studied. Imaged.
[Eskimo Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_Nebula "Eskimo Nebula") [NGC 2392](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2392 "NGC 2392") [1787](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1787 "1787") 2.9 10.1 Gemini 2/26/08 2/14/09 In 16" is easy to spot as a star with nebulosity. Small, but bright. Imaged, which allowed one to see the "Eskimo parka" shape.
[Flame Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footprint_Nebula) [NGC 2024](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_Nebula) "Tank tracks Nebula" 1.5± .9 Orion
[Ghost of Jupiter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_Jupiter "Ghost of Jupiter") [NGC 3242](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_3242) [1785](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1785 "1785") 1.4 8.6 Hydra 2008 Easy to spot in 16", it is similar to blinking planetary, appears flicker in and out. (like a ghost)
[Helix Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_Nebula "Helix Nebula") [NGC 7293](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7293 "NGC 7293") [1824](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824) 0.68 +0.15−0.08 13.5 Aquarius
[Little Ghost Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ghost_Nebula "Little Ghost Nebula") [NGC 6369](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6369 "NGC 6369") [1800](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1800 "1800") (_prior to_) 9.9 Ophiuchus
[Medusa Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa_Nebula "Medusa Nebula") Sharpless 2-274 [1955](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955 "1955") 1.0 15.99 Gemini
[Red Spider Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Spider_Nebula "Red Spider Nebula") [NGC 6537](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6537 "NGC 6537") [1888](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888 "1888") (_prior to_) 3.9 11.9 Sagittarius
[Saturn Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Nebula "Saturn Nebula") [NGC 7009](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7009 "NGC 7009") [1782](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1782 "1782") 3.0 12.8 Aquarius 10/31/08 Easy to see in 16" at 300x, has oval shape. Good conditions and magnification should reveal "Saturn" shape
[Thor's Helmet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2359 "NGC 2359") [NGC 2359](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2359 "NGC 2359") 15 11.45 Canis Major Tried to view, could not see as it has a low integrated mag and is diffuse. Its questionable whether this still classifies as a planetary.
[Twin Jet Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Jet_Nebula "Twin Jet Nebula") or [Butterfly Nebula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Jet_Nebula "Twin Jet Nebula") [M2-9](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2-9 "M2-9") [1947](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947 "1947") 2.1 14.7 Ophichinus
[NGC 2440](http://seds.org/~spider/ngc/ngc.cgi?2440) 1884 11 Delphinus 2/14/09 Small planetary with central star. It has a cocoon "double bubble" structure around a bright white dwarf which is one of the hottest white dwarfs known.
[NGC 6891](http://www.ngcic.org/ngcicdb.asp) 1884 10.5 Delphinus 10/31/08 Small planetary with central star
[NGC 6751](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6751 "NGC 6751") 1863 6.5 15.8 Aquila
[NGC 6210](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6210 "NGC 6210") 1825 4.7 9.3 Hercules
[NGC 7027](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_7027) 1878 3.0 7.2 Cygnus 10/12/08 This is an nice little planetary. It is very small, but has a bright blue/green glow. Higher magnification (~400x) should reveal some structure.
[NGC 40](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_40 "NGC 40") [1788](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1788 "1788") 3.5 11.4 Cepheus
[NGC 2346](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2346 "NGC 2346") [1802](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1802 "1802") 3.9 11.9 Monoceros
[Abell 39](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abell_39 "Abell 39") 1955 6.8 13.7 Hercules
[NGC 3731 / 3732](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC2371) 4.4 13 Gemini 3/20/09 Obviously quite dim, but is a fairly small, compact object. It is supposed to be "dual lobed", and while its too small and dim to make this out, it does appear a little unsymmetrical.