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M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Thu Dec 8 22:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1447
This observation was from a village about 50 kms from the city, where light pollution is practically nil. The Orion Nebula looked like a grayscale version of David Malin's photograph of the same. It was breathtaking. The city of Bangalore offers enough light pollution to mar the view completely.M 43 in the field appeared as a separate patch of nebulosity with a star in the center.The whole thing looked like a bird with wings spread out.
M76 (Barbell Nebula) (Planetary Nebula, in Perseus)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Thu Dec 8 18:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1448
This appeared as a haze with a central bar. Quite faint. The bar appeared to be slightly thinner at the center than at the edges.
NGC6709 (Open Cluster, in Aquila)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sat Sep 24 16:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1343
This open cluster shows a few bright stars in a small region. Nice. Easy to locate. Contains a reddish-orange star. Shape is somewhat like a vague letter 'M'.
NGC6645 (Open Cluster, in Sagittarius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sat Sep 24 15:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1344
I'm only 90% sure I've seen this open cluster. I saw a large field of few bright stars. Located south of Gamma Scuti.
NGC6818 (Planetary Nebula, in Sagittarius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sat Sep 24 14:45:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1342
This planetary is fairly difficult to locate but easy to see. It is about as bright as NGC 6210 in Hercules, but has almost no colour. Elliptical with a large eccentricity of about 1.2 or so. It is quite faint and requires averted vision even at 170x magnification. Comparatively large: About as large as NGC 3242.Identifiable comfortably only at 100x, where it is clearly different from a point object. This object neighbours two fairly bright stars. Even at 170x, field being about 15', I could still see one of the stars in the field.
M76 (Barbell Nebula) (Planetary Nebula, in Perseus)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 23 16:45:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1338
Saw nothing but a hazy patch of feeble light. This planetary is so faint that under city light pollution, it is hardly visible - even thru averted vision! A finder chart helped me to find the field, but yet I could see nothing in that field. After revision of the chart, and a little struggle with averted vision, I could see a fairly large, very faint object on the base of a triangle of stars. I couldn't see any detail and didn't bother to switch to higher power. It is easy to locate using Phi Persei, but difficult to see.
NGC6210 (Planetary Nebula, in Hercules)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 23 16:15:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1336
An easy, bright, tiny planetary. Easy to locate (I nearly found it in the first shot). The field shows three widely spaced bright stars, a faint star and a comparatively brighter "star" (NGC 6210) visible only thru averted vision at 80x magnification. However at abt. 100x, it becomes more clear that tbe "star" is not a star and its bluish colour is cognizable. The blue colour is not so intense - definitely not like NGC 3242 or NGC 7009. Very faint blue colour was apparent. Best view on my scope was at 170x (an eyepiece of 9 mm focal length gives me this), where it shows an elliptical disc of small eccentricity (and probably a few filaments???). No more detail could be extracted.
NGC7662 (Planetary Nebula, in Andromeda)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 23 16:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1337
Very bright, beautiful, quite large, slightly blue planetary. Largely in contrast to NGC 6210, it is nearly 5 times larger (I suppose). The field nearby is full of bright stars. The object forms a triangle with two fairly bright stars.The planetary is clearly distinguishable from a star even at 83x magnification. At 170x, it is a simply must see! It shows a nearly circular shape. Blue colour is very little, but much more than NGC 6210 and much less than NGC 3242 and NGC 7009. It stands up to its name: "The Blue Snowball". Very easy to find - I found it at first shot!!
NGC6441 (Globular Cluster, in Scorpius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 23 15:15:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1339
A beautiful, bright, easy-to-locate globular in Scorpius. It is just about a mere 5 minutes from the 3.21 mag red star in Scorpius between Shaula and eta Sagittarii. Absolutely easy to find and wonderful at mag 7.4. Shows a brightness gradient from center to periferri. It is quite large. It is strange that this is not a Messier object.
NGC752 (Open Cluster, in Andromeda)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 23 15:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1341
This is an excellent, large, dense cluster. This cluster was amazing!! Large no. of bright stars spread over a 1 degree field. It is a must see object! It is strange that this is not a messier.
NGC7789 (Open Cluster, in Cassiopeia)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 23 15:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1340
Lying between two double stars - Rho CAS and Sigma CAS, this open cluster is very easy to locate. It lies almost exactly in the middle of the line joining the double stars. I could easily identify the density of stars but could not draw a boundary to the cluster. The region is rich with faint stars.
M72 (Globular Cluster, in Aquarius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Sep 21 16:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1334
Practically impossible globular, like its precursor in the Messier catalog. The globular is so faint that I hardly saw anything. Careful use of averted vision showed a large hazy patch just above a star. Simply too faint, or maybe it was the moon that had just risen by then. Best view was a 83x on my scope.Its very close neighbour is the successor in the Messier catalog, M73.
M73 (Open Cluster, in Aquarius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Sep 21 16:15:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1335
Nice. I could not resolve the stars at 100x and I did not bother to go any further in power. Looks like a hazy thing.
M30 (Globular Cluster, in Capricornus)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Sep 21 15:45:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1333
Very prominent and comparatively bright globular cluster. Fairly large. Central brightness and surrounding haze are clear. Beautiful, but like any other globular. I expected a very faint, practically invisible globular cluster, but was astonished to see this beautiful sight.
M77 (Galaxy, in Cetus)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 16 23:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1327
A nice object, but not even showing a distinct core and surrounding haze at Bangalore. Looks like a pair of hazy stars (One is the galactic core, and the other is a 10.76 mag star: TYC4699-01219-1), one of them being larger (The galactic core) than the other. Best at abt. 100x on a 8" f/8.The program SkyChart v2.7 with the Tycho 2 star catalog helped me trace all my observations more easily in spite of the city's light pollution.
M1 (Crab Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Taurus)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 16 22:55:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1326
A hazy patch of nebulosity near the star Zeta Tauri. The SNR (SuperNova Remnant) is quite faint, but very large: Probably as large as M27 (The Dumbbell Planetary Nebula) but much fainter: nearly twice as faint as M27. Under the city viewing conditions, it was hardly visible and required averted vision to reveal a large irregular patch of light. Best at 100x or so on a 8" f/8 Newtonian Reflector. When I've seen it earlier from the countryside (A nearby village by name Shivanahalli), I saw a little more detail, but since I had just began this hobby, I couldn't appreciate it much. I just remember seeing a patch of fairly bright light.
M43 (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 16 22:45:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1325
The star near the great orion nebula's trapezium clearly shows nebulosity. This is M43. The nebulosity was faint, hardly visible. I could not see any detail.
M103 (Open Cluster, in Cassiopeia)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 16 17:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1324
A not impressive cluster in CAS which has only 4 bright stars and a few fainter stars. Atleast with the 14th day waxing moon, this was an uninteresting object near Delta Cassiopeia.
M75 (Globular Cluster, in Sagittarius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: severe Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 16 17:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1323
Terrible sky as a result of 14th day waxing moon. A thin haze was also present. This was a real difficult one on such a day, but nevertheless, since SGR is rarely visible from our region (due to Monsoon) I ventured out (successfully) for M75. With a star chart to mag 10 or so that I copied down from SkyChart v2.7 + Tycho 2 Star Catalog, it was a difficult but interesting manuever from omega SGR (Flamsteed 58) to M75 (about 5 arc degrees movement). A very faint, very small, bright (relatively for today's expectations), out-of-focus star-like greenish object viewed best at 100x or so on a 8" f/8. I'm quite sure I've found it as the object I've seen is definitely not a star. It looks as though two faint stars closely neighbour this globular.
NGC7009 (Planetary Nebula, in Aquarius)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Sat Aug 6 22:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1310
This planetary is apparently very small, however, bright and conspicuous. Best viewed at high magnification. 170x magnification showed a slightly elliptical shape and Bluish colour (Aquamarine to be precise).Very easy to locate due to nearby Nu-Aquarii Star
M39 (Open Cluster, in Cygnus)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Sat Aug 6 22:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1309
Beautiful, Bright, fairly dense open cluster. Easy to locate once you know the neighbouring stars. About 80x does well.
M94 (Galaxy, in Canes Venatici)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jun 10 16:15:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1318
I'm doubtful if I've got the right thing, but I'm quite confident that I have. It was astonishingly bright (!!!) roundish object (like a globular). Comparison with the neighbouring star showed vividly that the object was not a point object, which was confirmed clearly at 170x magnification. This is definitely much brighter than what I had expected of an ordinary galaxy. Central brightness and surrounding haze was evident at 170x magnification on a 8" f/8 scope.
M49 (Galaxy, in Virgo)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jun 10 16:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1317
I am slightly doubtful if I've seen the right thing, but it is apparent that I have indeed. Only the small central brightness was clearly visible. Averted vision was required. It was in a field practically devoid of stars.
M64 (Black-Eye Galaxy) (Galaxy, in Coma Berenices)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jun 10 15:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1319
Today was partly cloudy. The transparency was between poor and fair! In this kind of situation + The light pollution of the city of Bangalore, no detail could be seen, except that there was central brightness surrounded by a haze. It was quite large. Averted and periferral vision works well. On a 8" f/8 80x did well. I could not see the black strait that gives the galaxy its name.
M110 (Galaxy, in Andromeda)
Observer: Akarsh Simha (e-mail: akarsh_simha@fastmail.fm)
Instrument: 8-inch equatorial reflector Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jun 10 15:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1322
This beautiful galaxy in Andromeda is a satellite of M31. M110 is very small and its elliptical shape is very clearly cognizable. The whole thing looks like a hazy patch about 0.5 arc degree from M31. It reveals a brightness gradient, with highest brightness at center which decreases rapidly with distance from the center of the patch. Very small, but conspicuous and beautiful. A must see object.
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