Seasonal Observing Targets

One of the brightest and most impressive emission nebulae in the sky — visible to the naked eye under dark skies. A stunning region of active star formation with intricate gas pillars and a hot young star cluster illuminating the surrounding gas. Excellent in both visual and imaging applications.

The quintessential planetary nebula — a shell of gas expelled by a dying star at its centre. The doughnut shape is immediately apparent even in a small telescope. In larger scopes the central white dwarf star becomes visible. Easy to find between the two bottom stars of the parallelogram of Lyra.

The remains of a supernova that exploded around 8,000 years ago. The delicate, intricate filaments of shocked gas are among the most beautiful structures in the night sky. The Eastern Veil (NGC 6992) is the brightest section. Best captured in narrowband — particularly stunning in H-alpha showing the wispy, ribbon-like detail throughout the structure.

Separated from the North America Nebula by a dark dust lane, the Pelican is a dynamic region of star formation with striking pillars of gas being eroded by radiation from nearby hot stars. The distinctive pelican shape is formed by dark nebulosity against the glowing hydrogen background. An outstanding narrowband target paired with its neighbour.

Named for its resemblance to the classic video game character, this emission nebula contains dark Bok globules — small dense clouds that may be forming stars. A wonderful narrowband target showing complex structure. The embedded open cluster IC 1590 provides the ionising radiation that makes the gas glow. Works beautifully from light-polluted locations.

An underrated gem — the remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred between 3,000 and 30,000 years ago. The intricate shell of shocked gas shows remarkable filamentary structure in narrowband imaging. The jellyfish shape with trailing tentacles makes for a dramatic and unique composition. Contains a neutron star — the collapsed stellar core left behind after the explosion.

The most distant object visible to the naked eye — our nearest large galactic neighbour at 2.5 million light years. On a dark night it's a faint elongated glow. In binoculars the full extent becomes apparent. Its two companion galaxies M32 and M110 are visible in the same field. A widefield imaging target that rewards hours of data collection. On a collision course with the Milky Way — though that's about 4.5 billion years away.

The largest planetary nebula in the sky by apparent size — often called the Eye of God from its appearance in photographs. The concentric shells of gas expelled by the dying central star span over 2.5 light years. Visually challenging due to its large size and low surface brightness. In narrowband imaging the intricate multi-shell structure and radial filaments are breathtaking — one of the most rewarding targets in the autumn sky.

The third largest galaxy in the Local Group at 3 million light years — a face-on spiral showing remarkable structure in long exposures. Deceptively challenging visually due to very low surface brightness despite its size. In imaging its spiral arms, HII regions and star clusters reveal themselves beautifully. The HII region NGC 604 is one of the largest known stellar nurseries and visible as a bright knot within the galaxy.

The finest nebula in the sky and the first target for any astronomer. Visible to the naked eye as the fuzzy middle star in Orion's sword. In binoculars the Trapezium star cluster and surrounding nebulosity is immediately apparent. In any telescope it's breathtaking. In photographs the full extent of the gas clouds — spanning dozens of light years — is revealed in extraordinary colour and detail. A nebula where stars are actively being born right now, 1,344 light years away.

One of the most iconic images in astronomy — a dark nebula in the shape of a horse's head silhouetted against the glowing red emission nebula IC 434. Virtually impossible to see visually without a narrowband H-alpha filter, but in narrowband imaging it's a showpiece of astonishing detail. The nearby Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) makes a perfect companion in the same widefield frame. A bucket-list target for every astrophotographer.

A spectacular circular emission nebula surrounding a young open star cluster. The stellar winds from the hot cluster stars have blown a central cavity in the surrounding gas, creating the distinctive ring shape. In narrowband the intricate pillars, filaments and ionisation fronts are revealed in stunning detail. One of the most rewarding winter imaging targets — striking in both Hubble palette and natural colour narrowband. The open cluster NGC 2244 at its centre is easily visible in binoculars.

The most beautiful open star cluster in the sky — the Seven Sisters. Visible to the naked eye as a tight knot of stars, the Pleiades are spectacular in binoculars where dozens of stars fill the field. In long exposure photography the blue reflection nebulosity surrounding the bright stars is revealed — the cluster is passing through a cloud of interstellar dust that reflects the blue light of its hot young stars. An iconic winter target for beginners and experienced observers alike.

The richest and finest of the three Messier open clusters in Auriga — a showpiece of winter skies. Over 500 stars fill the field in a telescope, with a distinctive reddish star near the centre providing a beautiful colour contrast. At magnitude 5.6 it's just at the naked eye limit under dark skies but stunning in any binoculars or telescope. One of those targets that improves at every aperture.

One of the finest globular clusters in the sky — rivalling M13 for the title of best northern globular. Containing around 500,000 stars it appears as a bright concentrated ball of light even in small telescopes. Larger apertures begin to resolve individual stars across the cluster. Located in a relatively sparse starfield which makes it immediately obvious once found. A late winter / early spring treat as it rises higher each evening.