Deep sky challenge
The skies are getting darker now as we head towards the equinox, giving astronomers longer to enjoy the deep sky
During late August and September, the Great Square of Pegasus swings into view. Although the inside of the ‘square’ seems rather barren, it can be a good test of how clear your skies are – in other words, how much light pollution you suffer from. If you can see seven or more stars with the naked eye, you’re doing quite well. The constellation of Pegasus is attached, as it were, to the neighbouring constellation of Andromeda, which is home to the famous spiral galaxy of the same name.
There’s also another galaxy to see that’s not too far away, but due to its low surface brightness, it’s a much more challenging object. A nice open star cluster can be found in this region, too, which was discovered by Caroline Herschel – it’s often overlooked, so make some time for it. There’s a planetary nebula to seek out as well, known as the Blue Snowball, along with a couple of globular star clusters for you to pick out. All in all, it’s a great region of the sky to visit with a telescope.
1 Messier 2
Binoculars or a small telescope will show this globular cluster as a fuzzy ‘star’. A larger telescope will start to resolve many of the individual stars in the cluster.
2 Messier 15
Slightly brighter than
Messier 2, this globular star cluster is one of the oldest known clusters, and will look great in telescopes with an aperture of six inches or larger.
3 The Blue Snowball
This planetary nebula looks like a star with some nebulosity around it in a small telescope. A larger scope will show a slightly bluish disc.
4 Great Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31)
The core of M31 is a fuzzy blob in a small telescope, while larger instruments will reveal its spiral structure. Messier 32 and NGC 205 are found nearby.
5 The Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33)
A difficult object to spot in a small telescope due to it being faint and spread out, this lovely face-on spiral looks great in astrophotography images.
“It’s a great region of the sky to visit with a telescope”