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Deep Sky Observations with eVscope July/August 2020
Conditions | Observation Overview | List of Observed Sky Objects | References
Since the end of January 2020, I own an Unistellar eVscope telescope for observing and taking photos of deep sky objects. On this page, I collect information about observations from July/August 2020, which might be of interest to other beginners. The photos that were taken during the observations are shown elsewhere on this site.
Notes:
- See page Overview of the Unistellar Pages for just that!
- I present the first five observation sessions, including photos, on page Unistellar eVscope - Observations.
Conditions
Sky Region and Objects
In July/August 2020, I observed mostly the following sky area (some observed objects are indicated):
Click the map for a larger version - it opens in a new window (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)
Observation Time
The observations in this phase started at the beginning of July 2020. They typically took place shortly after dusk (after 11 p.m.), when it was sufficiently dark for a successful star alignment.
Observation Location
Most observations took place in Mühlhausen/Kraichgau (Germany):
- Coordinates: 49° 15' N, 8° 43' E
- Coordinates (dec.): 49,25° N, 8,72° E
One observation also took place in Ulm (Germany):
- Coordinates (dec.): 48.41° N, 9.95° E
Equipment Used
When observing with the eVscope, I only needed the eVscope and my iPhone. I also used my laptop for running SkySafari (for DSO) and Stellarium (for coordinates) in parallel to the observations.
General Conditions
In general, the sky above Mühlhausen/Kraichgau is "light-polluted" and does not invite you to search for deep sky objects. For astro photography, however, light pollution is not as disturbing as for visual observations. In Ulm, the sky is a even brighter (mag 20).
Observation Overview
Observation Dates
| Date 2020 |
Observed Objects | Observed Objects, Details | Remarks | Further Remarks |
| Jul 3 MH |
GC: M 3, M 5, M 13, M 56, M 92 G: M 51, M 81, M 82, M 101 PN: M 57 |
Order (from about 11 p.m.): M 51 (poor), M 3, M 5, M 3, M 51, M 101, M 57, M 56, M 13, M 92, M 81, M 82 | More than half moon | New app version 1.0.6 |
| Jul 9 Ulm |
GC: M 10, M 13 OC: M 11, M 18 G: M 51, M 101 GN: M 8, M 16, M 17, M 20 PN: M 57, M 27 |
Order (from about 11 p.m.): M 13, M 57, M 27, M 20, M 16, M 17, M 8, M 10, M 18, M 11, M 51, M 101 | Demonstration of the eVscope for my brother and his wife | With two iPads as observers |
Jul 18 |
GC: M 10, M 12, M 14 OC: IC 4665 G: M 51, M 85 (2020nlb) PN: M 57, M 97 |
Order (from about 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.): M 85 (with new supernova 2020nlb; discovered on June 25, 2020), M 51, M 101, M 97, M 57, M 14, M 10, M 12, IC 4665 | Observed primarily top find M 85 with the new supernova 2020nlb. Regrettably, M 85 was already very low at the horizon at 11:30 p.m. | With one iPad as observer |
Aug 8 |
GC: M 53 OC: M 11, M 23, M 25 G: M 51, M 101, M 102 GN: M 16, M 17 SC: M 24 K: C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) |
Order (from 10:15 p.m. to 0.15 a.m.): M 53 (fuzzy), C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (somewhat fuzzy), M 53 (fuzzy), M 51 (fuzzy), M 101 (fuzzy), M 102 (fuzzy, then focus corrected), M 11, M 24, M 23, M 25, M 17, M 16 (mostly OC M 16 seen, barely GN IC 4703) | Primarily, to observe comet NEOWISE together with M 53 (too far apart...); then I observed some objects in the summer milky way. Regrettably, the eVscope was misfocused at the beginning; only when observing M 102, I corrected the focus. |
With one iPad as observer |
| Aug 9 MH |
GC: M 3, M 5, M 7, M 22, M 28, M 54, M
69, M 70, M 71, NGC 6934 OC: M 6, M 26 G: NGC 6822 GN: M 27, M 57 PN: NGC 6818 |
Order (from 10:15 p.m. to 0:10 a.m.): M 22 (disturbed), M 28, M 22, M 7 (slightly disturbed), M 6 (slightly disturbed), M 69, M 70, M 54, Jupiter, M 26, NGC 6934, NGC 6818, NGC 6822, M 71, M 27, M 57, M 3, M 5 | Observed mainly to find objects low at the horizon in constellation Sagittarius and further East. | With one iPhone as observer (started with iPad) |
| Aug 19 MH |
GC: M 2, M 13, M 15, M 71, M 92 G: M 51, M 101, NGC 6822 GN: NGC 6960, NGC 7000 PN: M 27, NGC 7009 Jupiter, Saturn |
Order (from 9:45 p.m. to nearly 12:00 p.m.): Jupiter (live view, after manual adjustment, three moons were visible, but no stripes), Saturn (live view, after man. adj. nice, but wobbly), NGC 7009 (Saturn Nebula; nothing), M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula; quite good); NGC 6822 (Barnard's Galaxy; nothing), M 15 (disturbed, smaller than expected), M 71, NGC 6960 (Western Veil Nebula, nothing), M 2 (blown out at the center, then adj.man.); M 15 (better this time, adj. man.), M 13 (nice, automatic), M 92, M 51 (Whirlpool Galaxy), M 101 (Pinwheel Galaxy), NGC 7000 (North America Nebula; nothing), NGC 7009 (Saturn Nebula; now visible) | With one iPhone as observer | |
Aug 20 |
GC: M 72, M 75, NGC 6934, NGC 7006 |
Order (10:00 p.m. until 00:45 a.m.): Jupiter, Saturn: OK; Pluto: open M 75 (center too bright, manually also not good), M 72, M 73, NGC 7006, M 75 (better), NGC 6822 (Barnard's Galaxy;seen well at the end), NGC 6818 (Little Gem Nebula; nice), NGC 7009 (Saturn Nebula; nice), NGC 6934 (OK), NGC 6960 (Western Veil Nebula; very faint), NGC 6995 (Eastern Veil Nebula; better), IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula; quite OK), IC 1396 (Elephant Trunk; nothing), IC 7000 (North America Nebula), NGC 6888 (Crescent Nebula), M 29, NGC 6882 (OC), NGC 6905 (Blue Flash Nebula), M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula) |
With one iPhone as observer | |
| Aug 22 MH |
OS: M 11, M 26 GN: M 8, M 16 PN: NGC 6741 Jupiter, Saturn, Mond |
Order (9:50 p.m. until 11:20 p.m.): Mond, Jupiter, M 26, NGC 6741 Phantom Streak Nebula (nicht zu erkennen), M 11, M 16 (Kampf mit den Wolken), M 8 (Wolken), Saturn (Wolken, Zufallsbilder...) | Beobachtungen bis M 16 unscharf trotz Bahtinov-Maske; danach auf Spikes von Sternen scharf gestellt, das war besser... >> Insgesamt später viele Wolken und keine verwertbaren Fotos... | With one iPhone as observer |
| Aug 23 MH |
GC: M 9 |
Order (9:55 p.m. until 00:05 a.m.): M 13, M 26, M 11 (Wild Duck Cluster), NGC 6741 (Phantom Streak Nebula), M 16 (Eagle Nebula; aborted two times after 2-3 min), M 17 (Omega/Swan Nebula; aborted after about 1 min once), M 18, M 24 (aborted once after 28 sec), M 25, M 23, NGC 6445 (Little Gem/Crescent Nebula), M 9, M 21, M 20 (Trifid Nebula; manually better), M 8 (Lagoon Nebula), NGC 6888 (Crescent Nebula), NGC 6960 (Western Veil Nebula), NGC 6995 (Eastern Veil Nebula), IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula), IC 5146 (Cocoon Nebula), NGC 7317 (Stephan's Quintet), NGC 7479 (Superman Galaxy) | Fairly dark sky even though the crescent moon was present at the beginning |
With one iPhone as observer |
| Aug 24 MH |
GC: M 2, M 15, M 22, M 56, M 71 OC: M 39, M 52, NGC 6823, NGC 7243 G: M 31, M 32, M 110, NGC 7317, NGC 7331, NGC 7479 GN: IC 5146, NGC 6820 PN: M 27, M 57, NGC 7009 |
Order (10:15 p.m. until 00:45 a.m.): NGC 281, NGC 7479, NGC 7317, NGC 7331, M 15, M 22, NGC 6823/6820 (coord.), IC 5146, M 39, NGC 7243, M 52, NGC 7009, M 2, M 56, M 57, M 71, M 27, M 2, M 31, M 32, M 110 | Fairly dark sky even though the crescent moon was present at the beginning | With one iPhone as observer |
| Aug 25 MH |
GC: M 13, M 92 G: NGC 6946 GN: M 16 PN: M 27, M 57, NGC 6543 Jupiter, Saturn |
Order (10:10 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.): M 57, NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy), NGC 6543 (Cat's Eye Nebula), M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), M 92, M 13, M 16 (Eagle Nebula), Saturn, Jupiter, Saturn | At the end, clouds appeared and covered up everything. | With one iPhone as observer |
Bold: First observation during this observation period; G = galaxy, OC = open star cluster, GC = globular star cluster, GN = galactic nebula, PN = planetary nebula, P = star pattern, DN = dark nebula, C = comet, SN = supernova, SC = star cloud
List of Observed Sky Objects
Object details can be obtained via the links to the relevant deep sky objects.
|
DSO Details
|
Name | Constellation | Type | Remarks |
| C/2020 F3 | NEOWISE | --- | C | A nice comet, but too late in the year for better photos... |
| IC 1396 | Elephant Trunk | Cepheus | GE | Practically not visible as a nebula... |
| IC 4665 | Ophiuchus | OC | Can already be seen with the naked eye as a faint glow; too large to be seen well in the eVscope. | |
| IC 5070 | Pelican Nebula | Cygnus | GE | Large reddish nebula, can be guessed without post-processing... |
| IC 5146 | Cocoon Nebula | Cygnus | GE | Small reddish nebula with embedded open star cluster Cr 470 |
| M 2 | Aquarius | GC | Nice globular cluster, one of the larger ones | |
| M 3 | Canes Venatici | GC | Nice globular cluster, one of the larger ones | |
| M 5 | Serpens Cauda | GC | Nice globular cluster, one of the larger ones, larger than M 3 | |
| M 6 | Butterfly Cluster | Scorpius | OC | Forms a cluster duo with M 7, but not in the eVscope... |
| M 7 | Ptolemy's Cluster | Scorpius | OC | Forms a cluster duo with M 6, but not in the eVscope... Regrettably only photographed "disturbed" up to now... |
| M 8 | Lagoon Nebula | Sagittarius | GN | Emission nebula (NGC 6523) and open star cluster (NGC 6530) |
| M 9 | Ophiuchus | GC | Fairly small and concentred towards the center | |
| M 10 | Ophiuchus | GC | Forms a pair with the globular star cluster M 12 | |
| M 11 | Wild Duck Cluster | Scutum | OC | Is located in the Scutum cloud, a special section of the Milky Way; therefore the photos are full of stars.; therefore the photos are full of stars. |
| M 12 | Ophiuchus | GC | Forms a pair with the globular star cluster M 10 | |
| M 13 | Hercules | GC | Nice globular cluster, one of the largest ones, larger than M 5 | |
| M 14 | Ophiuchus | GC | The third of the three bright globular star clusters in Ophiuchus, but different in character from M 10 und M 12. | |
| M 15 | Pegasus | GC | Supposedly, it is the best globular cluster in autumn. | |
| M 16 | Eagle Nebula | Serpens | GN | Star cluster M 16 embedded in the Eagle Nebula IC 4703 |
| M 17 | Omega/Swan Nebula | Sagittarius | GN | One of the most beautiful emission nebulae; in the reversiong telescope, some people recognize a swan... |
| M 18 | Sagittarius | OC | More a less a "sub par" star cluster | |
| M 20 | Trifid Nebula | Sagittarius | GN | Is called Trifid Nebula because it consists of three parts. |
| M 21 | OS | To Stoyan, M 21 is attractive, because it can be observed with the telescope with M 20 (Trifid Nebula) in the same field of view - but not in the eVscope. | ||
| M 22 | Sagittarius | GC | Nice globular cluster, one of the largest ones, larger than M 5 | |
| M 23 | Sagittarius | OC | Large open star cluster (nearly moon size) | |
| M 24 | Small Sagittarius Cloud | Sagittarius | SC | Part of the Milky Way, too large for the eVscope |
| M 25 | Sagittarius | OC | A "classical object for binoculars" | |
| M 26 | Scutum | OC | One of the more inconspicuous star clusters | |
| M 27 | Dumbbell Nebula | Vulpecula | PN | Somewhat faint, but nice |
| M 28 | Sagittarius | GC | Smaller than the nearby M 22 | |
| M 29 | Cygnus | OC | Is considered as small and inconspicuous, and one of the less known Messier objects. It showed only a few stars in my own observation, even in the eVscope. | |
| M 31 | Andromeda Galaxy | Andromeda | G | Too large for the eVscope's field of view |
| M 32 | Andromeda | G | Satellite galaxy of M 31 | |
| M 39 | Cygnus | OC | Few stars | |
| M 51 | Whirlpool Galaxy | Canes Venatici | G | Nice spiral galaxy with connected satellite galaxy; sky cloudy this time. |
| M 52 | Cassiopeia | OC | Mid-sized open star cluster | |
| M 53 | Coma Berenices | GC | One of the smaller globular star clusters | |
| M 54 | Sagittarius | GC | The left one of the three globular star clusters M 54, M 70, and M 69. According to Stoyan, it is not a globular star cluster of our galaxy, but belongs to a dwarf galaxy, which is just being "cannibalized" by our galaxy. | |
| M 56 | Lyra | GC | One of the smaller globular star clusters | |
| M 57 | Ring Nebula | Lyra | GN | Ring nice to see |
| M 69 | Sagittarius | GC | Is located farthest to the West of the three globular clusters M 54, M 70, and M 69, small. | |
| M 70 | Sagittarius | GC | Is located in the middle one of the three globular clusters M 54, M 70, and M 69, small. Up to now, only photographed "disturbed". | |
| Sagitta | GC | According to Stoyan, an unusually loose globular star cluster | ||
| M 72 | Aquarius | GC | According to Stoyan, one of the more inconspicuous globular star clusters | |
| M 73 | Aquarius | OC | According to Stoyan, one of the more obscure Messier objects, but worth visiting | |
| M 75 | Sagittarius | GC | According to Stoyan, following M 54, the farthest away globular star cluster in Messier's catalogue, which explains its low brightness and size. | |
| M 81 | Bode Galaxy | Ursa Major | G | Nice spiral galaxy; the spiral is not very conspicuous in the eVscope |
| M 82 | Cigar Galaxy | Ursa Major | G | Elongated irregular galaxy (cigar), dirsturbed by an encounter with M 81 |
| M 85 | + supernova 2020nlb | Coma Berenices | G | Elliptical galaxy that can be seen together with the galaxy NGC 4394 in the same field of view of the eVscope; this time faint, but the new supernova 2020nlb (discovered on June 25, 2020) could be seen well. |
| M 92 | Hercules | GC | Nice globular star cluster, smaller than M 13, but brighter core | |
| M 97 | Owl Nebula | Ursa Major | PN | Small green dot with two dark spots |
| M 101 | Pinwheel Galaxy | Ursa Major | G | Spiral galaxy, seen face-on, similar to M 99 and M 100, but much larger than both; quite impressive in the eVscope |
| M 102 | Spindle Galaxy | Draco | G | Seen edge-on; shares the name "Spindle Galaxy" with two other galaxies |
| M 110 | Andromeda | G | Satellite galaxy of M 31 | |
| NGC 6445 | Crescent Nebula | Sagittarius | PN | Very small in the eVscope |
| NGC 6543 | Cat's Eye Nebula | Draco | PN | Very small in the eVscope |
| NGC 6741 | Phantom Streak Nebula | Aquila | PN | So extremely small in the eVscope that I was not able to find it on the eVscope photo. Neither did the plate solving Website Astrometry.net! But I was able to identify it with the help of Stellarium. |
| NGC 6818 | Little Gem Nebula | Sagittarius | PN | According to Stoyan very small and bright |
| NGC 6820/23 | Vulpecula | GE/OC | NGC 6820 is a small reflection nebula near the open star cluster NGC 6823. Both are embedded in the large faint emission nebula Sh 2-86. The whole area of nebulosity is often referred to as NGC 6820. | |
| NGC 6822 | Barnards Galaxie | Sagittarius | G | According to Stoyan faint and hard to see. This was in fact even with the eVscope the case. But once, I was able to find a faint glow after post-processing... |
| NGC 6882/5 | Vulpecula | OS | Wide-spread open star cluster, actually NGC 6885, not NGC 6882... | |
| NGC 6888 | Crescent Nebula | Cygnus | GE | Faint and better suited to larger telescopes |
| NGC 6934 | Delphinus | GC | According to Stoyan hard to resolve; it is, however, possible with the eVscope. | |
| NGC 6946 | Fireworks Galaxy | Cepheus | G | 40' distant from the open star cluster NGC 6939, too far to see both in the eVscope at once |
| NGC 6960 | Western Veil Nebula | Cygnus | GN | I was able to catch at least a glimpse of NGC 6960 with the eVscope, although all this is far too large for the eVscopes field of view. |
| NGC 6995 | Eastern Veil Nebula | Cygnus | GN | I was able to catch at least a glimpse of NGC 6995 with the eVscope, although all this is far too large for the eVscopes field of view. |
| NGC 7000 | North-America Nebula | Cygnus | GN | Too large for the eVscope, nebula not really recognizable... |
| NGC 7006 | Delphinus | GC | Small, but also far away for a globular star cluster | |
| NGC 7009 | Saturn Nebula | Aquarius | PN | Very small, reminds of the planet Saturn with its "ears" |
| NGC 7243 | Lacerta | OC | Originally confirmed with a Karkoschka photo; better seen in August 2020 | |
| NGC 7317 | Stephan's Quintet | Pegasus | G | Part of Stephan's Quintet, a group of small galaxies. In the eVscope it is very small. It is located close to the galaxy NGC 7331. |
| NGC 7331 | Pegasus | G | Originally faint, but confirmed with a Stoyan drawing; better seen in August 2020 | |
| NGC 7479 | Superman Galaxy | Pegasus | G | Can be seen well as a barred spiral |
G = galaxy, OC = open star cluster, GC = globular star cluster, GE = galactic emission nebula, GR = galactic reflection nebula, DN = dark nebula, C = comet, PN = planetary nebula, SP = star pattern, HII = HII region (emission nebula in other galaxies), SC = star cloud
References
Books
- Michael Feiler & Philip Novak (2023). Deep Sky Reiseatlas (5. Auflage), Oculum Verlag (ISBN 978-3-949370-04-5)
www.oculum-verlag.de/detailview?no=608 - Ronald Stoyan (2021). Deep Sky Reiseführer (6. Auflage), Oculum Verlag (ISBN 978-3-938469-72-9)
www.oculum-verlag.de/detailview?no=603 - Erich Karkoschka (2022). Atlas für Himmelsbeobachter, Kosmos Verlag (EAN: 9783440173602)
www.kosmos.de/de/atlas-fur-himmelsbeobachter_1074889_9783440173602
On this Website
- Overview of Observations
- DSO List (Collected from Books)
- Unistellar eVscope - Information
- Unistellar eVscope - Observations
- Unistellar eVscope - Photo Gallery (Messier Catalog)
- Unistellar eVscope - Photo Gallery (Other)
- Unistellar eVscope - Specialty Gallery - Part 1 - Part 2
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made by  on a mac! |
| 28.04.2024 |  |