Deep Sky Observations with eVscope September/October 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 September/October 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 September/October 2020, I observed various areas. A map therefore makes little sense...

Observation Time

The observations in this phase started at the beginning of September 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

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.

Observation Overview

Observation Dates

Date 2020	Observed Objects	Observed Objects, Details	Remarks	Further Remarks
Sep 4 MH	GC: M 13, (M 55), M 92 OC: M 52 PN: M 27, M 57	Order (from about 10:30 p.m. on): M 52, M 92, M 13, M 55, M 57, M 27	More or less unusable, because of too many fast moving clouds	eVscope fairly inaccurate, probally not correctly levelled
Sep 7 MH	GC: M 30, M 75, NGC 6934 OC: M 11, M 103, NGC 457, NGC 559, NGC 663, NGC 6885, NGC 7789 G: M 31, M 33, NGC 6946, NGC 7331 GN: IC 1396, IC 5070, IC 5146, NGC 281, NGC 6888, NGC 6960, NGC 6995, NGC 7000 PN: NGC 6567	Order (8:45 p.m.to 00:10 a.m.): M 11 (Wild Duck Cluster), NGC 6885 (6882 not known to the App), NGC 6934, M 75, NGC 6960 (Western Veil Nebula), NGC 6995 (Eastern Veil Nebula), IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula), NGC 7000 (North America Nebula), NGC 6888 (Crescent Nebula), NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy), NGC 7789 (White Rose Cluster), IC 5146 (Cocoon Nebula), IC 1396 (Elephant Trunk), NGC 6567, NGC 7331, M 30, NGC 663, NGC 281 (Pacman Nebula), NGC 457 (Owl/E.T. Cluster), NGC 559, M 103, M 31, M 33	Fairly dark sky; NGC 7789 (White Rose Cluster) was weekly challenge by Unistellar	eVscope OK again...
Sep 8 MH	GC: M 2, M 14, M 15, M 55, M 56 G: M 51, M 101, M 106, M 109 GN: C 9, NGC 7380, NGC 7635 PN: NGC 6567, NGC 6826, NGC 7662 DS: M 40	Order (9:20 p.m. to 00:30 a.m.): NGC 7380 (Wizard Nebula/Cluster), NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula), NGC 7662 (Blue Snowball Nebula), M 55, NGC 6567, NGC 6826 (Blinking Nebula, not working at 86°, although visible, but EV did not work; at 89° nothing worked), M 51 (Whirlpool Galaxy), M 101, M 109, M 40, M 106, M 2, M 14, M 15, M 56, C 9 (Cave Nebula)	Fairly dark sky	Observed on the balcony because of M 55 and M 30 ; NGC 6826 only in Live View mode
Sep 9 MH	GC: M 30 G: M 33, NGC 6835 GN: C 9, IC 1396, IC 5146, NGC 7023, NGC 7635, PN: M 27, NGC 6781, NGC 6826	Order (9:45 p.m. to 12:00 p.m.): NGC 7023 (Iris Nebula), NGC 6835 (G), NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula), NGC 6781, IC 1396 (Elephant Trunk), IC 5146 (Cocoon Nebula), M 30, M 33 (Triangulum Galaxy), C 9 (Cave Nebula), NGC 6826 (Blinking Planetary Nebula), M 27 (Dumbbell Nebulal) (NGC 6914 ging nicht, IC 1795 auch nicht)	Fairly dark sky	Back on the terrace...
Sep 12 MH	OC: IC 1805, IC 1848 G: NGC 6946 GN: IC 1805, IC 1848, NGC 281, NGC 869, NGC 884, PN: M 27, M 76, NGC 6781	Order (10:30 p.m. to 00:10 a.m.): M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy), NGC 6781 (Snowball Nebula), NGC 869, NGC 884, IC 1848 (Soul Nebula), IC 1805 (Heart Nebula), M 76 (Little Dumbbell Nebula), NGC 281 (Pacman Nebula)	Fairly dark sky	On the terrace...
Sep 14 MH	G: M 31, NGC 5907 GN: IC 1805, NGC 7023 PN: NGC 6543	Order (10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.): NGC 6543 (Cat's Eye Nebula), NGC 7023 (Iris Nebula), NGC 5907 (Splinter Galaxy), IC 1805 (Heart Nebula), M 31 (Andromeda Galaxy)	Clouds disturbed the observations
Sep 15 MH	GC: M 13, M 92 G: NGC 5907 GN: C 9, IC 1396, NGC 281, NGC 7023, NGC 7380, NGC 7635 PN: M 27, M 57, M 76, NGC 6781	Order (10:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m.): M 13, M 92, NGC 5907 (Splinter Galaxy), NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula), M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), M 57 (Ring Nebula), NGC 6781 (Snowball Nebula), NGC 7023 (Iris Nebula), NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula), C 9 (Cave Nebula), NGC 7380 (Wizard Nebula), IC 1396 (Elephant Trunk), M 76 (Small Dumbbell Nebula), NGC 281 (Pacman Nebula)	Fairly dark sky	With iPad as Observer
Sep 18 MH	OC: M 2, M 15, M 56, NGC 7006 OC: M 34 G: M 31, M 33, NGC 891, NGC 925, NGC 5907, NGC 6835, NGC 7640 GN: IC 1795, NGC 1396, NGC 7635 PN: NGC 6751	Order (09:45 p.p. to 01:00 a.m.): M 56, NGC 7006, M 15, M 2, NGC 6835, NGC 5907 (Splinter Galaxy), NGC 7640, NGC 6751, NGC 925, M 33 (Triangulum Galaxy), NGC 891, IC 1795 (Fish Head Nebula), IC 1396 (Elephant Trunk), M 34, NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula), M 31 (Andromeda Galaxy)	Fairly dark sky	With iPhone as Observer
Sep 28 MH	GC: M 3, M 13, M 92	Order (8:40 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.): M 3, M 13, M 92 (clouds, small) - photos not useable	Clouds; at the end the sky was completely covered by clouds, I cancelled the observation...
Sep 30 MH	GC: M 13, M 92 OC: M 11 G: NGC 6946 GN: NGC 6960, NGC 6995, NGC 7023 PN: M 57 DS: Albireo	Order (8:40 p.m. to 11:10 p.m.): M 13, M 92, M 11 (Wild Duck Cluster), NGC 6960 (Western Veil Nebula), NGC 6995 (Eastern Veil Nebula), NGC 6946 (Fireworks Galaxy), NGC 7023 (Iris Nebula), M 56, Albireo, M 57
Oct 10 MH	GC: M 15, M 56, NGC 6934 G: M 33, NGC 7479 PN: M 27 P: Mars	Order (11:00 p.m. to 00:00 a.m.): M 56, NGC 6934, M 15, M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), NGC 7479 (Superman Galaxy), M 33 (Triangulum Galaxy), Mars	Waning half moon, which still did not disturb, a few clouds	Forgotten: M 74
Oct 19 MH	GC: M 13, M 15, M 71 OC: NGC 663, NGC 752 G: IC 1613, M 31, M 32, M 74, M 110, NGC 185, NGC 891 GN: NGC 281, NGC 7000 PN: M 27, M 76 P: Mars	Order (7:45 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.): M 13, M 15, M 71, (M 33), M 31 (Andromeda Galaxy; auto exposure wrong), M 32, M 31, NGC 185, M 110, NGC 281, NGC 663, NGC 752, M 76 (Little Dumbbell Nebula), M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), Mars, IC 1613 (nothing to see), M 74, NGC 891, NGC 7000 (North America Nebula)	Three days after New Moon	This time, M 74 observed
Oct 24 MH	Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Moon	Observations (7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.): Jupiter, Saturn, Mars; Moon. Experimented with different manual exposure times at the moon. Exposure times between 1/1000 and 1/250 sec lead to less noise than the automatic exposure (about 1/3000 sec). At 1/100 sec, I was not able to lower the gain sufficiently, so that the hightlights were blown out.		Jupiter difficult, no usable photo
Oct 27 MH	PN: M 27 P: Jupiter, Saturn M: Moon	Observations (7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.): Jupiter, Saturn; Moon, M 27 (Dumbbell Nebula), Moon. Experimented with different manual exposure times at the moon. Exposure times were shorter, because the moon was brighter. Experimented with background slider on M 27.

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 9	Cave Nebula	Cepheus	GN	Large reddish nebula, faint in the eVscope
IC 1396	Elephant Trunk	Cepheus	GE	Very large nebula, practically not visible as a nebula...
IC 1613		Cetus	G	Irregular dwarf galaxy, practically not seen...
IC 1795	Fish Head Nebula	Cassiopeia	GN	The galactic nebulae IC 1795 (also named NGC 896), IC 1805, and IC 1848 form a larger nebulosity region in the constellation Cassiopeia, not far away from the Perseus Double Cluster NGC 869/884. The Fish Head Nebula next to IC 1805 is the brightest region and was therefore discovered first.
IC 1805	Heart Nebula	Cassiopeia	GN/OS	The galactic nebulae IC 1805, IC 1848, and IC 1795 (also named NGC 896) form a larger nebulosity region in the constellation Cassiopeia, not far away from the Perseus Double Cluster NGC 869/884.
IC 1848	Soul Nebula	Cassiopeia	GN/OS	The galactic nebulae IC 18485, IC 1805, and IC 1795 (also named NGC 896) form a larger nebulosity region in the constellation Cassiopeia, not far away from the Perseus Double Cluster NGC 869/884.
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; very similar to M 15
M 3		Canes Venatici	GC	Nice globular cluster, one of the larger ones; slightly disturbed by clouds this time...
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 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 27	Dumbbell Nebula	Vulpecula	PN	Somewhat faint, but nice; profits from a dark sky
M 30		Capricornus	GC	According to Stoyan, a typical globular star cluster that cannot be resolved in small telescopes. In the eVscope this is manifested by the very bright core.
M 31	Andromeda Galaxy	Andromeda	G	Too large for the eVscope's field of view
M 32		Andromeda	G	Satellite of M 31; M 31 partly in the field of view
M 33	Triangulum Galaxy	Triangulum	G	Normally very faint, but this time better to see
M 40		Ursa Major	DS	Optical double star; nearby are three small galaxies (NGC 4284, NGC 4290, PGC 39934)
M 51	Whirlpool Galaxy	Canes Venatici	G	Nice spiral galaxy with connected satellite galaxy
M 52		Cassiopeia	OC	Mid-sized open star cluster
M 55		Lyra	GC	Larger globular star cluster, very far in the south
M 56		Lyra	GC	One of the smaller globular star clusters
M 57	Ring Nebula	Lyra	GN	Ring nice to see
M 71		Sagitta	GC	According to Stoyan, an unusually loose globular star cluster.
M 74		Pisces	G	Nice spiral galaxy, but in the eVscope just a faint dot/glow...
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 76	Small Dumbbell Nebula	Perseus	PN	Got its name because it resembles the much larger Dumbbell Nebula M 27.
M 92		Hercules	GC	Nice globular star cluster, smaller than M 13, but brighter core
M 101		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 103		Casiopeia	OC	Triangular shape good to see
M 106		Canes Venatici	G	Larger and bright spiral galaxy with bright core; close to it there is the small spiral galaxy NGC 4248.
M 109		Ursa Major	G	Barred spiral galaxy, the bar is easily recognized in the eVscope
M 110		Andromeda	G	Satellite of M 31; nor in the field of view with M 31
NGC 185		Cassiopeia	G	Elliptical galaxy, satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy
NGC 281	Pacman Nebula	Cassiopeia	GE	Reddish nebula, fits the feVscope's field of view
NGC 457	Owl/E.T. Cluster	Cassiopeia	OC	Nice, particularly the "eyes"
NGC 559		Cassiopeia	OC	Smaller open cluster in Cassiopeia
NGC 604		Triangulum	HII	The brightest HII region in M 33, a small blob...
NGC 663		Cassiopeia	OC	Large; seen well in mid-February and in September
NGC 752		Cassiopeia	OC	Large, loose open star cluster
NGC 869	h-Persei (part of the double cluster)	Perseus	OS	Both clusters together are too large for the eVscope's field of view; the more compact cluster of the two
NGC 884	chi-Persei (part of the double cluster)	Perseus	OS	Both clusters together are too large for the eVscope's field of view; for me, this is the nicer cluster
NGC 891		Andromeda	G	Seen from the side; nice but faint
NGC 925		Triangulum	G
NGC 5907	Splinter Galaxy	Draco	G	Can be seen edge-on; in contrast to other "edge-on" galaxies, the ends are not pointed.
NGC 6543	Cat's Eye Nebula	Draco	PN	Very small in the eVscope
NGC 6567		Sagittarius	PN	Identified only using Astrometry.net
NGC 6751		Aquila	PN	Small in the eVscope, but can still be identified.
NGC 6781	Snowball Nebula	Aquila	PN	According to Stoyan, the brightest of four fainter planetary nebulae in this constellation; reminds me of the Ring and the Dumbell nebulae
NGC 6826	Blinking Nebula	Cygnus	PN	According to Stoyan brighter than the Ring Nebula M 57, but not so easy to observe. In the eVscope it is just a blue dot...
NGC 6835		Sagittarius	G	Very small and seen edge-on; some sources call it a barred spiral.
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 7023	Iris Nebula	Cepheus	GN	NGC 7023 is the name of an open star cluster containing the Iris Nebula The Iris Nebula is a reflection nebula illuminated by a central star.
NGC 7331	with NGC 7335	Pegasus	G	Originally faint, but confirmed with a Stoyan drawing; better seen in August and September 2020; the galaxy NGC 7335 and to smaller galaxies are on the better photos.
NGC 7380	Wizard Nebula / Cluster	Cepheus	GN/OS	A star formation region that contains the young open star cluster NGC 7380.
NGC 7479	Superman Galaxy	Pegasus	G	Can be seen well as a barred spiral.
NGC 7635	Bubble Nebula	Cassiopeia	GN	Is located close to the well-known open star cluster M 52.
NGC 7640		Andromeda	G	Faint
NGC 7662	Blue Snowball Nebula	Andromeda	PN	According to Stoyan, one of the most beautiful planetary nebulae in the autumn sky, which appears in the small telescope as an even blue disc. In the eVscope it appears as a prominent but small blue spot.
NGC 7789	Caroline's Rose Cluster, White Rose Cluster	Cassiopeia	OC	Large; according to Stoyan one of the richest star clusters for small telescopes.
Albireo		Cygnus	DS	Hard to recognize as a double star in the eVscope
Mars			P	Tiny orange-yellow spot
Jupiter			P	No usable photo on the first go; moons and surface cannt be seen simultaneously. Better photo with moons the second time (no stripes).
Saturn			P	Ring visible when exposing manually
Moon			M	Experimented with different manual exposure times at the moon on Oct 24. Exposure times between 1/1000 and 1/250 sec lead to less noise than the automatic exposure (about 1/3000 sec). At 1/100 sec, I was not able to lower the gain sufficiently, so that the hightlights were blown out. Craters down to a diameter of 14 km visible. Did the same on Oct 27, where the moon was brighter and thus, exposure times shorter.

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, P = planet

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