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Johannesburg Centre,
Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
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Constellations listed with a grey background are never visible from most of South Africa.
A large and loosely scattered star cluster well seen in binoculars, this is one of the nearest globular clusters. Lying at only about 7200 ly, it appears 26' across.
A large and bright object that provides a good view even in a small telescope. This is the brightest and most admired cluster in the Northern sky. With an actual diameter of about 350 ly and a distance of some 23000 ly, it appears about 20' across. Its age is about 10 billion years and it contains about a million stars.
M92 is a splendid object, visible to the naked eye under very good conditions and a showpiece for all optics. lying at a distance of about 25000 ly, it is 12' across.
It is likely that this complex 3-dimensional structure actually is a ring (torus) of bright light-emitting material surrounding its central star. The central star, fainter than Mv15, is a challenge for large amateur scopes. It lies some 1500-2000 ly distance and subtends 70". This is probably the most famous Planetary nebula of all.
Nearly identical to M10, this is one of numerous star clusters in the constellation. Use binoculars to view both M12 and M10 together.
Nearly identical to M12. Use binoculars to view both together. It has an apparent diameter of 12'
One of the most irregular shaped clusters, it has large number of known variable stars and contains many X-ray binaries.
It hosts in its halo a binary millisecond pulsar which is the most distant pulsar ever known from the core of a globular cluster. At a distance of about 14000 ly, it subtends an appaarent diameter of 42'.
Another glorious cluster for small telescopes and binoculars, ~150 stars spread across 30' (one full moon diameter).
A cluster of stars enveloped in nebulosity famous for its three-lobed appearance. Close to the larger Lagoon Nebula (M8) so that both nebulae form a nice target for wide field photographs. It is even closer to the open cluster M21. In photos, the red light from hydrogen clouds and the blu light from the diffusion of star light by the dust particles, can readily be seen.
The Lagoon Nebula, a fine object in binoculars and small telescopes. This irregularly shaped nebula is twice the apparent size of the full moon. It surrounds the loose open cluster NGC 6530, which consists of very hot young stars. It is about 6000 ly distant.
A very young cluster of hot blue stars in a dense region of the Milky Way that it shares with the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae.
A marvelous deep sky object, about 60-70 stars sparkle in this cluster with an associated nebula. The dark dust clouds have given this nebula the name "Eagle Nebula".
Sparse, quite young cluster (~ 32m years) with bright blue and bright yellow/ orange stars.
Emission nebula. Also called the Lobster or Horse Shoe Nebula. A small cluster of about 35 bright but obscured stars seems to be imbedded in nebulosity. Situated at a distance of around 6000 ly, its apparent dimensions are 45' x 35'.
Appears considerably smaller and more compressed than its more impressive neighbour, M22.
A conspicuous cluster, even in the smallest telescopes.
Brightest globular visible from the northern hemisphere and may be the first known globular, having been observed by A.Ihle in 1665 It is the richest of the numerous globulars in this constellation. At 10000 ly distance, it is one of the nearest globulars and subtends about 17'.
A splendid large globular. On nights of exceptional transparency, it is well worth viewing with a 10-inch.
Close to red supergiant Antares, and the closest of all the globular clusters. Can be seen with the unaided eye from a dark-sky location. Situated at a distance of 7000 ly, it would be the brightest and prettiest globular in the sky if it were not obscured by thick clouds of dark interstellar matter. Its apparent diameter is 26'.
A cluster of faint stars, next to M7. This well-observed open cluster in star-rich Scorpius is a beautiful sight in small scopes.
Next to M6, but larger and surrounded by as much light as M6 is by darkness. It is an excellent sight in binoculars and small scopes. Within an 80' circle, 50 to 80 stars can be seen, the brightest being Mv 7. It is about 800 ly distant, and is the southernmost object in messier's catalogue.
"One of the richest and most compact of the galactic (open) clusters" - Robert Burnham, Jr. Having one star of Mv 8, it is particularly rich in the Mv11-14 range; there are about 500 stars brighter than Mv14. At a distance of about 5500 ly, it subtends 13'.
Serpens is a long winding constellation. It is often divided into Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda on charts.
A 13-billion-year-old object, one of the finest clusters in the sky. From 25000 ly, it appears 20' across.
This nebula was ejected approximately 3000 years ago by the old bluish star which can be seen in its very center. The central star is Mv14, with a temperature of 85000K. Expanding at some 30 kn/s, the nebula lies soemwhere between 200 and 900 ly distance. With dimensions of 5' x 8', it is bright enough to be seen in binoculars.
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