LX200 Tuned Observing Lists--page 1
 105 Finest Objects 

       

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Subject: 105 Finest Objects with Reference to LX200 (classic) Database

From: Nigel Puttick <Nigel_PuttickCompuServe.com>  and Rob Roy <rroyexeculink.com>

Updated by Wayne Watson <mtn_viewsirius.com> and his friend, John Day. Date: Jan., 2001. They provided some corrections to original posting and RA & Dec for those without GoTo capability.

After looking at the excellent list Rob Roy posted , I wondered whether some of the stars listed by RA/DEC could be more easily entered as an SAO number. It should be easier than manually inputting the coordinates. Armed with the list, Sky Atlas 2000, Redshift, the Meade LX200 manual and a couple of hours of my time, I identified all the stars, and found that many of them actually have LX200 star catalog numbers, which would be even easier to enter. All the SAO numbers are for stars brighter than Mag 7, so should be in the Meade SAO database. I have checked these updates (and a couple of minor corrections) with RR, so here is the amended list.

Credit for original list goes to Sky & Telescope.
Sky and Telescope from Nov/1965 to Jan/1966. The authors, James Mullaney and Wallace McCall, had spent five years carrying out a visual survey of every conceivable object down to -40 degrees declination.>

Meade star numbers are noted with a *. To access a SAO number, push the Star key and then the Enter key and use the up/down keys to select from the menu.

  Listing of 105 Finest Objects for LX200

Descriptions of 105 Finest Objects  

1. M81's bright core and fainter outer parts can be seen in a 10" scope at 80x.
2. M82 is the nearby spindle-shaped companion of M81. Dark lanes are visible in a 10".
3. Gamma Leonis is a beautiful yellow pair, 4.5-seconds apart, easily split in a 3".
4. NGC3242 is one of the brightest and easiest of all planetary nebulae. Visible as a blue disk in a 3" at 90x.
5. Xi Ursa Majoris forms a tight white pair (2.5-seconds) in a 6".
6. Delta Corvi is a wide (24-second) pair, white and lilac, in colour.
7. 24 Coma Berenices, a 20-second pair show orange and blue-green stars, vivid in larger scopes.
8. M104, the Sombrero galaxy, shows the dark equatorial band in a 13" at 190x. Small instruments show only a hazy ellipse.
9. Gamma Virginis, one of the best-known binary stars, has a white pair of nearly the same magnitude, nearly 5-seconds apart.
10. Y Canum Venaticorum has a deep orange colour, particularly intense in small apertures.
11. M94 is a very bright galaxy, round and featureless in small instruments, but easy to see.
12. Cor Caroli, a 20-second blue-white double, is one of the best for small scopes.
13. M64, the Blackeye galaxy, large and bright, needs a 6" to see the dark central patch which gives rise to its nickname.
14. Mizar is a fine double, its components, both white, 15-seconds apart, while Alcor is 12-minutes away. Excellent for comparing what the naked eye can see with what the telescope reveals.
15. M51, the Whirlpool galaxy, shows hints of its spiral structure in a 10" at 80x. Its close companion, NGC5195, gives the appearance of a double nebula in wider fields of view.
16. M3 is the first bright globular cluster of the spring skies. It is partly resolved in a 6" and completely so in a 13".
17. Epsilon Bootis, a 3.5-second pair, has yellow primary and a blue secondary. They can be split in good seeing with a 3".
18. Xi Bootis, a yellow and red visual binary, (7-seconds) are easily split with modest instruments.
19. M5, a marvelous object in a 10", rivals M13.
20. Mu Bootis is a fine triple star, being a wide double (108-seconds) whose fainter member is a close 2-second pair.
21. Delta Serpentis offers a fine white pair for a 3". Separation is 4-seconds. 22. Zeta
22. Coronae Borealis a 6-second double consisting of nearly equally bright bluish and greenish stars. Colours definite in a 6".
23. Xi Scorpii is triple, part of a multiple system, a 1-second pair with another 8-seconds away. In the same field is the 12-second pair, Struve 1999. A 3" shows only four stars, a 6" at least is needed to split the close pair.
24. Beta Scorpii resembles Mizar, being a 14-second blue-white pair. It makes for an interesting colour comparison with Antares.
25. Nu Scorpii is a colourful double-double, a 2-second pair and a 1-second, 42-seconds apart. A 6" at least is needed to resolve all four stars.
26. M4 is large and easily resolved, best seen in larger instruments. These show many faint stars in apparent chains, giving a feeling of dark lanes crossing the cluster.
27. Antares is a beautiful, unequal double star, red and emerald green. Because it is only 3.5-seconds away and much fainter, the companion is difficult in 6 to 8" scopes. Even though it may not be resolved, the companion will show a green tinge to one side of the red primary.
28. 16 and 17 Draconis, 1.5-minutes apart form a triple, the brighter components are nearly equal, and the primary has a close companion.
29. M13, the finest northern globular cluster, hints at resolution in a 3" and resolves well in a 6".
30. NGC6210 is a small but bright planetary nebula showing a featureless blue disk in smaller scopes.
31. and
32. M12 and M10 are similar globular clusters only a few degrees apart, the best of many in Ophiuchus. They appear granular in a 4" and can be resolved in a 10".
33. Alpha Herculis consists of an intensely coloured orange and blue-green pair, 4.5 seconds apart.
34. Delta Herculis, colours white and purple, is an optical 9-second pair.
35. M92 is a globular with a bright center. Often overlooked because of its neighbour, M13. Easily seen in a 3".
36. Rho Herculis, a 4-second double, is attractive even in small scopes.
37. Nu Draconis. A pair of perfectly matched white stars of equal brightness separated by 62 seconds.
38. M6 is a large, bright cluster of scattered stars. This and the next two objects need a low-power, wide-field view of at least 0.5 degrees to be appreciated.
39. M7, a large, very bright open cluster, is easily resolved in a 3" at 45x.
40. M23 is a large, uniform, and fairly rich open cluster, striking in an 8/10" at 150x.
41. NGC 6543, a bright blue-green ring, has an 11th-magnitude central star, just visible in a 3". A fine object in an 8" or larger scope.
42. 95 Herculis is a 6-second pair of bright stars, pale red and pale green in colour.
43. M8, the Lagoon nebula, appears as a nebulous patch traversed by a large dark lane and a scattered open cluster to one side. A 3" shows all but the dark lane, for which a larger scope is needed.
44. 70 Ophiuchi has a present separation of 3 seconds. The colours, yellow and red, are strong at 150x in any size scope.
45. NGC 6572, a small, bright, blue planetary, looks like a star in a 4". Colour is intense in larger scopes.
46. M17, the Swan or Omega nebula, can been easily seen in a 3". The Milky Way background is quite rich here.
47. M22 is rated by the authors as the finest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere after M13. It is easily resolved to the center in a 10".
48. Vega is a dazzling blue-white diamond. About 1 minute of arc to the south lies a faint companion, difficult to see in less than a 6".
49. Epsilon Lyrae, the famous double-double, is the finest multiple star in this list. Both close pairs, 2.3 and 2.6 seconds apart, can just be resolved in a 3".
50. M11, the Wild Duck cluster, is the finest open cluster north of -40 degrees for large instruments, yet easily resolved in a 4". Very rich and compact, it has a bright star near its center.
51. M57, the famous Ring nebula, rates as the authors' finest planetary. Its central hole is seen at 100x in a 3". The faint central star needs a large scope to be seen.
52. Theta Serpentis is an easy pair of white stars, separated by 23 seconds.
53. Albireo is a beautiful 35-second pair, orange and blue. These colours are much more vivid in smaller scopes.
54. M55 is a large, rich globular, but so far south that it requires a first-class night for a good view. To be seen as more than a hazy patch needs a larger scope.
55. NGC 6818 appears as a bright, uniform, blue disk in a 13". In common with other planetaries, it is starlike in small scopes at low power.
56. Delta Cygni offers a close (2-second) binary which needs a 6" in good seeing to be split. The primary is white, the companion blue-white.
57. NGC 6826 is sometimes called the "blinking planetary." It consists of a pale blue disk with an 11th magnitude central star. Looking exactly at the star, the nebula disappears; while looking with averted vision causes the star to disappear in the nebulosity. Alternating rapidly between averted and direct vision gives a blinking effect. This can been seen in a 6" at 150x.
58. M27, the Dumbell nebula, is large and bright, pinched near the middle in 4" at 40x.
59. Gamma Delphini, a 10-second pair, appears delicately coloured yellow and pale green.
60. NGC 7009, the Saturn nebula, is a very bright, blue-green, featureless elliptical disk. The appendages that give rise to the name are not visible even in a 30" reflector.
61. 61 Cygni, a famous long-period binary star, has orange components 28 seconds apart.
62. M15. This bright and very compact globular is not completely resolved in a 13" refractor at 190x.
63. Beta Cephei offers an unequal 14-second double of blue-white stars.
64. M2, a very rich swarm, appears as a hazy patch in a 3".
65. Mu Cephei, long-famed as Herschel's garnet star, is a semi-regular, variable super giant. It is almost red in a 3", deep orange in an 8", and yellow-orange in a 13".
66. Zeta Aquarii is a fine, 1.4-second binary. Both stars are white.
67. Delta Cephei, a 41-second pair, is easily split in a 3". The colours are pale orange and white.
68. NGC 7662 is a small blue dot in a 6" and a bright blue perforated disk with a 13".
69. 19 (TX) Piscium has a very red colour, apparent in all apertures.
70. M31. The great Andromeda galaxy is finest representative of its class. Scopes up to 6" show a bright, hazy, featureless ellipse. Some dark structure can be seen in a 13" and larger.
71. NGC 253 looks somewhat like M31, but smaller.
72. Eta Cassiopeiae has yellow and reddish-purple components which are about 10-seconds apart.
73. Gamma Arietis is a pair of equally bright white stars, 9 seconds apart. They are easily seen in a 3".
74. Alpha Piscium is a tight, white pair, 3 seconds apart.
75. Gamma Andromedae is one of the finest coloured doubles, orange and blue. At 10 seconds separation, it is visible in all apertures.
76. & 77: See next.
77. NGC 869 and 884 make up the double cluster in Perseus. Rated as the finest open clusters for small telescopes, they are superb in many. Contrasting star colours are discernible in larger scopes.
78. Iota Cassiopeiae is a fine triple, with blue-white companions 2.5 and 7 seconds from the yellowish primary. Scopes 6" and above are needed.
79. Gamma Ceti. Attractive close (3-second) pair.
80. Theta Eridani, although very close to the horizon at our latitude, is a brilliant pair of white stars 9 seconds apart.
81. 32 Eridani's components are yellow and blue-green, separated by about 7 seconds. Colour contrast is vivid in medium to larger scopes.
82. NGC 1535 is a small, pale blue-green disk with a faint central star. A 6" at 100x shows it but not the star; a 13" reveals both.
83. Rigel is a blue-white star with a white, much fainter companion 10 seconds away. It is just resolved in a 3".
84. Eta Orionis, a bright white pair only 1.5 seconds apart, needs a 10" for separation.
85. Lambda Orionis is a 5.5-second pair of white stars.
86. Theta Orionis. This beautiful multiple system is embedded in the Orion nebula. Six components are visible in a 4".
87. M42, the Orion nebula, is the finest defuse nebula in this survey- a magnificent sight! Even a 3" reveals darker areas and long filaments in this bright green nebulosity.
88. Iota Orionis, a 12-second pair, is a fainter version of Rigel, with a hint of dim nebulosity. In the same field is the double Struve 747.
89. Sigma Orionis is a multiple star, three components being easily seen in a 3", four in a 6". The bright star has a very difficult close (0.3 second) companion.
90. Zeta Orionis has a bright close (2.5 second) companion and a distant faint one, all three being blue-white.
91. M37 is the finest of the great open clusters in Auriga. It is rich and uniform, resolved in a 4" at 40x, and has an orange star near its center.
92. Theta Aurigae, a very unequal, close (3-second) pair; difficult in any scope much smaller than 10 inches.
93. M35, a large, uniform, and bright star cluster, needs at least a 30-minute field for a good view.
94. Beta Monocerotis is the finest triple star in the list. The components, all yellow-white, form a triangle of 10-seconds greatest extent. Easy in a 6".
95. UU Aurigae is a bright, very red carbon star, more vivid in an 8" than in a 13".
96. 12 Lyncis is a triple system, nice in a 6".
97. Sirius, the brightest star other than the sun, dazzles the eye with its blue-white brilliance. Under excellent conditions, the white dwarf companion can just be seen in an 8" at 280x.
98. Delta Geminorum is a 7-second pair with yellow and reddish-purple components.
99. NGC 2392 is a vivid blue planetary nebula with a bright central star. It is easy with a 6" at 100x, and a 13" at 600x permits dark structures in the disk to be glimpsed with averted vision.
100. Castor. The two very bright, blue-white stars form a close binary whose separation is just under 2-seconds. The faint third star, a minute of arc away, is orange and just visible in a 3" at 150x.
101. Kappa Puppis, easy in a 3", is a 10-second pair of white stars.
102. M46 is a uniform cluster of faint stars. On its northern edge is NGC 2438, a dim ring nebula visible in a 10".
103. Zeta Cancri is an attractive but difficult triple. A 4" shows only two components about 6 seconds apart. The three, all yellow, are well resolved in a 10" at 320x.
104. Iota Cancri is an orange star with a blue neighbour 31 seconds away.
105. M67 is a rich swarm of rather faint stars, resolved in a 4", is a fine sight in a 6".