need.to.see.the.dim.constellation.Delphinus.to.locate.it..
Using. the. 28. mm. (16X). eyepiece,. sweep. along. a. line.
between.the.beautiful.double.star.Albireo.(described.on.
page.19).and.the.diamond-shaped.Delphinus..You’ll.find.
the.Dumbbell.about.one-third.of.the.way.between.them,.
closer.to.Albireo,.looking.like.a.little.puffy.cloud..This.is.an.
excellent.opportunity.to.practice.using.a.star.chart,.and.
the. reward. of. finding. this. nebula. makes. the. effort. well.
worth.it!.At.30X,.the.Dumbbell.looks.like.a.softly.glowing.
pillow.pinched.in.the.middle,.serenely.floating.amid.the.
stars.of.the.Milky.Way..
The Edmund Sky Guide
.contains.
a. list. of. the. brightest. planetaries. for. viewing. with. your.
Astroscan,. including. the. Crab. Nebula. (M. 1),. Jupiter’s.
Ghost.and.the.Saturn.Nebula.
There’s. yet. a. third. type. of. nebula,. but. one. that’s. not.
directly. visible. at. all!.As. you. sweep. the. sky. along. the.
Milky. Way. you’ll. find. apparent. vacancies,. or. “holes.
in. the. sky”. as. they. were. once. thought. to. be. by. early.
observers,.where.few.or.no.stars.are.visible..This.is.due.
to.the.presence.of.dark.obscuring.clouds.of.gas.and.dust.
known.as.“dark.nebulae.”.Some.of.these.are.so.huge.
that.they.are.easily.visible.to.the.unaided.eye,.the.dark.
rift. splitting. the. constellation. Cygnus. down. the. middle.
being.perhaps.the.most.dramatic.of.them..
Galaxies
Galaxies. are. one. of. the. classes. of. deep-sky. objects.
that.every.newly.minted.astronomy.buff.most.wants.to.
see..However,.beyond.the.brightest.few,.it.takes.a.large.
telescope. to. truly. appreciate. these. denizens. of. deep.
space.and.only.large.observatory-class.telescopes.show.
them.as.photographs.do..Your.Astroscan.will.enable.you.
to.find.several.dozen.prominent.galaxies,.and.perhaps.
glimpse.a.few.hundred.or.so.beyond.those,.depending.
on.how.dark.your.
skies. are.. While.
most. of. them. will.
just.look.like.little.
fuzzy.spots.having.
different. shapes.
and. orientations,.
the.brightest.and.
biggest. of. them.
are.
wonderful.
sights,.especially.
from.dark.country.
or.
mountain.
skies..
loose.star.cluster..At.30X.you’ll.see.a.dark.rift.splitting.the.
nebula.in.two;.thus.its.name..About.9.degrees.northeast.
of.the.Lagoon,.still.in.the.constellation.Sagittarius,.is.a.
third. outstanding. diffuse. nebula. for. viewing. with. your.
Astroscan.. This. one. is. M. 17. and. has. multiple. names.
based.on.its.appearance.in.different.size.telescopes.–.
the.Horseshoe,.Omega,.Swan.and.Checkmark.Nebula!.
It’s.easily.visible.at.16X,.and.using.averted.vision.at.30X.
you’ll.see.a.long.ray.with.a.hook.at.one.end..All.three.of.
these.stellar.incubators.are.worth.studying.with.higher.
power.eyepieces.as.well.as.lower.ones..
A. second. type. of. nebula. represents. the. death. throes.
of. a. star. rather. than. starbirth,. as. for. diffuse. nebulae..
These. are. the. planetary. nebulae,. so. called. because.
many.of.them.look.like.small.planets.in.the.telescope..
They. are. actually. expanding. globes. of. gassy. debris.
left.over.when.a.star.expands.into.old.age.–.or.in.some.
cases. actually. explodes.. Two. of. them. in. the. Summer.
sky. (neither. of. which. resembles. a. typical. planetary’s.
round.or.egg-shaped.bluish-green.disk).in.particular.are.
worth.looking.for.with.your.Astroscan..One.is.the.famous.
Ring. Nebula. (M. 57). in. the. constellation. Lyra,. located.
near.the.bright.blue-white.star.Vega..A.parallelogram.of.
four.stars. extends. below.Vega.and.the.Ring.lies. right.
between.the.two.furthest.ones,.making.this.an.easy.star.
hop.from.the.star.itself..With.the.28.mm.(16X).eyepiece.
it. appears. as. a. very. tiny. round. glow. which. is. easy. to.
overlook..Switching.to.the.15.mm.(30X).eyepiece.makes.
its.presence.definite.and.at.56X.the.central.hole.can.be.
glimpsed.using.averted.vision,.transforming.the.nebula.
into.a.very.small.but.distinct.smoke-ring.(or.some.say.
donut).shape.
The. other. outstanding. planetary. for. your. Astroscan. is.
the.Dumbbell.Nebula.(M.27).in.Vulpecula..It’s.a.bit.hard.
to. find. from. the. city. or. on. moonlit. nights. because. you.
Andromeda Galaxy M 31
J. Cocozza
Ring Nebula M 57
Dumbell Nebula M 27
