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Anonymous
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Any "omissions" are entirely my fault. I'm afraid I don't do much in the way of doubles. Nor open clusters for that matter, so I don't know about many good ones. Echo gives me a hard time because I don't use an observing list, so I made up a list of things I like to observe. I've also started keeping a log, so I find the list a useful, if somewhat cryptic way to keep notes. I just have to remember to take it with me. 
I haven't observed many of these objects, fewer still through the Vixen or Ranger, and I've added and removed some from my personal list. Some objects, even if visible, don't make it past the "blah" factor, with faint galaxies and small, distant globulars leading the list. I think I deleted about 100 of those from my draft.
But I'm hardly the Keeper of the List, so feel free to add, delete, change, improve, copy or otherwise tailor the list to your needs. There are some typos, and likely some errors in classification, etc. Enjoy! And thanks, Preston, for managing the list for us. 
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 14076
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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In case there are any novice Excel users out there...
This list REALLY gets sweet when you use filtering (XL not EP  )
Pick the cell with the Title "Con" (cell A12) ; now get the pull-down menu "Data"; select "Filter"; click "AutoFilter. Now you will see little buttons on each Column Title with a little upside-down triangle. Click the button on the "Con" column and then select the Constellation Abbreviation for your favorite Constellation.
All that other clutter goes away and you see only items in the list for that constellation. Click the button again and select "All" to get back to the full list.
Try it with the Culmination column, too.
Ain't that cool?
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 30423
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Ian brings up a good point: this might be a good time to tell observers what specific input you need for the project. (Maybe you've done this already. I either missed it, or it didn't register.) What are you looking for in the reports?
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. - Galileo Galilei
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lighttrap
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 3833
Loc: cloudy, foggy, humid NC, US
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I'm about 1/2 way through comparing this list to the Orion Deep Map 600. While I was initially interested to see some objects that are not listed on the DM600, on closer inspection, it looks like most of the objects on this list that are not on the DM600 are in the mag 13.5 to mag 14 range. These are not going to be accessible to 6" scopes, and are going to be challenge objects even for larger scopes. Just as an example, according to this list, NGC 5377 is mag 14.8, and only 0.5'x0.5'. Some online sources list it as twice that size, and a bit brighter at 14.1, but either way, that's going to be a pretty tough catch for most folks, even from dark skies with an 8 to 10 inch scope. I would suggest that if this list is to be really useful to those with a good variety of scopes and seeing conditions that it be constrained to list nothing fainter than about mag 13 or so. Limiting it to mag 12.5 would potentially be of even more benefit, but you'll likely start to run out of targets before the list gets filled. Even that would put many objects outside the range of many people and many instruments. Just a thought.
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18" Starsplitter II f/4.5
8" Hardin Dob f/6
C5 workhorse mini SCT f/10 or f/6.3
70mm TV Ranger dual purpose birding/astro
77mm Leica Televid APO
16x70 Fujinons on UA Deluxe Mt.
12x50 Nikon SE
8x30 Nikon E2s
and many others
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lighttrap
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 3833
Loc: cloudy, foggy, humid NC, US
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Just as a followup, there is a LOT of variation between the magnitudes for listed objects between the Deep Map 600 and this, proposed list. I don't yet know which figures are correct, but it bears tracking down at some point, since it could *greatly* impact the usefulness of whatever is decided upon in terms of a final list. Here are just a few of the 1st examples.
PL= Proposed List DM= Deep Map
NGC 891 PL mag 13.8 / DM mag 9.9
NGC 772 PL mag 13.9 / DM mag 10.3
NGC 4631 PL mag 13.3 / DM mag 9.2
NGC 4244 PL mag 14 / DM mag 10.4
NGC 4111 PL mag 12.3 / DM mag 10.7
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Eventually, I may check some of these against other references, but the point is that there is some doubt about one or more of these sources. For what little I know, they could both be wrong, but they can't both be right.
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18" Starsplitter II f/4.5
8" Hardin Dob f/6
C5 workhorse mini SCT f/10 or f/6.3
70mm TV Ranger dual purpose birding/astro
77mm Leica Televid APO
16x70 Fujinons on UA Deluxe Mt.
12x50 Nikon SE
8x30 Nikon E2s
and many others
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Galaxy magnitudes for the NGC objects quoted above are surface brightness magnitudes. Sizes are visual estimates, not photographic sizes. The posted list may have misformatted my notes on the list, so this may not be clear. NGC 4111 has a surface brightness of 12.3 and an integrated magnitude of 10.6 according to the Observing Handbook and Catalogue of Deep Sky Objects, and is listed as visible in a 60mm refractor. NGC 4244 is listed as a 10'x1' spindle visible in a 15cm scope; NGC 4631 is listed as visible in a 60mm scope, and NGC 891 is listed as visible in a 60mm scope, though listed as a "difficult" edge-on spiral. Deep Map lists integrated magnitudes. I find that I can see most 13.5 magnitude surface brightness objects in my 102mm refractor, and many 13.8 objects are also visible. M31 has a surface brightness of 13.4, and is very easy, though it's large and therefore easy to find. M33, visible in 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars has a surface brightness of 14.1, and an integrated magnitude of 5.7, also a not-too-difficult target in a 60mm scope. NGC 5457, M101, has a surface brightness of 14.7, and can be difficult in a 60mm scope unless the skies are very transparent. I find it faint, but visible, in a 102mm scope. In effect, both lists are right, they are just showing different information. I find surface brightness estimates far more useful when galaxy hunting than integrated magnitudes, hence their inclusion. They are more conservative, or pessimistic if you prefer, and will keep small scope owners from looking for objects they are not likely to find.
Many objects on the list I've not observed, at least in a small scope, and I add or subtract from the list as I find things I like (or didn't know I could see) or dislike.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
In case there are any novice Excel users out there...
This list REALLY gets sweet when you use filtering (XL not EP )
Pick the cell with the Title "Con" (cell A12) ; now get the pull-down menu "Data"; select "Filter"; click "AutoFilter. Now you will see little buttons on each Column Title with a little upside-down triangle. Click the button on the "Con" column and then select the Constellation Abbreviation for your favorite Constellation.
All that other clutter goes away and you see only items in the list for that constellation. Click the button again and select "All" to get back to the full list.
Try it with the Culmination column, too.
Ain't that cool?
I guess we could take the Deep Map 600, or any other list, and plug it into a spreadsheet to make it sortable. I find trying to sort through the Deep Map's numerical listing in the dark somewhat of a pain. The nice thing about the spreadsheet is you can sort it however you like. I generally observe by constellation, so that gets the A column.
I'll probably add a Distance column to my personal list, as well, and see how far I can see. 
Most of the data is from the Observing Handbook, Burnhams, the Deep Map, internet sources, the Webb Society books, and probably other places as well. The notes and descriptions are mine.
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Hawkeye
super member
Reged: 06/10/04
Posts: 140
Loc: Melbourne, Australia
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Preston
If you want some help from south of the equator, count me in.
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10" LX200GPS UHTC
Oberwerk 15 x 70
Canon 40D
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lighttrap
Reged: 02/06/04
Posts: 3833
Loc: cloudy, foggy, humid NC, US
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Thanks for clarifying that, Warpd. I was going to check some of these against Cambridge, but now probably won't. If most or all of those objects are available to most scope owners, then I'd say it's a good start. I like the sortable aspect of having the list as a spreadsheet. I'm intrigued by the idea of sorting them by distance. The idea of seeing far, very far, is one of the things that got me into, and keeps me in this hobby.
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18" Starsplitter II f/4.5
8" Hardin Dob f/6
C5 workhorse mini SCT f/10 or f/6.3
70mm TV Ranger dual purpose birding/astro
77mm Leica Televid APO
16x70 Fujinons on UA Deluxe Mt.
12x50 Nikon SE
8x30 Nikon E2s
and many others
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 14076
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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The Autofilter in XL is good for selecting visible magnitudes too. After setting up the Autofilter, you can pick the button for Magnitude, and select "Custom" and tell it to filter for "Less than"... "12" or whatever. Only problem is Doubles/Carbons/Varibles/things with other than a single number entry, get filtered out no matter what because XL interprets those as text instead of numbers. If the Mag. column could be broken into 2 columns the filter could work completely for that.
Can also filter for Type if you want a list of Globular Clusters for instance.
Custom Filter would be useful on a distance column too... Only items further than X light years, etc. I am often at a loss for distance to an object, and school kids always want to know how far away that object is.
Warpd, if I understand you correctly, ALL Galaxies with NGC Designations (which, so far is ALL Galaxies) are listed with Surface Brightness for Magnitude? If so, YIPPEEEE! For us visual observers, the Surface Brightness is the one that really counts. That will help build a list of Galaxies I can actually see.
Instead of deleting rows for objects you aren't particularly interested in, you could add a column for "Culls" and put an X (or whatever) in that column for whichever items you want to go away. Then use a custom filter for items that don't contain X in that column (or blank in that column).
This is going to be a pretty handy planning tool. 
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15918
Loc: Hoover, AL
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Quote:
Ian brings up a good point: this might be a good time to tell observers what specific input you need for the project. (Maybe you've done this already. I either missed it, or it didn't register.) What are you looking for in the reports?
The most important thing is what type scope your using and what the conditions are at your observing site. I would do the obseravations in more of sentance form, but if you want to write down just quick notes thats ok too. Just as long as whoever is editing can understand what you saw, then whatever format you send it is cool
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
Vixen Porta Mount
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 30423
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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So you're basically looking for visual impressions under a variety of conditions and using a variety of equipment. Simple enough. I do that for my observing log anyway, almost as a journal or as 'letter to a friend' so I won't be doing anything more than I do right now. 
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. - Galileo Galilei
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
The most important thing is what type scope your using and what the conditions are at your observing site. I would do the obseravations in more of sentance form, but if you want to write down just quick notes thats ok too. Just as long as whoever is editing can understand what you saw, then whatever format you send it is cool
Doesn't sound too hard. As soon as I get some clear skies here, I'll get to work.
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 14076
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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I have been poking around and adding features to the list...
Filter is already set up (for only as many items as are currently in the list)
Added RA/DEC columns (but not all the numbers) preformated for xxh bb.bbm & dd° mm.mm' (just enter numbers - no text or marks)
Added Item counter so the number of items is shown (22 items if filtered for xxx, nnn) you'll see what I mean... right above the Designation Title. Filter for something and the number will change.
Using the second Filter Button on the Culmination column allows you to Custom Filter for a range of months like greater than 2 and less than 7 give a list with Culmination in April thru June.
The modified file is attached to this post.
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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lighttrap,
Sorry if I sounded a little harsh on my response. It was late at night, and I was tired.
david, yes the galaxy magnitudes are all surface brightness magnitudes. I'll check out your mods.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
This is going to be a pretty handy planning tool.
It started out as a "what can I see and when can I see it list" and expanded from there. As much as I like my Deep Map, it isn't the easiest thing to plan from. This is Burnhams, the Webb Society, the Observing Handbook, a log, a viewing list, a planner, and a database rolled into one.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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david,
Very clever with the spreadsheet. Can you make it click and goto?
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15918
Loc: Hoover, AL
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Quote:
I have been poking around and adding features to the list...
Filter is already set up (for only as many items as are currently in the list)
Added RA/DEC columns (but not all the numbers) preformated for xxh bb.bbm & dd° mm.mm' (just enter numbers - no text or marks)
Added Item counter so the number of items is shown (22 items if filtered for xxx, nnn) you'll see what I mean... right above the Designation Title. Filter for something and the number will change.
Using the second Filter Button on the Culmination column allows you to Custom Filter for a range of months like greater than 2 and less than 7 give a list with Culmination in April thru June.
The modified file is attached to this post.
Thanks for adding the RA and Dec cordinates, I was going to get started on that, but alas I have already got a busy weekend planed 
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
Vixen Porta Mount
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 14076
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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Preston -- I only copied the coordinates you had entered in the Comments column. Haven't had time to add any data to it. Probably best if only one person is entering data. Could get messy with different versions floating around.
I mainly just added some operational features to make organizing the list easier and make it possible to print out small sections of the list for use in planning a night.
Like printing a list of only Galaxies that culminate between May and August; or objects in a single constellation; or objects in a certain RA range; etc.
Play around with it some and see if you like it.
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 30423
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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We haven't officially started observing yet, and something useful has already come of this. Preston, consider this a good omen!
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. - Galileo Galilei
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