acey
member
Reged: 01/09/09
Posts: 39
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1. Galaxies, especially groups and clusters - because they enable us to appreciate the largest-scale structures in the universe. And they're so numerous!
2. Nebulae - nice when I look at them, though it's not nearly as often as galaxies. Fun to try effect of filtering etc. Haven't done much observing of dark nebulae but it's a to-do.
3. Globs.
I'm not a big fan of open clusters - I do them when ticking off observing lists (Herschel etc) but don't go out of my way to see them. Nice in binos and small scope (or from light polluted site) but I prefer to use larger aperture (and drive to darker skies) to see farther. Pure prejudice I know, but that's what this hobby's all about - sampling what's on offer and finding your own taste. Plenty to choose up there.
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kroum
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/28/08
Posts: 630
Loc: Santa Clara, CA
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Quote:
Dude, that's like asking which is your favorite child.
Going with that thought, I'll vote for multiple objects within one FOV like, NGC 6939 with NGC 6946, NGC 6712 with IC 1295, Galaxy clusters, conjunctions of planets with DSOs or comets with DSOs, multiple stars, etc....
Bill
I'll second that, multi object field of views are just breath-taking.
I want to say that galaxies are my favorite, but I am somewhat apperture limited at the moment, so hopefully in the future they will be.
As I am also dark-sky challenged, this year I have been observing more open clusters, and have been enjoying them very much in my 4inch achromat.
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10in Hardin Optical Dob
100mm f6 Orion Achromat
6in Orion Short Tube Reflector
15X70 Barska Binoculars
32mm Astrola (Boo!)
25mm, 12.5mm Sterling Plossls
20mm Orion Expanse
9mm Hardin (GSO) Plossl
7.5mm Orion Ultrascopic
Ultima 2X shorty barlow
Turn on, tune in, and look through the eyepiece.
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Chris Greene
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/04/05
Posts: 535
Loc: Dark Sky, Idaho
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I've come to like star chains and asterisms more and more. I'd note something while locating such and such an object but recently have been dwelling on these items instead. I'm fascinated by them. These would be mostly Mag 9-11 items (guessing based on the aperture of my scopes).
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Tele Vue Pronto/Telepod
Tele Vue NP-101/Gibraltar/Sky Tour
Questar 3.5 Standard
Celestron FS 80 EQ WA
Canon 10x30 IS binoculars
Nikon SE 8x32 binoculars
Zeiss Victory 10x25 binoculars
Garrett 25x100 IF binoculars
Manfrotto 475B/501
TV and Pentax ep's
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rocco13
Got Milk?
Reged: 07/29/06
Posts: 2660
Loc: Phoenix, Arizona
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For years it was galaxies, but lately globulars have been getting more eyepiece time. The bright ones like Omega Centauri, M's 13, 5, 15, 2, 3, etc, are always nice, but even the fainter ones like 5466, 5053, and the Intergalactic Wanderer (2419) are a nice challenge.
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Rocco
Zhumell Z12
Super C8 (1984 vintage)
Celestron 102 f/5
and a cheap pair of binoculars
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 12230
Loc: Los Angeles
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Quote:
For years it was galaxies, but lately globulars have been getting more eyepiece time. The bright ones like Omega Centauri, M's 13, 5, 15, 2, 3, etc, are always nice, but even the fainter ones like 5466, 5053, and the Intergalactic Wanderer (2419) are a nice challenge.
Try M55 this time of year. Awesome class XII globular.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov, Fujinon Binos
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member
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rocco13
Got Milk?
Reged: 07/29/06
Posts: 2660
Loc: Phoenix, Arizona
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Don, pardon my ignorance, but what is a class XII glob?
I've caught M55 along with many other brighter globs in Sagittarius, but never heard of different types. Any info would be appreciated.
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Rocco
Zhumell Z12
Super C8 (1984 vintage)
Celestron 102 f/5
and a cheap pair of binoculars
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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Posts: 6034
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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Clusters.. open and globular. 
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 Authoring the monthly AstroSketch page in "Sky at Night" magazine
Lunar Sketch Tutorial
CN Gallery
Photo Gallery
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 12230
Loc: Los Angeles
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Quote:
Don, pardon my ignorance, but what is a class XII glob?
I've caught M55 along with many other brighter globs in Sagittarius, but never heard of different types. Any info would be appreciated.
Globulars are classified from I to XII, determined by core compression and concentration.
Here is a link:
http://www.deepskyobserving.com/Globular-cluster-classification.htm
Don
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov, Fujinon Binos
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 9269
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.1646Meters
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Because of my location in a big city the showpiece globulars like M13 rivet most of my attention with my limited aperture of 10 inches. I never tire of finding them and being amazed at the sight. M3,M5,M92 are a few other of my summertime favorites. M15 is a must see for me in the fall.
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Kenny
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." - Albert Einstein
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Ken....
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/22/04
Posts: 1115
Loc: Nashua, NH, USA
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Clusters, due to their detail and observability under my light polluted skies.
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Ken....
Discovery 12.5"
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ensign
member
Reged: 12/16/08
Posts: 41
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Emission nebulae - especially M42 in Winter and the Lagoon, Trifid, Swan and Eagle in the summer because of the diversity. Using a variety of filters increases the diversity even more.
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- Mike
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Modified 10" Sky-Watcher Dob
William Optics Megrez 110/EZTouch
Nagler Type 4 - 12,17,22
Pentax XW - 10,7
William Optics UWAN 28
Siebert Observatory class 40
Other assorted items too numerous to mention
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OldDeadOne
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 1143
Loc: West Virginia
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Galaxies,and Nebula and maybe if ever a comet sneeks in that is somewhat easily viewable and actually has a nice tail to it(man I miss Haley's....)
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Bert O'Dell
PROUD GOTO USER
LX200 10" Classic
various meade plossi's eyepieces
Konig MX70 40mm" eyepiece
11mm T6
7mm T1
Insane under a full moon
I duck from Iron Skillets
Charleston WV clearsky
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HellsKitchen
sage
Reged: 09/05/08
Posts: 356
Loc: Melbourne Australia
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Planetary Nebula and galaxies
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S 38º 00' E 145º20'
Custom 12" F/4.6 dob
10" GSO dob
Intes M500 Mak
4.5" Meade Newtonian
Set of Vixen LVWs + TV barlows + powermates
Astronomik 0III, UHC, H-beta filters
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Jim Curry
sage
Reged: 10/29/07
Posts: 434
Loc: Maine
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150+/- globulars
1000 planetary nebulae
>5000 open star clusters
1000+/- visual nebulae
untold thousands of galaxies (probably over 20,000 in a 12.5")<
Wow, this is sorta like collecting sets of coins. Some sets you can complete, others maybe not...
I have pretty dark skies so top of the list are galaxies, especially w/good conditions in winter and spring. I most enjoy threshold chasing of galaxies when conditions are really good. To catch that wraith shimmering at the edge of averted vision, to come at it from 2 directions to be sure it's for real, that makes for a satisfying evening.  Summer time interest kinda segues into clusters. Planetaries never did much for me but I'll look at them if they're on the way to my next object  .
Jim
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Vixen 140 refractor
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astrotchr
member
Reged: 07/01/09
Posts: 21
Loc: Ohio
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Globular clusters: all the detail, no two the same, individual stars as well as the unresolved, blended core. A big wow factor for newbies. Easily spotted in binocs and finders too.
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Steven Aggas
sage
Reged: 04/15/08
Posts: 463
Loc: Arizona
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Abell Galaxy Clusters - even when I only used an 8" I'd pull as much detail as I could from the closest ones, the 20" made an awesome difference, the 36" shows them like the B&W ccd images....
Steven
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Mr. Wizard
Walking on a Dob: http://darkskyobserving.com/MtGraham.html
Elements in Harmony I, an 8"f6 German Equatorial - Stellafane Winner,
II a 20"f4.2 Newt-Dob - Astrofest Winner,
III a 6"f3.5 Finder/Newt-Dob, and
IV a 36"f4.5 Newt-Dob - "If it's up there, it's in here."
Apache-Sitgreaves Center for Astrophysics
www.DarkSkyObserving.com
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JayinUT
I'm not Sleepy
Reged: 09/19/08
Posts: 953
Loc: Utah
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1. Planetary Nebula
2. Open Clusters (I just like observing them)
3. Globular Clusters
4. Double Stars/Multiple Star Systems
5. Carbon Stars (a member in a thread here suggested these and they are very colorful and offer some great contrast).
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Jay in Utah
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Location: Lat: 40.514N Long: -112.032W
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth.
— Ptolemy, c.150 AD
My Blog
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Cygnus_x1
Sketcher Extraordinaire
Reged: 11/17/04
Posts: 2400
Loc: 50N - too far north!
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Hmmm. A tricky question. I like observing all deep sky objects. However, I am particularly fond of galaxy-hunting plus planetary nebulae and globular clusters, but when I am observing only with my 8x42 binoculars then I like hunting down open clusters with them and also, under dark skies, large nebulae.
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Visual Deep Sky Observing - NEW website
Observing blog
My astronomy event photos on Flickr
12 inch Dob
8 inch Celestron C8 Newtonian
4 inch Meade SCT
8x42 Leica binoculars
Various TeleVue eyepieces
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Patricko
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/30/07
Posts: 1534
Loc: SE New Mexico USA
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Oh this is a hard one here....it would have to depend on what sort of mood I'm in at the time. I would have to say for right now open clusters that sit in nebulosity. Galaxies have to be a close second. Awh heck, I like them all!
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Clear skies,
Patrick
INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION
60MM TELESCOPE CLUB!
"You can always have better, but will you ever be happy with what you have?" - Me, myself, and I
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leonard
sage
Reged: 10/19/07
Posts: 218
Loc: West Virginia
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Hello ,
Globular and open clusters .
Brighter colorful doubles.
A small list of brighter galaxies I like to view
when sky transparency is high .
Taking a cruise under a dark sky through the Milky
Way with a pair of 10x70 bino's.
Leonard
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