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UnderPolaris
member
Reged: 12/03/08
Posts: 17
Loc: Augusta, GA
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I believe I found M22 tonight. It looked like a smudge considering there was some artificial light around. However, I was to the right of Sagittarius, so I'm almost positive this is what I saw.
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Meade ETX-80AT-TC
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starrancher
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 613
Loc: Northern Arizona
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M22 is just north east of the peak of the "teapot" asterism in Sagittarius . If what you were seeing was to the right or (west) of Sagittarius you may have been seeing M6 or M7 which lie just north of the scorpions tail in Scorpius . Although these are both open clusters & quite easy to see .
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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GlennLeDrew
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 1283
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Or it could have been M8, the Lagoon nebula. Yes, it's to the *upper* right of the Teapot, but to the right in general. M6 and M7 are easily resolved open clusters and would hardly have been seen as a 'smudge' in any optical instrument.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Home-made Mk II RA bino, using interchangeable objectives and eyepieces
My Gallery
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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Man in a Tub
Not Retired!, But a little cranky!!!
Reged: 10/28/08
Posts: 2047
Loc: San Francisco, CA
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There's a triangular "asterism" at about 4-5 o'clock from M22. If you saw or maybe remember it (assuming approx. a 2° FOV), you were on M22.
Best regards,
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Todd
Brunton Eterna 15x51 ° Garrett Optical Signature Series 15x70
Nikon Action EX 12x50 ° Oberwerk 15x60 and 20x80 Standard
Orion Paragon Plus Mount and Paragon XHD Tripod
Garrett Optical Series 2000 Grip-Action Monopod
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Planet Bob
member
Reged: 02/05/06
Posts: 48
Loc: Harrisburg, Pa
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You were likely observing M8, the Lagoon Nebula - it's embedded in the top of the 'steam' rising from the teapot spout. The open clusters M6 and M7 would both have been easily resolved in your 80mm (they are well resolved in 10 x 50 binoculars). If you check a star atlas you will see that M22 is located just above the left (east) side of the teapot cover. It is easily seen in binoculars and even 6 x 30 finder scopes. Locate it by centering the top of the teapot in a low power, wide field eyepiece, then move (parallel to the teapot base) slowing to the east. You should run into it within about 2 field widths. Then take her up to 120-150x. The cluster will likely appear as a coarsely granular glow with an overlay of numerous faint stars. It is a fine target for an 80mm.
Enjoy,
Bob
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Model 128 Unitron (60mm)
Sears 3" f/15
SV Nighthawk (80mm)
AP 152mm Starfire
Meade Starfinder EQ 10" OTA dob mounted
Obsession 15" f/4.5 Classic
Mix of Naglers, XW's, Pentax and UO orthos, BO/TMB Planetaries, Erfles, Plossls, Kellners and Huygens
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Tony Flanders
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 3469
Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA
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I vote for M22 rather than M8. The small, bright blob of M22 is even more eye-catching in binoculars and small scopes than the brighter but much more diffuse glow of M8. Moreover, the bright part of M8 is the embedded star cluster, which should be at least partly resolved in an 80-mm scope.
However, it's true that M8 is well and truly to the right of the Teapot, while M22 would be more on top of it, even when the Teapot has rotated pretty far.
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Tony Flanders
First and foremost observing love: naked eye.
Second, binoculars.
Last but not least, telescopes.
And I sometimes dabble with cameras.
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UnderPolaris
member
Reged: 12/03/08
Posts: 17
Loc: Augusta, GA
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After looking at my rough sketch of the stars around what I was looking at and the location of said object in reference to the teapot, I was able to confirm that it was definitely M22. I really wish I could have had a clearer view of it. Maybe on a clearer night it will be brighter. Thanks for the help everyone!
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Meade ETX-80AT-TC
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Tony Flanders
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 3469
Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA
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Quote:
After looking at my rough sketch of the stars around what I was looking at and the location of said object in reference to the teapot, I was able to confirm that it was definitely M22. I really wish I could have had a clearer view of it. Maybe on a clearer night it will be brighter. Thanks for the help everyone!
Next year. M22 is already past its prime by the time the sky gets dark in October. Also, higher magnification helps. But 80 mm is a tad small to give a really impressive view of this cluster -- arguably the best globular visible from mid-northern latitudes.
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Tony Flanders
First and foremost observing love: naked eye.
Second, binoculars.
Last but not least, telescopes.
And I sometimes dabble with cameras.
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