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Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge




If you're like me, you have probably seen Jupiter, Saturn, the Orion Nebula, and all of the sky's showpiece objects more times than you can count. And while they are truly spectacular and well worth revisiting, you may be looking for something new, something challenging to observe.

That's the premise behind this new monthly e-column here on Cloudy Nights. Each month, we will look for objects that, quite honestly, many amateurs don't even know exist!



Cosmic Challenge: NGC 2371 - 2372

Feb 01 2025 07:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

Gemini offers two intriguing planetary nebulae for stargazers: the well-known Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) and the lesser known but equally fascinating NGC 2371 - 2. While the Eskimo Nebula dazzles with its bright, structured halo resembling a face framed by a parka, NGC 2371 - 2372 (traditionally abbreviated NGC 2371 - 2) presents a more subtle, ghostly charm.

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Cosmic Challenge: M1, the Crab Nebula

Jan 01 2025 07:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

The story of M1, of how it is the expanding remnant of a massive star that detonated in a huge supernova explosion, is well known to most. That explosion was witnessed by ancient Chinese and Anasazi Native American stargazers in July 1054 AD. Although half a world away from each other, both recorded the exploding star's sudden appearance. At its peak, the supernova may have shone as brightly as magnitude -6 and was visible in broad daylight for nearly a month.

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Cosmic Challenge: Galaxy UGC 2838

Dec 01 2024 07:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

The Pleiades is one of everyone's favorite winter sights. You and I probably look up at that tiny pot of stellar jewels every winter night we head out, just as we have ever since we first became fascinated with the night sky. It’s a seasonal rite. But did you know there was a small galaxy lurking behind the Pleiades? Not many people do. Its faint disk was never seen by the Herschels or known to John Dreyer when he assembled the New General Catalog and supplemental Index Catalogs.

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Cosmic Challenge: Palomar 13 and Friends

Nov 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

Pegasus is best known to deep-sky observers as a breeding ground for faint galaxies, with more than 100 faint NGC galaxies littering this winged steed. Floating seemingly out of place among those systems is the globular cluster M15, one of the season's finest targets. Did you know that there is a second globular within Pegasus lying just within the grasp of your 10-inch telescope? That little known target is Palomar 13, one of those nasty globulars discovered by Abell and company while surveying the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey half a century ago.

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Cosmic Challenge: IC 5067 and IC 5070 (Pelican Nebula)

Oct 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

My September 2018 Cosmic Challenge dared you to see the North America Nebula without optical aid. How did you do? If you didn’t see it back then, can you now? If you passed that trial, then pick up your binoculars and see how you do with this month’s test. The North America Nebula is easy to see compared to spotting this month's challenge, the Pelican Nebula by binoculars.

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Cosmic Challenge: IC 4997

Sep 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

This month’s challenge, the planetary nebula IC 4997 lies within the borders of Sagitta, and is surprisingly bright, but extremely small. That combination makes this a great object for everyone, whether you are observing under the veil of light pollution or from a dark, rural location. Its intensity should shine through all but the most extreme situations.

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Cosmic Challenge: Draconian Doubles

Aug 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

The constellation of Draco the Dragon winds its way through our northern August sky, and while most of its stars are fainter than 3rd magnitude, it holds some fun resolution challenges for binoculars. Here are three of my favorites.

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Cosmic Challenge: NGC 6453

Jul 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

NGC 6453 shines at 10th magnitude and measures nearly 8' across. Were it alone in the sky, it would be a fairly routine catch in 8-inch (20-cm) and larger apertures. But NGC 6453 is not isolated by any means; instead, it is immersed in a heavily packed field of stars. Spotting it can be literally like finding a needle in a haystack!

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Cosmic Challenge: Hortensius and Milichius Dome Fields

Jun 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

Thanks to the lunar samples bright back by Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins, and the other Apollo astronauts, it is well established that the vast majority of craters are impact craters formed when leftover debris from the formation of the solar system slammed into the Moon. But if we look carefully, scattered among all of those impact scars is direct evidence that the early Moon was also a hotbed of volcanic activity. Some of the most intriguing evidence of that activity is the so-called lunar domes.

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Cosmic Challenge: Palomar 4

May 01 2024 05:00 AM | PhilH in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge

When you think of deep-sky objects in Ursa Major, you probably don't think of globular clusters. Galaxies, sure! Planetary nebulae? There's the Owl Nebula. But globular clusters? Probably not.

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