![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n1. The Coathanger<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nLet\u2019s begin with a summer star party piece. Put mag. +4.4 Alpha (\u03b1) Vulpeculae at the north of the field of view, and the Coathanger (or Collinder 399), will be near the southern edge. It lies in a darker part of the Milky Way, so even small binoculars will reveal the 10 brightest stars that give this asterism its name. It was first recorded by Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi in his AD 964 Book of Fixed Stars. <\/em><\/p>\n\n2. The Dumbbell Nebula<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/p>\n\nNext is the easiest planetary nebula for binoculars. Identify Gamma (\u03b3) Sagittae and pan over 3\u00b0 in the direction of 15 Vulpeculae where, even in suburban skies, you will find a small glowing cloud. This distant object, the Dumbbell Nebula, is 1,360 lightyears away. Initially it will appear rectangular but, with patience, you should discern the narrowing in the middle that gives it its common name.<\/p>\n\n
3. Albireo <\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\nAlbireo (Beta (\u03b2) Cygni) marks the Swan\u2019s eye. This double star has a separation of 34 arcseconds, a good test for 10x magnification: if you don\u2019t see two stars, make sure that your focus is perfect and try mounting the binoculars. Once you have split it, notice the beautiful contrast between the golden mag. +3.1 primary and azure mag. +5.0 secondary. Albireo was recently revealed as an optical double, a line-of-sight coincidence. <\/p>\n\n
4. M29<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 15×70<\/strong><\/p>\n\nPut mag. +2.2 Sadr (Gamma (\u03b3) Cygni) at the north of a 15×70\u2019s field of view and the mag. +6.6 cluster, M29, will be near the centre. This is a fairly unremarkable target in smaller binoculars but, on a good night, 15x70s will resolve around a dozen of the 50 or so of these hot blue giants, each with a luminosity of over 150,000 Suns. The brighter stars form a \u2018cooling tower\u2019 shape. <\/p>\n\n
5. The North America Nebula <\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe North America Nebula, NGC 7000, is a large bright patch of nebulosity whose centre is 3.5\u00b0 eastsoutheast of Deneb (Alpha (\u03b1) Cygni). If it\u2019s not immediately visible, try instead to detect the dark nebula that forms the \u2018Gulf of Mexico\u2019. This emission nebula is about 100 lightyears across and appears to us as four times the Moon\u2019s size. <\/p>\n\n
6. Barnard 145<\/strong><\/h5>\n\nRecommended equipment: 15×70<\/strong><\/p>\n\nOur final object is another of these <\/strong>intervening clouds of dust. \u2018The Man Who Never Slept\u2019, EE Barnard, described them as \u201choles\u201d and \u201clanes\u201d cutting through the Milky Way, before he realised their true nature. Identify mag. +3.9 Eta (\u03b7) Cygni, and use the chart (above) to find 25 Cygni, at mag. + 5.1. Barnard 145 is the inky-black \u2018inlet\u2019 into the Milky Way, 0.75\u00b0 to the northeast. <\/p>\n\nThis month\u2019s wide-field targets include the Dumbbell and North America Nebulae<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"54","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"54","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-54-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-54-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086553||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086553||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg",2048,1221,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-300x179.jpg",300,179,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-768x458.jpg",768,458,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-1024x611.jpg",800,477,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-1536x916.jpg",1536,916,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg",2048,1221,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This month\u2019s wide-field targets include the Dumbbell and North America Nebulae","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31955"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32522,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31955\/revisions\/32522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Let\u2019s begin with a summer star party piece. Put mag. +4.4 Alpha (\u03b1) Vulpeculae at the north of the field of view, and the Coathanger (or Collinder 399), will be near the southern edge. It lies in a darker part of the Milky Way, so even small binoculars will reveal the 10 brightest stars that give this asterism its name. It was first recorded by Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi in his AD 964 Book of Fixed Stars. <\/em><\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Next is the easiest planetary nebula for binoculars. Identify Gamma (\u03b3) Sagittae and pan over 3\u00b0 in the direction of 15 Vulpeculae where, even in suburban skies, you will find a small glowing cloud. This distant object, the Dumbbell Nebula, is 1,360 lightyears away. Initially it will appear rectangular but, with patience, you should discern the narrowing in the middle that gives it its common name.<\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Albireo (Beta (\u03b2) Cygni) marks the Swan\u2019s eye. This double star has a separation of 34 arcseconds, a good test for 10x magnification: if you don\u2019t see two stars, make sure that your focus is perfect and try mounting the binoculars. Once you have split it, notice the beautiful contrast between the golden mag. +3.1 primary and azure mag. +5.0 secondary. Albireo was recently revealed as an optical double, a line-of-sight coincidence. <\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 15×70<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Put mag. +2.2 Sadr (Gamma (\u03b3) Cygni) at the north of a 15×70\u2019s field of view and the mag. +6.6 cluster, M29, will be near the centre. This is a fairly unremarkable target in smaller binoculars but, on a good night, 15x70s will resolve around a dozen of the 50 or so of these hot blue giants, each with a luminosity of over 150,000 Suns. The brighter stars form a \u2018cooling tower\u2019 shape. <\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 10×50<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The North America Nebula, NGC 7000, is a large bright patch of nebulosity whose centre is 3.5\u00b0 eastsoutheast of Deneb (Alpha (\u03b1) Cygni). If it\u2019s not immediately visible, try instead to detect the dark nebula that forms the \u2018Gulf of Mexico\u2019. This emission nebula is about 100 lightyears across and appears to us as four times the Moon\u2019s size. <\/p>\n\n Recommended equipment: 15×70<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Our final object is another of these <\/strong>intervening clouds of dust. \u2018The Man Who Never Slept\u2019, EE Barnard, described them as \u201choles\u201d and \u201clanes\u201d cutting through the Milky Way, before he realised their true nature. Identify mag. +3.9 Eta (\u03b7) Cygni, and use the chart (above) to find 25 Cygni, at mag. + 5.1. Barnard 145 is the inky-black \u2018inlet\u2019 into the Milky Way, 0.75\u00b0 to the northeast. <\/p>\n\n This month\u2019s wide-field targets include the Dumbbell and North America Nebulae<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"54","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"54","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_54-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-54-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-54-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086553||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086553||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.205","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg",2048,1221,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-300x179.jpg",300,179,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-768x458.jpg",768,458,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-1024x611.jpg",800,477,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e-1536x916.jpg",1536,916,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/05\/820c4e28-59c5-4415-b370-f7395f7bca2e.jpg",2048,1221,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This month\u2019s wide-field targets include the Dumbbell and North America Nebulae","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31955"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32522,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31955\/revisions\/32522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. The Dumbbell Nebula<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
3. Albireo <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
4. M29<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
5. The North America Nebula <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
6. Barnard 145<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n