In September 2001, I attended the Great Plains Star Party in Scopeville, Kansas. One night, as I was walking across the observing field, a friend called down from the top of his observing ladder. “Hey, Michael, I’ve run out of things to look at. Got any suggestions?”
As I looked up, I realized he was using a brand-new 24-inch Starmaster Dobsonian-mounted reflector. He had the telescope, but he didn’t have a plan.
Someday, you may find yourself in the same situation. The sky is clear and dark, your scope is aligned and cooled, but the only deep-sky object you can recall is the Ring Nebula.
When it’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere, one of the best targets from the NGC catalog is spiral galaxy NGC 4565 in Coma Berenices.
I can think of several ways for you to break out of this rut. First, if you’ve brought along a star atlas, chart, or map, take a break. Use your red-filtered flashlight to scan the map(s) showing the constellations above your head. Five minutes of this, and you’ll have a lot to look at.
My second suggestion is to ask what a fellow observer is viewing, as my friend did. If you’re at a star party, walk around, and take some brief looks through other scopes. You’ll come back to your telescope with a nice list.
But what if you’re observing alone? And what if you didn’t bring a star atlas or are unfamiliar with how to use one? To quote Capt. James T. Kirk from the Star Trek television episode “Balance of Terror”: “Fire blind! Lay down a pattern.” Pick up your telescope’s go-to hand paddle, and enter “M” followed by a random number from 1 to 109. Do this several times, and you’ll see some great sights.
If you’re using a large telescope (one with an aperture bigger than 12 inches), you might want to try a random attack on the NGC catalog. For this plan, insert an eyepiece that gives a wide field of view. NGC objects carry designations starting with 1 and ending with 7840. (NGC 1 is a magnitude 12.8 spiral galaxy in Pegasus; NGC 7840 is a magnitude 13.2 elliptical galaxy in Pisces.) Remember that, like these two objects, most NGCs are faint, so your chances of landing on a bright one aren’t great, but are thousands of times better than winning the Lottery.
The way astronomers laid out the NGC catalog also will help you. The numbers follow the sky coordinate of right ascension — analogous to longitude on Earth. So, in fall, search within the range of NGC 7000 to about NGC 1500. In winter, restrict yourself between NGC 1500 and NGC 3000. Spring? NGC 3000 to NGC 5000. And, in summer, tap in a number between NGC 5000 and NGC 7000.
Your telescope’s computerized drive is smart enough to know when an object isn’t up. You’ll probably see a message like, “Object lies below horizon.” Celestial objects look better when they lie high in the sky, so don’t spend much time squinting for objects close to the horizon.
Once you narrow down your number range, you’re sure to see some unexpected delights. If you find an object you like, jot down its designation so you can return to it in the future.