Proud to be part of LJMU,
in partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust

 

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List of Suggested Targets

Once you have booked your Live Observing slot, you can plan out what you’d like to see in the sky! The location of your telescope will depend on whether you have a morning (am) slot or afternoon (pm) slot. Morning slots are for Faulkes Telescope South in Australia. Afternoon slots are for Faulkes Telescope North in Hawaii.

After checking the location, you then need to choose your targets. We have given some suggestions on this page. Each one has been chosen because of their size (to fit the camera's frame of view) and position in the sky (so they'll be visible throughout the entire 30-minute session).

Here's an explanation of each table column:

Target Name

This is the name of the object. The letters usually stand for a catalogue of some kind (e.g. M being Messier, NGC being New Galactic Catalogue), and the number is just the object’s place in the catalogue.

Any other names for the object are given in brackets.

Classification

This tells you what the object is (e.g. star cluster, nebula, galaxy).

There might also be some extra information about it's classification. For example, the star cluster may be globular or open.

Image

This gives an idea of what the object looks like.

Please note that the images are not a true indication of what you will observe. There are many factors (such as weather, moon phase, light pollution, etc.) that can affect the observing conditions from night to night. 

Viewable Site/s

This tells you which location (Australia and/or Hawaii) the target will be visible from.

Remember to check the time of your Live Observing slot to know where your telescope is based – morning (am) slots for Australia and afternoon (pm) slots for Hawaii.

Right Ascension

Part of a celestial coordinate system that lets us measure the locations of objects in the sky. It is a set of three numbers: the first is given in hours, then minutes, and the last is seconds.

For simplicity, these have been left out of the table below and the numbers are separated with a colon. This is how the right ascension needs to be inputted on the Real-time Interface (if using manual mode - read the Guidance for Live Observing for more information). 

Objects with similar right ascensions and declinations are close to each other in the sky. Use these coordinates to help order your observations. This minimises the time taken for the telescope to move between targets.

Declination

Part of a celestial coordinate system that lets us measure locations of objects in the sky. It is a set of three numbers: the first is given in degrees, then arcminutes, and the last is arcseconds.

For simplicity, these have been left out of the table below and the numbers are separated with a colon. This is how the declination needs to be inputted on the Real-time Interface (if using manual mode - read the Guidance for Live Observing for more information). 

Objects with similar right ascensions and declinations are close to each other in the sky. Use these coordinates to help order your observations. This minimises the time taken for the telescope to move between targets.

Exposure Time (s)

This is how long the camera needs so it can take a good image. It is measured in seconds (s).

Enough light must be collected so that we can see the object. Faint, far away objects will have a longer exposure time than objects that are bright and closer to Earth.

The exposure times are the same for each filter - red, green, and blue. For example, suppose an object has an exposure time of 30 seconds. You would input that into the exposure time for the red filter, green filter, and blue filter.

These pictures are taken simultaneously. So, going back to the example object, you won't need to wait 1 minute and 30 seconds to have all 3 images. Once the telescope has found the object, the camera begins exposing, and the red, green, and blue pictures will have been taken after 30 seconds. You'll be able to view these when they've been processed.

Read the Guidance for Live Observing for more information about taking and viewing images. 

Check the exposure times and decide the number of targets for your session. You’ll also want to look at your images – even if only quickly – when they’re ready to view, so factor this into your planning as well. And remember that the telescope can sometimes take a few minutes to move from one object to another, depending on where it is in the sky. 

But it is always better to have too many targets than not enough! If you don’t get to see everything, you can always book another session.

Note: Objects with similar right ascensions and declinations are close to each other in the sky. Use these coordinates to help order your observations. This minimises the time taken for the telescope to move between targets.

 

Target NameClassificationImageViewable Site/sRight AscensionDeclinationExposure Time (s)

NGC 7793 (Bond's Galaxy)

 

Spiral Galaxy

 

A spiral galaxy against a black background with white dots of stars scattered throughout. The galaxy has a small bright white centre and is surrounded by fuzzy grey dust, resembling a cloud. The shape is an elongated oval stretched horizontally.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International

 

Australia

 

23:57:49.75-32:35:27.7120
NGC 6744 (Pavo Galaxy)Intermediate Spiral Galaxy
A spiral galaxy angled face-on against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy has a small, circular, bright, white centre and dusty grey spiral arms sweeping around it.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Australia19:09:46.13-63:51:26.9180
NGC 6584Globular Star Cluster
Lots of stars against a black background. Each star is a white dot of varying sizes. Though some are scattered around the edges of the image, most are concentrated in the centre which glows brightly as a result.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Australia18:18:37.6-52:12:56.820
IC 5332Intermediate Spiral Galaxy
A spiral galaxy angled face-on against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy has a small, circular, bright, white centre and dusty grey spiral arms sweeping around it. A large, white star shines brightly in the lower right of the image.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Australia23:34:27.49-36:06:3.89150
NGC 7424Intermediate Spiral Galaxy
A spiral galaxy angled face-on against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy has a small, oval, bright, white centre and dusty grey spiral arms sweeping around it.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Australia22:57:18.39-41:04:14.12180
NGC 246 (Skull Nebula)Planetary Nebula
A spherical nebula against a black background with some small white dots of stars. The nebula is cloud-like, grey, and fuzzy.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Australia0:47:3.34-11:52:18.9790
NGC 456Nebula with an Open Star Cluster
A grey nebula against a black background with white dots of stars in various sizes. The nebula is a small sphere in the centre with another, smaller sphere above it on the right. There is also a patchy, grey, cloudy area on the image right, suggesting the nebula continues in that direction.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Australia1:13:44.4-73:17:26120
NGC 2146 (Dusty Hand Galaxy)Barred Spiral Galaxy
A spiral galaxy against a black background with white dots of stars scattered throughout. The spherical centre of the galaxy glows brightly, though is obscured by fuzzy grey clouds of dusts that spiral and wrap around it. A prominent, dark dusty lane loops at angle across the front of the galaxy's core.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii6:18:37.7178:21:25.27120
NGC 2768Lenticular Galaxy
A black background with white dots of stars. A large, bright oval is in the centre, stretched slightly horizontally. It is surrounded by a fuzzy, cloud-like, light grey disc also stretching horizontally.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii9:11:37.560:02:13.9590
NGC 2359 (Thor's Helmet)Emission Nebula
A wispy, grey cloud-like shape against a black background with small dots of white stars. The cloud is circular in the middle, and has two protrusions pointing towards the upper and lower right.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii7:18:30-13:13:36200
M79Globular Star Cluster
Lots of stars against a black background. Each star is a white dot of varying sizes. Though some are scattered around the edges of the image, most are concentrated in the centre which glows brightly as a result.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii5:24:10.59-24:31:27.330
M78Reflection Nebula
A circular shaped nebula against a black background with some white dots of stars scattered around and inside the nebula as well. A few shine brightly inside the nebula. The nebula is in various shades of grey.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii5:46:45.790:04:45.1230
NGC 3184 (The Little Pinwheel Galaxy)Spiral Galaxy
A spiral galaxy angled face-on against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy has a small, circular, bright, white centre and dusty grey spiral arms sweeping around it.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii10:18:16.9941:25:27.7790
NGC 1491 (Fossil Footprint Nebula)Emission Nebula
A nebula in various shades of grey against a black background with some white dots of stars scattered around. A few shine brightly inside the nebula as well.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii4:03:15.951:18:5445
NGC 1624Open Cluster inside an Emission Nebula
A spherical nebula against a black background with some small white dots of stars. The nebula is cloud-like, grey, and fuzzy.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
Hawaii4:40:3650:27:42.12120