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

 

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List of Suggested Targets

After booking a Live Observing slot, you should plan out what you'd like to see in the sky!

You'll first need to know which telescope will be used in your session and its location. This will depend on the timing of your session. All time slots are given in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This is a worldwide reference time and avoids confusion when changing time zones. Morning slots will happen in Australia with Faulkes Telescope South. Afternoon slots will happen in Hawaii with Faulkes Telescope North.

Once you know the location, you can then select some targets to observe. We have given suggestions in the table below. These objects fit nicely in the camera's frame of view. They'll also 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). 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 its classification. For example, the star cluster may be globular or open.

Image

This gives an idea of what the object looks like.

But please be aware that your own images might look different. There are many factors (such as weather, moon phase, light pollution, etc.) that can affect observing conditions from night to night.

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 you're 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 you're 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 is open, or exposing, for when taking a picture. It is measured in seconds (s).

The camera collects light when it is open. To see an object in detail, we need to collect enough light from it. This means leaving the camera open for the correct amount of time. Faint, far away objects require longer exposure times than those that are bright and closer to Earth.

The exposure times are the same for each colour filter. This needs to be inputted on the Real-time Interface if you're using manual mode (read the Guidance for Live Observing for more information). For example, if an object has an exposure time of 30 seconds, you would enter that value for the red, green, and blue filters.

These pictures are taken simultaneously. Consider the object again with an exposure time of 30 seconds. You won't need to wait 90 seconds for all 3 images. When the telescope finds the object and starts exposing, the red, green, and blue images will all have been taken after 30 seconds. You'll be able to view these when they've been processed.

Use the exposure times to help you 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.

 

Australia

Target NameClassificationImageRight AscensionDeclinationExposure Time (s)
Barnard 33 (Horsehead Nebula)Dark Nebula
An image of a cloudy nebula with some small white stars of stars. The image almost appears split in two vertically, with the left-hand side being almost black in colour and the right-hand side being different shades of grey. In the middle, a patch of dark cloud rises sideways out of the darker left-hand side of the nebula. This cloud resembles a horse's head.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
5:41:1.83-2:27:18.0890
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
5:24:10.59-24:31:27.330
NGC 1672Spiral 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. The upwards arm is more visible than the downwards arm.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
4:45:42.55-59:14:50.68150
NGC 1763 (The Bean Nebula)Emission Nebula
A grey nebula against a black background with lots of white dots of stars in various sizes throughout. The cloud-like nebula is lighter grey towards the middle and darker grey around the edges. Its shape is an elongated, bean-like structure.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
4:56:51.5-66:24:2560
NGC 2071Reflection Nebula
A grey nebula against a black background with some white dots of stars scattered around and inside the nebula as well. There is a very bright star towards the upper right of the image. The nebula appears cloud-like and is various shades of grey. There is a very bright star in the centre of the nebula, partly obscured by the dusty clouds.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
5:47:6.960:17:3990
NGC 2442 and NGC 2443 (Meathook Galaxy/Cobra and Mouse)Weakly Barred Spiral Galaxy (NGC 2442 - upper spiral structure, NGC 2443 - lower spiral structure)
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 two dusty grey spiral arms sweeping upwards and downwards.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
7:36:23.77-69:31:51150
NGC 2997Spiral 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 upwards and downwards around it.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope South) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
9:45:38.75-31:11:27.35120

 

Hawaii

Target NameClassificationImageRight AscensionDeclinationExposure Time (s)
Arp 286 (upper left - NGC 5569, centre - NGC 5566, upper right - NGC 5560)Trio of Interacting Galaxies
An image of three galaxies against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy in the centre is the biggest, with a bright spherical middle surrounded by a cloudy grey that stretches diagonally. Some dusty spiral arms can just be discerned. The galaxy in the upper right is similar, just smaller and stretched sideways instead. The galaxy in the upper left is much fainter and resembles a fuzzy grey circle with only a small white dot at its centre.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
14:20:183:56:090
M56Globular 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
19:16:35.5730:11:0.520
M102/NGC 5866 (Spindle Galaxy)Lenticular Galaxy
A galaxy against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy is the centre of the image. It is a small, stretched oval-shape with what resembles a thin ring around it. The galaxy shines a very bright white.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
15:06:29.5655:45:47.9125
NGC 5701Barred Lenticular Galaxy
A galaxy, angled face-on, against a black background with white dots of stars. The galaxy has a small, oval-shaped, bright white centre which lies in the middle of a very faint, fuzzy-like spherical cloud of dust. There is also a circular halo of this faint dust surrounding the galaxy's centre.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
14:39:11.085:21:48.49150
NGC 5906/NGC 5907 (Knife Edge Galaxy/Splinter Galaxy)Spiral Galaxy
A black and white image of a side-on galaxy. It looks like a thick diagonal line with a bright white glow in the middle.
This work by Las Cumbres Observatory (taken with Faulkes Telescope North) is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International
15:15:53.6956:19:43.86120
NGC 5985Spiral Galaxy
A spiral galaxy angled almost 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
15:39:37.0559:19:55.2290
NGC 6384Weakly Barred 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
17:32:24.287:03:37.53120