Do you need some observing ideas?

[kt4hx]

For those that like structured observing programs and are looking for some challenges of varying degrees, I can recommend the below linked site - the Texas Star Party. They have all kinds of various observing programs in PDF format that they include as part of the annual star party event (which has unfortunately been cancelled this year due to the epizootic). These can of course be done at any time from home or anywhere. I find it a nice resource for observing lists, with a little bit of something for most everyone. Enjoy!

https://texasstarparty.org/activities/t ... m-archive/

[Lady Fraktor]

Thank you for the link Alan.

[helicon]

One day I'd love to attend it. I've been hearing about it since the 1980's.

[kt4hx]

Here is another resource that I ran across, the Clear Sky Observing Guides. The author of the guides and owner of the site is the Dutch astronomer Victor van Wulfen. As Victor states on his site these are not observing books nor are they star charts, since both exist in profusion in the current market. Rather these are supplemental to your already in hand references.

His guides run the gamut of constellation guides to various catalogues within object type categories. There is a lot of stuff here to be certain, with over 50 individual observing guide packages available for free download.

But be warned that many of the individual observing guide packages are quite large, running in the multiple GB size range because the DSS images he utilizes are full sized rather than compressed ones. Read through his site to get a feel of exactly what he has compiled and the functionality. I have included one of the smaller guides (for Markarian's Chain) to give you a sense of their structure. The actual download file at his site is compressed and contains multiple files in addition to the actual pdf observing guide. So check it out and see if his work is something that you might like to add to your resources.

Markarians Chain.pdf

(74.42 MiB) Downloaded 159 times

[KingClinton]

Thanks for the links Alan.
I took the southern skies list from the first and took out the galaxies. Still leaves enough to look through, I probably have done a fair chunk of them.
I still have to check them against my logs.

[kt4hx]

Thanks for the links Alan.
I took the southern skies list from the first and took out the galaxies. Still leaves enough to look through, I probably have done a fair chunk of them.
I still have to check them against my logs.

Thanks Clinton. I am not sure what all is included in the southern edition, but just trying to cover the bases, I would suggest the following star cluster catalogues which are oriented to your region of the sky. They are all individual editions within the star clusters CSOG group, and not significantly large files. I have observed some from each of these while on my more southern forays. Good luck and hope you find something in there to add to your targets.

Basel
Bochum
Haffner
Hogg
Loden
Lynga
Pismis
Ruprecht
Van den Bergh-Hagen