If you wish to suggest a target for the November challenge you can do so here: viewtopic.php?f=84&p=116293#p116293
October 2020 MONTHLY CHALLENGE!
The target suggestions for the October challenge were once again put through a online random draw generator and we have our winners!
For the Northern Hemisphere we have
For the Southern Hemisphere we have
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.
M110 is a fairly bright, large elongated galaxy with no prominent core and no stellar nucleus. M110 is 12 000 light years across and at a distance of 2.5 million light years from Earth.
Unusually, M110 shows hints of some dust and recent star formation. The structure of M110 also shows a slight twist due to the gravitational perturbations caused by M31.
Below is a Stellarium screenshot showing where
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
The popular name "The helix nebula" refers to the nebula's appearance in photographs and has been refered to as the "Eye of God" on the internet since 2003.
The nebula was discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding sometime before 1824 and was overlooked by William Herschel.
The halo extends out even further to 28'. because of the size it's surface brightness is very low and is a difficult target for visual observations, we suggest using a OIII or UHC filter when visually observing the Helix.
The Helix is also the first planetary nebula discovered to contain "knots", there are an estimated 20, 000 knots in the Helix, these knots are radially symmetric and described as cometary with bright cusps and tails, each the size of our solar system.
Below is a Stellarium screenshot showing the location for
We hope that you have fun finding these targets and we look forward to your reports on either or both.
Have fun out there!!!