More Summer Sights

NGC 7023 is an object that has been called one of the brightest reflection nebulae, an encouraging description to say the least. It's 3½° southeast of Beta (β) Cephei, centered on a 6th magnitude star that is easily seen in binoculars. From my earliest days as an observer I have notes that refer to the nebula as "real bright," and question why it is not plotted in Norton's Star Atlas. I suspect it is an easy object for binoculars.

Close to the southern edge of the Big Dipper's Bowl is the remarkable planetary nebula M97, popularly known as the Owl. M97 is no problem for 4-inch telescopes, and I have easily seen it in 15 x 65 binoculars. The two dark spots that form the Owl's "eyes" are more challenging, but under good skies they might be within range of a 4-inch telescope. The nebula measures only 3', and if it isn't seen at once, let your eye wander aimlessly over the field of view until the disk springs into view.

In Ophiuchus is the globular cluster M9. It's near the northeast edge of a remarkable dark nebula, Barnard 64, less than ½° west of it. With my 4-inch Clark refractor or 5-inch Apogee telescope the dark nebula is easily seen. Most dark nebulae are difficult to "see," but here the rich background is rather uniform, and it's interesting to compare the star densities northeast and southeast of M9. Try powers of about 100x. (To discover more dark nebulae, see the article "Seeking Summer's Dark Nebulae.")