Where I live, 30 miles west of downtown Philadelphia (near historic Valley Forge, Pennsylvania), the glow of the nighttime sky is often bright enough that I can read my star charts without the aid of a red flashlight. Sadly, for most of the stargazing community in our country, this is a pretty typical situation. Yet despite such blatant intrusions on the once sacred darkness of the night sky, many deep-sky wonders can still be seen and enjoyed in a small telescope. In fact, some keen-eyed observers have even been able to glimpse the brightest quasar, 13th-magnitude 3C 273 in Virgo. Considering that the object is at a distance of around 2 billion light-years, it is amazing that it can be seen at all under such conditions, let alone with apertures as small as 5 or 6 inches!

Presented here is a table of 111 deep-sky showpieces scattered around the heavens, most of them visible from midnorthern latitudes through even the brightest of skies. Since stars have the highest per-unit-area brightness, double and multiple stars and bright star clusters dominate the selection. Nebulae and galaxies are still well represented even though these faint fuzzies suffer the most from light pollution. You can readily find all of them within their respective constellations using a good star atlas such as Sky Atlas 2000.0, and the vast majority are plotted in more basic atlases and on detailed star maps. In fact, many of these targets appear on Sky & Telescope's monthly centerfold star map.

A few observing hints are in order. While low magnifications and wide fields of view are typically used for finding deep-sky objects, higher magnification has the benefit of darkening the background sky — something to keep in mind when you're looking through light pollution. Close doubles and tight clusters (especially globulars) are best seen on nights of steady seeing, while nebulae and galaxies should be saved for nights when transparency is excellent. All deep-sky objects are at their best when on or near the meridian and, therefore, highest in the sky.

Use direct vision where color perception and resolution are important, and averted vision (looking slightly to one side of the object) for seeing faint details. In the latter case, a dark opaque cloth covering your head down to your shoulders will help prevent unwanted light from streetlights, passing cars, and the glowing sky itself from ruining your dark adaptation. And finally, as a rule, the later at night you observe, the less light pollution you will have to contend with as businesses close, neighbors go to bed, and the busy world around you shuts down for the night.

The table appears on the next three pages. For more information about its contents, see the original version of this article, which appeared in the April 2003 Sky & Telescope. If you don't have that issue handy, the article is also available in the S&T Magazine Archive as a 901-kilobyte PDF. The PDF can be downloaded for free by archive subscribers and costs $2.95 otherwise. To read the PDF, you'll need Adobe Reader, which is available at no cost for most computers.

111 Deep-Sky Wonders for Light-Polluted Skies
Object	Const.	Type	RA	Dec.	Mag(s).	SA 2000.0
M31	And	GX	0h 42.7m	+41° 16'	3.5	4
NGC 253	Scl	GX	0h 47.6m	–25° 17'	7.1	18
h Cas	Cas	DS	0h 49.1m	+57° 49'	3.5, 7.2	1
g Ari	Ari	DS	1h 53.5m	+19° 18'	3.9, 3.9	4
g And	And	DS	2h 03.9m	+42° 20'	2.1, 4.8	4
NGC 869/884	Per	OC	2h 21.0m	+57° 08'	4.3, 4.4	1
i Cas	Cas	MS	2h 29.1m	+67° 24'	4.5, 6.9	1
M34	Per	OC	2h 42.1m	+42° 45'	5.2	4
q Eri	Eri	DS	2h 58.3m	–40° 18'	3.2, 4.1	18
M45 (Pleiades)	Tau	OC	3h 47.0m	+24° 07'	1.5	4
32 Eridani	Eri	DS	3h 54.3m	–2° 57'	4.7, 5.9	11
Hyades	Tau	OC	4h 20m	+16°	—	11
Aldebaran	Tau	Star	4h 36.1m	+16° 31'	0.9	11
R Lep	Lep	Star	4h 59.6m	–14° 48'	8.1	11
Rigel	Ori	DS	5h 14.7m	–8° 12'	0.1, 6.8	11
Capella	Aur	Star	5h 16.9m	+46° 00'	0.1	5
M1	Tau	NB	5h 34.5m	+22° 01'	8.4	5
M42	Ori	NB	5h 35.4m	–5° 27'	3.7	11
s Ori	Ori	MS	5h 38.7m	–2° 36'	3.7, 6.3, 6.7, 8.8	11
h 3780	Lep	MS	5h 39.3m	–17° 51'	—	11
g Lep	Lep	DS	5h 44.5m	–22° 27'	3.6, 6.3	19
M37	Aur	OC	5h 52.3m	+32° 33'	5.6	5
Betelgeuse	Ori	Star	5h 55.3m	+7° 24'	0.5	11
M35	Gem	OC	6h 08.9m	+24° 21'	5.1	5
b Mon	Mon	MS	6h 28.8m	–7° 02'	4.7, 5.2, 6.2	11
Sirius	CMa	Star	6h 45.3m	–16° 43'	–1.4	12
M41	CMa	OC	6h 46.0m	–20° 45'	4.5	19
12 Lyn	Lyn	MS	6h 46.2m	+59° 27'	5.4, 6.0, 7.3	1
145 Cma	CMa	DS	7h 16.6m	–23° 19'	4.8, 6.0	19
NGC 2392	Gem	PN	7h 29.2m	+20° 55'	9.2	5
Castor	Gem	DS	7h 34.6m	+31° 53'	2.0, 2.9	5
k Pup	Pup	DS	7h 38.8m	–26° 48'	3.8, 4.0	19
z Cnc	Cnc	MS	8h 12.2m	+17° 39'	5.6, 6.0, 6.3	12
M44	Cnc	OC	8h 40.4m	+19° 40'	3.1	6
i Cnc	Cnc	DS	8h 46.7m	+28° 46'	4.0, 6.6	6
M67	Cnc	OC	8h 51.4m	+11° 49'	6.9	12
NGC 2903	Leo	GX	9h 32.2m	+21° 30'	9	6
GX = Galaxy; GC = Globular cluster; OC = Open cluster; NB = Nebula; PN = Planetary nebula; DS = Double star; MS = Multiple star; SC = Starcloud; QSO = Quasar; RA and Dec. are equinox 2000.0; SA 2000.0 = Sky Atlas 2000 chart number

111 Deep-Sky Wonders for Light-Polluted Skies (continued)
Object	Const.	Type	RA	Dec.	Mag(s).	SA 2000.0
M81	UMa	GX	9h 55.6m	+69° 04'	6.9	2
M82	UMa	GX	9h 55.8m	+69° 41'	8.4	2
g Leo	Leo	DS	10h 20.0m	+19° 51'	2.6, 3.8	6
NGC 3242	Hya	PN	10h 24.8m	–18° 38'	7.8	20
M95	Leo	GX	10h 44.0m	+11° 42'	9.7	13
M96	Leo	GX	10h 46.8m	+11° 49'	9.2	13
M105	Leo	GX	10h 47.8m	+12° 35'	9.3	13
54 Leo	Leo	DS	10h 55.6m	+24° 45'	4.3, 6.3	6
x Uma	UMa	DS	11h 18.2m	+31° 32'	4.3, 4.8	6
M65	Leo	GX	11h 18.9m	+13° 05'	9.3	13
M66	Leo	GX	11h 20.2m	+12° 59'	9	13
NGC 3628	Leo	GX	11h 20.3m	+13° 36'	9.5	13
3C 273	Vir	QSO	12h 29.1m	+2° 03'	12.7	14
M49	Vir	GX	12h 29.8m	+8° 00'	8.4	13
M87	Vir	GX	12h 30.8m	+12° 24'	8.6	14
24 Com	Com	DS	12h 35.1m	+18° 23'	5.1, 6.3	14
M104	Vir	GX	12h 40.0m	–11° 37'	8	14
g Vir	Vir	DS	12h 41.7m	–1° 27'	3.4, 3.5	14
Y CVn	CVn	Star	12h 45.1m	+45° 26'	5.2	7
M94	CVn	GX	12h 50.9m	+41° 07'	8.2	7
a CVn	CVn	DS	12h 56.0m	+38° 19'	2.9, 5.6	7
M64	Com	GX	12h 56.7m	+21° 41'	8.5	7
Mizar	UMa	DS	13h 23.9m	+54° 56'	2.2, 3.9	2
Spica	Vir	Star	13h 25.3m	–11° 10'	1	14
NGC 5128	Cen	GX	13h 25.5m	–43° 01'	7	21
w Cen	Cen	GC	13h 26.8m	–47° 29'	3.7	21
M51	CVn	GX	13h 29.9m	+47° 12'	8.4	7
M83	Hya	GX	13h 37.0m	–29° 52'	7.5	21
M3	CVn	GC	13h 42.2m	+28° 23'	6.3	7
Arcturus	Boo	Star	14h 15.9m	+19° 11'	–0.1	7
e Boo	Boo	DS	14h 45.0m	+27° 04'	2.3, 4.5	7
M5	Ser	GC	15h 18.6m	+2° 05'	5.7	14
m Boo	Boo	MS	15h 24.5m	+37° 23'	4.3, 7.0, 7.6	7
z CrB	CrB	DS	15h 39.4m	+36° 38'	5.0, 6.0	7
x Sco	Sco	DS	16h 04.4m	–11° 22'	4.8, 7.3	15
b Sco	Sco	DS	16h 05.4m	–19° 48'	2.6, 4.9	22
GX = Galaxy; GC = Globular cluster; OC = Open cluster; NB = Nebula; PN = Planetary nebula; DS = Double star; MS = Multiple star; SC = Starcloud; QSO = Quasar; RA and Dec. are equinox 2000.0; SA 2000.0 = Sky Atlas 2000 chart number

111 Deep-Sky Wonders for Light-Polluted Skies (continued)
Object	Const.	Type	RA	Dec.	Mag(s).	SA 2000.0
n Sco (AB)	Sco	MS	16h 12.0m	–19° 28'	4.4, 5.4	22
n Sco (CD)	—	—	—	—	6.7, 7.8	—
M4	Sco	GC	16h 23.6m	–26° 32'	5.4	22
Antares	Sco	Star	16h 29.6m	–26° 27'	1.1	22
M13	Her	GC	16h 41.7m	+36° 28'	5.8	8
a Her	Her	DS	17h 14.6m	+14° 23'	3.5, 5.4	15
M92	Her	GC	17h 17.1m	+43° 08'	6.5	8
n Dra	Dra	DS	17h 32.2m	+55° 11'	4.9, 4.9	3
M6	Sco	OC	17h 40.3m	–32° 16'	4.2	22
M7	Sco	OC	17h 53.8m	–34° 47'	3.3	22
M23	Sgr	OC	17h 56.9m	–19° 01'	5.5	22
NGC 6543	Dra	PN	17h 58.6m	+66° 38'	8.1	3
95 Her	Her	DS	18h 01.5m	+21° 36'	5.0, 5.2	8
M8	Sgr	NB	18h 03.8m	–24° 23'	4.6	22
70 Oph	Oph	DS	18h 05.5m	+2° 30'	4.0, 6.0	15
M24	Sgr	SC	18h 17.4m	–18° 36'	4.6	15
M17	Sgr	NB	18h 21.1m	–16° 11'	6	15
M22	Sgr	GC	18h 36.4m	–23° 54'	5.2	22
Vega	Lyr	Star	18h 37.0m	+38° 47'	0	8
e Lyr (AB)	Lyr	MS	18h 44.3m	+39° 40'	5.0, 6.1	8
e Lyr (CD)	—	—	—	—	5.2, 5.5	—
M11	Scu	OC	18h 51.1m	–6° 16'	5.8	16
M57	Lyr	PN	18h 53.6m	+33° 02'	8.8	8
q Ser	Ser	DS	18h 56.2m	+4° 12'	4.6, 5.0	16
Albireo	Cyg	DS	19h 30.7m	+27° 58'	3.1, 5.1	8
M55	Sgr	GC	19h 40.0m	–30° 58'	6.3	22
M71	Sag	GC	19h 53.8m	+18° 47'	8.4	8
M27	Vul	PN	19h 59.6m	+22° 43'	7.3	8
o1 Cyg	Cyg	MS	20h 13.6m	+46° 44'	3.8, 4.8, 7.0	9
a Cap	Cap	DS	20h 18.1m	–12° 33'	3.6, 4.2	16
g Del	Del	DS	20h 46.7m	+16° 07'	4.3, 5.1	16
NGC 7009	Aqr	PN	21h 04.2m	–11° 22'	8	16
61 Cyg	Cyg	DS	21h06.9m	+38° 45'	5.2, 6.0	9
M15	Peg	GC	21h 30.0m	+12° 10'	6.3	16
M2	Aqr	GC	21h 33.5m	–0° 49'	6.6	17
m Cep	Cep	Star	21h 43.5m	+58° 47'	4	3
z Aqr	Aqr	DS	22h 28.8m	–0° 01'	4.3, 4.5	17
d Cep	Cep	DS	22h 29.2m	+58° 25'	4.1, 6.3	3
NGC 7662	And	PN	23h 25.9m	+42° 33'	8.3	9
s Cas	Cas	DS	23h 59.0m	+55° 45'	5.0, 7.1	3
GX = Galaxy; GC = Globular cluster; OC = Open cluster; NB = Nebula; PN = Planetary nebula; DS = Double star; MS = Multiple star; SC = Starcloud; QSO = Quasar; RA and Dec. are equinox 2000.0; SA 2000.0 = Sky Atlas 2000 chart number

While it's true that pollution in its various forms has sapped much of the quality out of modern living, the showpieces tabulated above at least illustrate that observers don't need to let bright skies rob them of the joys of stargazing. No matter where you live, the stars are still there for you to enjoy.