Object Name: multiple
Catalog Names(): multiple
Date & Time: 6/7/2026
Location(My terrace in Kolathur, Chennai):
Telescope/Binocular details: Bresser 6” Dob
Eyepiece/Magnification: GSO 30mm 2” - 40x, Explore Scientific 20mm - 60x, and Explore Scientific 8.8mm - 136x
Seeing: Okay
Transparency: Bad
Bortle Class: 8 - 9
Description/Notes:
After a long time, last night was clear with decent seeing and moderate transparency. As my right wrist is injured, I could only take my 6" dob to my terrace. If you are into visual astronomy, this is the best time to observe the sky. There are so many objects to observe in and around the Milky Way core. I started with M7. It was looking bright and brilliant with the GSO 30mm eyepiece. Move a little bit and M6 was small, yet bright enough to star hop with the eyepiece itself. Then I moved to M28 which was smudgy with the ES 20mm EP. M22, the great Sagittarius Cluster was bright showing individual stars with the 20mm. With the ES 8.8mm EP, it was even better.
Then I moved to M8, Lagoon nebula. I could clearly see the star cluster, the star pattern and a slight hint of nebulosity. M21 was clearly visible. M20 Trifid nebula’s star cluster was very clear but not the nebulosity.
Then I moved north for M57, Ring Nebula. Star hopping to this object is child’s play if you know where to look. It showed a hint of the central hole at 136x, though faint. At 136x, the Double Double was resolved. By this time, moon was around 33 degrees and it took me some 10 mins to find the Hercules constellation because the stars were too faint for naked eyes. Once I found it, hopping to M13 was a breeze. Though it looked large at 136x, individual stars were too faint.
Then the Moon. By this time, the scope had been cooled enough for high mag viewing. At 136x, surface features were clearly visible near the terminator. I doubled the mag with a 2x Barlow and I could still see lots of details. Here is the quick capture with my phone:
With yesterday’s seeing, I really missed my 12” Dob as I can’t carry it.