The following are objects in the constellation Pegasus for which I have logged some of my observations over the years. It might be interesting for you to compare to your own observations. These aren't necessarily the "best" or most popular objects to view, although most of those are included if I logged them, but some are targets of opportunity that were near other objects I was viewing, challenge objects, or just whatever I felt like viewing at the time based on my mood, instrument, and sky conditions. They are grouped here by type and sub-type (galaxies by elliptical, spiral, etc.), in alpha-numeric order.
The sky conditions at the various sites vary considerably and have changed over the years. Therefore, I've only provided a very basic description. I don't generally note sky conditions in any systematic way, although for each session I will often mention what the seeing is on the Pickering Scale (1-10), transparency, and if clouds were hindering the observations, etc. These are general impressions, not scientific observations and aren't included in most observations.
The data on individual objects comes from Sky Safari 6 Pro, which in turn comes from various catalogs and sources. It contains some errors and discrepancies, as is usual for any astronomical dataset. I take responsibility for any errors and inconsistencies in my own observations (there are many!).
I may update the post with additional observations of the same or additional objects, as I have many observing recordings from before "speech to text" that I still haven't transcribed and put into my database. I absolutely hate transcribing.
Please feel free to share your own observations of any of these objects in the comments.
See a listing of observing sites, with approximate sky quality indicated, and details on the instruments used at the end of this post.
Charts are adapted from Cartes du Ciel. Images are from Aladin Lite (DSS2, SDSS9 or PanSTARRS DR1) unless otherwise noted. All images have North up. SDSS9 images have off-color stars and tend to show yellowed galaxies and other artifacts may appear in some of the other images.
HD 204509
Type: Double Star
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 6.65
Mag2: 7.44
Separation ("): 1.9
Notes:
Sep. 14, 2026 (Mon. night), Sterling, VA
(102mm Mak) A white pair not far from M15. Splits relatively cleanly at about 150x or higher. The seeing is very poor tonight at about 3/10.
HD 208718
Type: Double Star
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 7.19
Mag2: 7.73
Separation ("): 10.9
Notes:
Sep. 14, 2026 (Mon. night), Sterling, VA
(102mm Mak) Nice view in 62x. There's a binocular double that the secondary points to toward the NE, making it a nice contrasting pair of a very wide and a bit more narrow double. If I had to guess I would say the primary is perhaps blue white. It's listed as plain white.
HD 209601
Type: Double Star
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 7.61
Mag2: 7.89
Separation ("): 1.5
Notes:
Sep. 15, 2026 (Tue. night), Sterling, VA
(102mm Mak) This is a tough one. I can easily get the elongation in 186x, but not a clean split. Occasionally they'll separate out but not particularly cleanly. Even with the Barlow up around 300x with it jumping around a bit, I still can't get a real clean split. I can differentiate the primary from the secondary. I believe that the separation has probably closed from the listed 1.5 arc seconds and I'll be willing to bet it's closer to 1.0. I'll have to see if I can find an orbit diagram. [Stelle Doppie says it’s currently a 1.49 arc second separation.]
NGC 16
Type: Galaxy, Elliptical
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.98
Notes:
September 27, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) I can definitely see the elongation roughly N-S. It shows up well either because it has a stellar nucleus or because there's a star very close to the nucleus, but I suspect that is the nucleus. I was not able to see it in 50x. I tried again and was able to see it, but it looks very starlike with just a tiny bit of fuzz around it—I doubt if I would pick it up scanning in this power. Shows up pretty well in 180x.
Stephan's Quintet: NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, NGC 7319, NGC 7320
Type: Galaxy, Elliptical
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.65
NGC 7318A, Stephan's Quintet, UGC 12099, PGC 69260, MCG 6-49-39, CGCG 514-61, Arp 319, CG 92, VV 288
Type: Galaxy, Elliptical
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.3
NGC 7318B, Stephan's Quintet, UGC 12100, PGC 69263, MCG 6-49-40, CGCG 514-62, Arp 319, HCG 92, VV 288
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.85
NGC 7319, Stephan's Quintet, UGC 12102, PGC 69269, MCG 6-49-41, CGCG 514-64, Arp 319, HCG 92, VV 288
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 14.02
NGC 7320, Stephan's Quintet, UGC 12101, PGC 69270, MCG 6-49-42, CGCG 514-63, Arp 319, HCG 92, VV 288
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.57
Notes:
September 26, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) I took the challenge on Stephan's Quintet and much to my surprise I can see all five components. The only thing is that it looks like four because two of them are really close and I can't split the two. Really I can tell that they're clumpy. Amazing, but I've been staring at them for about 40 minutes now in 180x. Very, very dim, though one of them is pretty easy. It's right next to a 12.5 or 13 magnitude star, and that's the easiest one. Once I get the positions fixed in my mind in relation to the surrounding stars it is easier. One or two times I was able to hold all of the galaxies in my vision at one time. I'm really surprised, but it's right at the zenith and it's crystal clear. However, the seeing is very poor--about a 4 of 5. If the seeing were better, I'd probably do even better at this. The northeastern galaxy is definitely the most difficult to see. I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes on Stephen's Quintet. Sketched it. [Can't find the sketch.]
Sep. 10-11, 2004 (Fri. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I can definitely pick it up in 62x, not only the fuzzy spot that is the group, but also I can differentiate the separate entitites, though I can't position them all accurately. Definitely looks like a group of faint galaxies, though. Much easier than in the 4.5-inch. The two brightest galaxies (NGC 7320 and NGC 7318B) are pretty easy to make out in 114x. As a matter of fact, even the cores come out pretty well. But the others are difficult. I can see a hint of NGC 7319. NGC 7317 is a little more difficult. I can tell there's some fuzz out there, but nothing distinct in 114x. Better view, better image scale in 178x. I can split NGC 7318A and 7318B even though they're still very close to each other. NGC 7317 is just visible just S of a guide star, almost on top of it. NGC 7319 is difficult, but definitely there as a small soft patch- most difficult of the group. But maybe 7317 is even harder because it's almost right on top of that star. It's almost like the blinking galaxy. When I look at it a certain way it completely disappears, then look a little differently and it pops into view, because of that bright star next to it.
May 27-28, 2006, The Mountain Institute, Spruce Knob, WV
(10-inch) I can see Stephan's Quintet and NGC 7331 in the same 62x field, the Quintet showing up very faintly. I'm going to look at that first. I have it in 178x. I can make out 3 or 4 of the galaxies pretty easily. I'm not really awake enough to compare it to the picture and get them all down. Certainly it's easier than the 4.5-inch. It's amazing what I was able to see with that scope. It's still a challenging group in the 10-inch.
Aug. 2-3, 2022, James River State Park, VA
(10 inch) Pretty easy to pick up once I got the location. The SW component is by far the brightest with a stellar core, and the NE is the dimmest. The SE galaxy is large but dim without much in the way of a nucleus. Cannot quite differentiate the two in the middle but I can see the elongation and orientation. I can hold four of the five at one time in my averted vision, but have to search for the NE component and I lose the other four when doing so. I took them up to about 250x in the barlow. Any more and they just get a bit too dim. When I zoomed back out with the Baader Hyperion only, to 96x, I could glimpse all five at the same time.
Sep. 10-11, 2024, Shenandoah River State Park, VA
(6-inch) I spent a long time trying to find Stephan's Quintet. I was finally able to just vaguely spot it in 75x just as a very vague patch. I have no idea how I saw this in my 4.5 inch and also saw the individual galaxies. No chance at that all in this scope. And it's on a great night. Maybe my eyes have gotten that bad, I don't know. Or maybe the sky has. Or maybe both.
Oct. 31, 2024, Arizona Sky Village, Portal, AZ
(6-inch) Then we tried for Stephan's Quintet. I was just barely able to make out one or two of them occasionally, just glimpses of them would pop in and out. My glory days of being able to see Stephan's Quintet in the 4.5 inch, I believe, are over. I can't even barely make out one or two of them in the 6-inch. It's almost as if when I try to use averted vision on really faint stuff everything just kind of brightens up. It's like my eyes are burned out and it's just this kind of bright mass that just settles in and just obliterates everything. Pretty discouraging.
NGC 7340
Type: Galaxy, Elliptical
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 14.64
That's NGC 7331 on the right.
Notes:
Aug. 7-8, 2004 (Sat. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I am able to pick up NGC 7340 (14.68) fairly easily in 178x. Pretty well condensed core with round fuzz.
PGC 68486
Type: Galaxy, Elliptical
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 14.56
Notes:
Oct. 6, 2004 (Wed. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I can pick up a hint of it in 62x. Jumped right to 178x. It's just 45 arc seconds SE of a 13.5 mag star, with a dimmer star just north of that one. (There's a 12th mag satellite moving WSW-ENE just south of it at 10:11.) I'm seeing what looks like a stellar core, though there may be more than one star in that glow there. It looks a bit broken up. I can't get a really good idea of an elongation. I might guess E-W, but that's really guessing. In 228x, it's a WSW-ENE elongation. It still seems like that core is broken up into more than one point.
PGC 69387
Type: Galaxy, Elliptical
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 14.72
Notes:
Aug. 7-8, 2004 (Sat. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I got a glimmer of it, but that's about all I can say.
NGC 14
Type: Galaxy, Irregular
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.46
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I found it in 62x. Looks to me like a star, actually. Ah, no, I see that's a star next to it, off to, that would be, the NW. So, I'm not picking it up yet in 62x. Ah there, I think I've got it now. Slightly condensed core, very faint smudge. In 114x it still has a very low surface brightness. A little more easily visible, but not bright enough to get a shape on it. Definitely more roundish than anything else. Definitely has a more condensed core to it, not quite stellar in this power, at least. I can't say that I get much more out of it in 178x. I do get occasional flashes of some very faint stars right around and once or twice I thought I got the central core flashing in, but mostly just a roundish or slightly oval blob.
NGC 23
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.96
Notes:
September 27, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) Interesting. It's a 12.3 mag galaxy close to NGC 16. 1 x 0.6 arcminutes. I was able to pick this one up fairly easily in 50x. In 100x I could tell there was something strange about it. In 180x I can see that there is a very faint star about 10 arcseconds to the SE of the nucleus, which would be a very good candidate for a supernova. I'll have to check this one. Not a whole lot to sketch here, but the star is on the edge of the nebulosity, so it's worth checking out. Might be one of those that's often mistaken for a supernova, though. Definitely would be about the right magnitude. The nucleus is just a little brighter than the star. The nucleus is fairly stellar. The galaxy is elongated pretty much NW to SE. A number of other faint stars in the area, but none as close as that one. Gives it almost the impression of a double nucleus in 100x.
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) In 62x it looks like a star with a glow around it- maybe two stars. Yeah, definitely two starlike points in there in 114x, the core being the brighter one, and a star off to the SE. There may be a star on the other side of the core, too, slightly north- very faint, but I'm not positive about that. Interesting. In 178x I can't really see that second star. It just looks like there's just more of the galaxy off to the NW side of the core. The dim star is at PA 120 from what I take to be the core, which may or may not actually be the core. I though I saw a very faint star to the south of that dimmer star about the same distance- maybe a little further, but I can't confirm that. There's not really much galaxy there in this power in this sky, but it is interesting because of the two points of light in there. It's interesting- Dreyer's description of this one is three small stars plus a nebula. I think he also mistook that arm to the NW for another star.
NGC 26
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.84
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) In the same 178x field, off to the SE of NGC 23. It's basically just a ghostly spot there. Tough enough just to confirm it's position. Very small. Can't see a core, can't even get an elongation. I can't see the galaxy at all in 62x.
NGC 7042
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.9
Notes:
Aug. 6-7, 2004 (Friday night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) In 114x- Harder to pick up than NGC 7015 (12.97). Just doesn't have a condensed core like 7015 and about half the size. Slight ESE-WNW trend, a bit oval. In 178x I'm not so sure about that. Brightens a little toward the center, but not dramatically. Difficult to keep it in view in this power. The elongation looks SE-NW in this power, though that's uncertain.
NGC 7177
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 10.92
Notes:
Nov. 20-21, 2003 (Thu. night), Sky Meadows State Park, VA
(4.5-inch) It's a little difficult, not really obvious, but I found it in 50x with my good chart. In 100x in the barlow it's a little better. Not much to say about it- fuzzy, roundish or oval spot. A hint of a condensed core with perhaps a flash of a stellar core now and then, though it's hard to tell with the seeing so poor. Not very impressive. These are not ideal conditions to look at it- it's only up about 17 degrees now. Might be some structure on the outlying edges. A couple of arcminutes in diameter. 12 mag star roughly to the S or SSW. Pretty round, maybe a slight E-W elongation, but I'm not sure.
NGC 7217
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 10.04
Notes:
September 26, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) In 50x it's not really obvious, but you wouldn't miss it if you zipped over it. The dew is so bad that my eyepieces are dewing up inside the pouch. Tough to get any shape on it. Kind of roundish, slightly brighter core, not really any detail visible.
NGC 7320C
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 16.7
Notes:
Sep. 10-11, 2004 (Fri. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I tried for NGC 7320C, which is just east of Stephan's Quintet, but I just couldn't pick it out.
NGC 7331
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 9.25
Notes:
Oct. 27-28, 1991, Bull Creek, east of Holopaw, FL
(4.5-inch) Better in low power, fuzzy oval with a bright core. Best way to find it is by star-hopping in low power from 1 Lacertae.
Aug. 7-8, 2004 (Sat. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) Showing a nice elongation SE-NW, more so than in images, which make it fatter, which appears as a fainter outer glow in the scope. The core is nearly stellar or several points there. Sharper edge along the NE side, like a lane or something. In 178x the core shows perhaps a stellar point with some fragmentation off to each side of it. 13.5 star just slightly W of due N a few arcminutes from the galaxy. Looks like I'm picking up another faint galaxy just to the NNE about 1/3 FOV in 178x. This would be NGC 7335 (14.53), actually showing up pretty well, so I don't know if I believe the listed mag. It's easier to see than the ones brighter than 14 I was looking at earlier. At first I thought it has a bit of an E-W elongation, but now it looks more like a round spot with a slightly brighter core. Pretty easy to see, but not easy to get a shape on it. There's a slightly brighter galaxy just E of NGC 7331 which is a little more compact with a brighter core. No, I'm mistaken- that's just a star. I am able to pick up NGC 7340 (14.68) fairly easily in 178x. Pretty well condensed core with round fuzz.
Aug. 2-3, 2022, James River State Park, VA
(10 inch) Nice view with dimmer arms traceable quite far out to the ends. Bright core, tiny quasi-stellar nucleus.
Sep. 10-11, 2024, Shenandoah River State Park, VA
(6-inch) Near the zenith. The galaxy shows a nice north-south elongation and a well condensed core in 75x.
Oct. 31, 2024, Arizona Sky Village, Portal, AZ
(6-inch) It's kind of pointy on both ends, fatter in the middle, with a brighter center and really not much else that I can really say.
NGC 7332
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.6
Notes:
September 27, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) Burnham's has it at 12.0, and indeed it is easier to see. Almost stellar in 50x. Easy to pick up, though, because it's between two 7.5-magnitude stars. Very stellar nucleus, and elongated NW to SE. NGC 7339 is supposed to be 5 arcminutes to the east, but I haven't looked for it yet. This is an interesting galaxy—might be a little clump on the SE side. Seems to be a little bit more stretched out on that side also.
NGC 7335
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.38
Notes:
Aug. 7-8, 2004 (Sat. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) Looks like I'm picking up another faint galaxy just to the NNE of NGC 7331 about 1/3 FOV in 178x. This would be NGC 7335 (14.53), actually showing up pretty well, so I don't know if I believe the listed mag. It's easier to see than the ones brighter than 14 I was looking at earlier. At first I thought it has a bit of an E-W elongation, but now it looks more like a round spot with a slightly brighter core. Pretty easy to see, but not easy to get a shape on it.
NGC 7339
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.2
Notes:
September 27, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) I think I get whispers of a very faint fuzzy patch for NGC 7339, but I wouldn't call it definite at all. Very diffuse if that's it. Perhaps just slightly south of due east of NGC 7332. I'd have to give it a slight E-W elongation, if that is indeed it and not just my imagination. Well I decided that's definitely NGC 7339, oriented at right angles to NGC 7332 and quite a bit fainter. I can pick it up better in 100x--the shape also. It's relatively thin, too. I sketched the two galaxies in 100x.
NGC 7448
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.52
Notes:
September 6, 1997, Oil Region Observatory-Astroblast, PA
(4.5-inch) This one is smaller and rounder than NGC 7479. It's between about a 9th mag and a 10th mag star. Has a bright core in 100x. A wee bit of a NW-SE trend to it. A very faint star on the NW edge. Maybe either two faint stars close together or a faint galaxy just to the W about halfway to that 10th mag star, slightly offset to the N. Can't tell what is there.
NGC 7469
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.4
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) Very bright core in 114x. There is a much fainter companion galaxy which I believe I am seeing to the N of it a couple of arcminutes. 7469 is round with a stellar and quite bright nucleus. Only one galaxy is plotted in The Sky, even though I set it up to 17th mag. Peculiar. (Later- yes, it's plotted: IC5283, 15.08 mag) There's a star due east of 7469 maybe 35 arc seconds from the core in 178x. Definitely can pick up that galaxy to the N. Slightly tilted WNW-ESE, much dimmer than 7469, but definitely there. No core visible. About 2 times the distance that the star to the E is from 7469. I can still make out the second galaxy in 228x, though it's not much more than a fuzzy patch. There's some fuzz around the core, and what almost looks like a dark moat separating them, though it doesn't evenly disperse outwards. It seems to drop then brighten, moving outward. Maybe that's just an illusion.
NGC 7479
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 10.86
Notes:
September 6, 1997, Oil Region Observatory-Astroblast, PA
(4.5-inch) A nice, elongated galaxy. Shows up well in 50x with a little bit of structure. Elongated pretty much N-S. In 100x a nice stellar nucleus with about a 12.8 mag star just off the N edge. Seems to be a little brighter on the N edge. A 13.1 star on the W edge of the nucleus--really close in.
September 27, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) It's an S-shaped galaxy, judging by the picture. What I can see in the scope in 50x shows it as not quite round, slightly oval, but more round but with a definite elongation NNW to SSE. In 100x that looks more like a bar running there, with diffuse nebulosity around the perimeter. So I can see how that jibes with the actual structure. Also caught a very faint telescopic meteor going W to E just north of the galaxy. It's got a pretty low surface brightness. I can see some detail in the galaxy, particularly around the bar area. There's what looks like a star or bright knot on the northern end of the bar. Looks more like a star. Then there's a bright knot just south of the nucleus and another one a little further away to the SW. The nucleus is just a bit of a brightening, not quite stellar. Seems a little dimmer than the star on the northern edge of the bar. There's actually quite a bit of detail that can be seen in this one--a lot of it very fleeting--but a very nice object. Of course, my eyes are getting pretty tired, and it's getting down pretty low now--maybe 40 degrees up or so.
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) I'm zeroing in on galaxy NGC 7479 (11.45 mag in Pegasus). Of the two guide stars over to the NE less than a degree, GSC 1166:1479 is supposed to be 7.3 mag, but it's much dimmer than that. In fact, it's so dim I can't even pick it up in 62x at all. There's definitely something screwy with this area in The Sky, or maybe I have the wrong field. No, here's another one that's plotted way too bright. Here's a star that's about 11th mag visually, and The Sky has it plotted at 6.86 mag. That's GSC 1166:825. Hmmm. The star plots in The Sky for this area are awful- lots of them way out of whack. There is the galaxy, so I do have the right field. N-S elongation, slightly NNE-SSW. Mottling visible in 62x. Star of about 13th mag down at the N end of the galaxy, which appears to be inside the glow- a good supernova candidate based on the relative magnitude. Almost looks like a slightly detached portion off to the S side or some dark lane crossing. In 114x more detail yet. The central bulge is an elongated cigar shaped brightness. I don't make out any stellar core. A faint star just to the WSW of the core, a bit separated from the main glow of the galaxy. Also some mottling in the core area. Toughest part is the S end, which fuzzes out without anything distinctive there. A more condensed area toward the northern end of the core. Very nice view in 228x, probably the best power. I don't get any more detail, but better separation of the two stars from the galaxy. The one to the N is within the fuzz of the galaxy, very slightly offset to the W.
Oct. 5-6, 2024, Sky Meadows State Park, Paris, VA
(10-inch) A very much extended slash, thicker in the middle and brighter, with a tiny 13.4 mag star off the northeast end. Oriented northeast-southwest. I cannot make out the little tails at the end of each arm. I can get glimpses of the 14.5 mag star inside the tidal tail on the southwest side.
NGC 7495
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13
Notes:
Oct. 5-6, 2024, Sky Meadows State Park, Paris, VA
(10-inch) Just barely detectable in 174x. Just a slightly brighter smudge. Right on the limits in this sky.
NGC 7625
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.21
Notes:
Sep. 4 (Sat. night), Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) I'm going to see if I can see anything at all of the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7625 in Cygnus). I plugged in the dew heaters to make sure I don't get spurious observations of nebulosity! I can tell right off if I do see anything it will be extremely faint. Nothing in 178x either. In 228x maybe a very faint hint of the extension going off to the ESE, based on the image. Can't really confirm it- maybe a function of the eyepiece fogging still. The location of the Bubble Nebula and M52 fit nicely in the 39x field. Too bad I can't see the Bubble. To the south of M52 there's a more loosely scattered grouping that I would almost call a cluster. It's about halfway between M52 and the next bright star to the south.
NGC 7673
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.83
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) Picked up NGC 7673 easily in 62x. In 114x, 7673 is a round spot, brightening considerably toward a stellar core. Not much more to say. In 178x a slight impression that perhaps there's some NE-SW trend to the brightness, though maybe that's just something off the NE edge of it. Nothing more to be gleaned in 228x.
NGC 7677
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.18
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) There's a hint of 7677 in 62x- it's involved with a line of three stars, and it looks like a little bit of fuzz around the third star, unless that third star is actually the galaxy's core- I think it is. In 228x- a soft fuzzy patch, a little brighter in the middle, nothing stellar in there. Can't quite get a shape. Maybe a hint of an E-W elongation, but that may be just because it lines up with those two stars. I do see a nearly stellar core pop out once in a while, not as prominent as in 7673. Kind of an irregular shape to it perhaps. Maybe it's just morphing with the seeing. An E-W lenticular impression every once in a while in 178x, but the DSS image says no. If not round in the image, it appears slightly oval NW-SE.
NGC 7678
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.78
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) It's right in the middle of a little triangle of stars, and it fills the triangle with a fuzzy glow in 62x. In 114x, it's an oval mottled glow roughly N-S in line with the rectangle. I can see some distinct mottling and some starlike points particularly in the eastern half of it. Seems like it fades a little more gradually on the W side. In 178x the mottling and bright spots just pop in and out and I can't get good solid positions on them. In this power I get more of a sense of a WSW-ENE axis to it. Lost it going to 228x, and it's also fogging up badly.
NGC 7698
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 14.61
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) It's going to be a tough one. In 62x, there's either a very faint star, maybe two faint stars or a very faint smudge. In 114x it's clear that's the galaxy and a star next to it, the galaxy being the brighter of the two. Stellar core with fuzz around it. Also a very faint star off to the W, too, perhaps 15-20 arc seconds. Might be another one or two there, also. It's a very soft glow around the core of the galaxy. In 178x, I can definitely pick out the core and star to the E of it. There may possibly be a little bit of N-S elongation to the galaxy, but that's pushing it. I can't really make out any other stars or stellar points besides the core, which is maybe not quite stellar and the little star off to the E of it. In 228x, fleeting glimpses of perhaps a third bright spot besides the core and star, maybe just W of the core. I can't really place it- seems like there's a double something in there. The image shows something just off to the NW, very faint, and that might be what I was picking up, though it is very faint, and I don't see how I could pick that up. The image also shows a slight N-S elongation. There is a little right triangle of stars just off to the NW also.
NGC 7712
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.81
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) It's visible in 62x. Very dim and diffuse. In 114x I can see that it brightens towards the center, but the core is non-stellar, and I can't get any shape to it other than round. In 178x I may be pulling out a very dim stellar core, but not particularly distinct. It's very gradually brighter toward the center.
NGC 7769
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.69
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) There's a group of three galaxies there: NGC 7769 (12.82 mag), 7770 (14.38 mag), and 7771 (12.94 mag). The two brighter galaxies are visible in 62x. I'm going to have to go way up in power on these. NGC 7771 appears to have a WSW-ENE orientation. I believe that's NGC 7770 off to the SW of it. Not positive, but if it is, it's showing up pretty well. The three make a nice trio in 114x. I've got 228x with the barlow in now and the trio fits nicely in that, too. Actually that's probably the best power for it. I'm pretty sure that's 7770 to the SW. NGC 7771 is pretty well elongated; also the core is elongated, not stellar. 7770 is quite a bit smaller. It does brighten to a core pretty well. I can kind of make out a stellar or almost stellar core. Pretty much round is all I can say about the galaxy. It's not bright enough to get a good shape on it. Difficult to position these guys in 228x because the brighter stars are outside the field of view for the most part. There's one of about 13th mag to the SSW of 7769, which is what I'm looking at right now. This galaxy has a good condensed core. Appears pretty much round, although I get a sense that maybe there's a bar going roughly N-S, but that's probably just imagination. Not much more I can get on these.
NGC 7770
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 14.4
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) There's a group of three galaxies there: NGC 7769 (12.82 mag), 7770 (14.38 mag), and 7771 (12.94 mag). The two brighter galaxies are visible in 62x. I'm going to have to go way up in power on these. NGC 7771 appears to have a WSW-ENE orientation. I believe that's NGC 7770 off to the SW of it. Not positive, but if it is, it's showing up pretty well. The three make a nice trio in 114x. I've got 228x with the barlow in now and the trio fits nicely in that, too. Actually that's probably the best power for it. I'm pretty sure that's 7770 to the SW. NGC 7771 is pretty well elongated; also the core is elongated, not stellar. 7770 is quite a bit smaller. It does brighten to a core pretty well. I can kind of make out a stellar or almost stellar core. Pretty much round is all I can say about the galaxy. It's not bright enough to get a good shape on it. Difficult to position these guys in 228x because the brighter stars are outside the field of view for the most part. There's one of about 13th mag to the SSW of 7769, which is what I'm looking at right now. This galaxy has a good condensed core. Appears pretty much round, although I get a sense that maybe there's a bar going roughly N-S, but that's probably just imagination. Not much more I can get on these.
NGC 7771
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.93
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) There's a group of three galaxies there: NGC 7769 (12.82 mag), 7770 (14.38 mag), and 7771 (12.94 mag). The two brighter galaxies are visible in 62x. I'm going to have to go way up in power on these. NGC 7771 appears to have a WSW-ENE orientation. I believe that's NGC 7770 off to the SW of it. Not positive, but if it is, it's showing up pretty well. The three make a nice trio in 114x. I've got 228x with the barlow in now and the trio fits nicely in that, too. Actually that's probably the best power for it. I'm pretty sure that's 7770 to the SW. NGC 7771 is pretty well elongated; also the core is elongated, not stellar. 7770 is quite a bit smaller. It does brighten to a core pretty well. I can kind of make out a stellar or almost stellar core. Pretty much round is all I can say about the galaxy. It's not bright enough to get a good shape on it. Difficult to position these guys in 228x because the brighter stars are outside the field of view for the most part. There's one of about 13th mag to the SSW of 7769, which is what I'm looking at right now. This galaxy has a good condensed core. Appears pretty much round, although I get a sense that maybe there's a bar going roughly N-S, but that's probably just imagination. Not much more I can get on these.
NGC 7798
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.27
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) It's a round, fairly bright blob in 62x. In 114x looks almost like a planetary nebula. Very round with a stellar core. About the same view in 178x- nice stellar core and it really does look a lot like a planetary.
NGC 7814
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 10.51
Notes:
September 27, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) The picture and the description shows it very edge-on, but I don't see that at all. It's oval-shaped, but very wide. I don't see it as spindle-shaped at all. It tends NW to SE slightly, but different from the picture. I'm pretty certain I've got the right one. It's a pretty easy identification with a 6th magnitude star pretty close to it. Looking at the picture in Burnham's again, it does show it as very fat and oval, so that does make sense. It's got a very thin dark lane, but I can't see that so far in 100x. I'm not sure why, but I'd have to say that the best view of this one is in 50x. It's very dim in 180x and 100x doesn't give any detail. Even the shape doesn't come out well in any power. It's a little dimmer than I expected it to be at 12.0.
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) A very large one. Shows up quite easily in 114x. A round central area with fainter arms extending to the NW and SE. In 178x I get some graininess in the core but I really don't see a stellar center popping out. It's almost a uniform ball, slightly brighter in the center with some arms of some sort on the outside, perhaps handle-shaped. In no power can I make out the dark lane that's in the images. Just a blob in 228x. In 124x, still nothing- no dark lane. Thought I got the shape better in that power, though. The shape is also better in 62x. It seems like the lower powers do a little better on this one.
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) Easy pickup in 62x. Brighter core, for sure. I can make out something of an elongation NW-SE. In 114x a stellar core, very tiny and faint. Possibly a point of light or clumpiness to the SW of the core. I keep getting glimpses of something right off there, almost due W, but very slightly to the S of the nucleus. It must be just a foreground star because I keep getting these little stars popping in and out very briefly. It's interesting- in 178x it's hard even to get the correct orientation on the galaxy. Just some very, very faint stars popping in and out very close to it. I've been looking very hard to try to see that very thin dark lane, but no way. The images show nothing in the way of a star just to the W of the nucleus, so that must just be my imagination or something. The orientation of the galaxy is easier to see in the lower powers.
Oct. 7-8, 2007 (Sun. night), Big Meadows, Shenandoah Nat. Park, VA
(10-inch) It's immediately visible in about 100x. Elongated NW-SE. Brigher core, not quite stellar in this power. Lenticular shape. Kind of a soft glow, brightening slightly toward the middle. Some very faint arms. The middle part is more round appearing and not particularly oval. Zoomed in almost all the way I still can't get a hint of that dark lane. As a matter of fact, I don't get much of the shape in this power either. It's kind of blobby. Occasionally it elongates, but it's not a great night for galaxies.
NGC 7817
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 11.78
Notes:
Dec. 23-24, 2006, Savage Farm west of Leesburg, VA
(10-inch) Looking in 114x, it's more or less of an edge-on, pretty thin. Orientation is roughly SW-NE, maybe about 3 arc minutes in length, maybe not quite. Seems to have pretty extended arms on it. Can't make out much of a core- only brightens a little. I feel like the seeing is getting a little bit worse, maybe down to 5/10. There's a little faint double star 40 arc seconds or maybe an arcminute off to the SSW of the core. Position angle of the secondary is about 290 or so. It's about 1.5 to 2 arc minutes off the core. I'm looking at it in 178x. There's some detail in the galaxy just on the edge of visibility. I can't really make it out. I see a clump in the core and maybe a smaller clump to the SW but I'm not positive about that. I kind of like this one.
UGC 12655
Type: Galaxy, Spiral
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.99
Notes:
Sep. 18-19, 2004 (Sat. night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) Very close to a bright star of 6.41 mag to the S. Definitely visible in 114x, which is what I used to search for it. Hazy patch brightening toward a stellar core. In 178x the core is still distinctly stellar, appearing off and on. It's a very small galaxy, just a little fuzz around a core. No discernible shape. I thought there was something extending down towards the NW and sure enough, the image shows something there, giving it a NW-SE oval shape. Zooming out I can see it fairly easily in 62x also.
M15
Type: Globular Cluster
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 6.19
Notes:
Oct. 26-27, 1991, Ponderosa Park, Kissimmee, FL
(4.5-inch) Only about three bright core stars and some on the periphery of the cluster are resolvable in high power.
Aug. 6-7, 1994 (Sat. night), Prince of Peace Church, Freedom, PA
(BVAC 10-inch) I was unprepared for the blazing core in the 10-inch. Brightens dramatically in the center. Doesn't resolve much in the 32mm, just some around the edges, but the core- it's like it's glowing inside. In the 12mm it resolves well although not completely. Nucleus has kind of a fingernail or crescent shape, elongated roughly E-W, with the crescent bulging toward the N. Looks like there's a dark obscuring band or something slightly to the S of center maybe protruding in from the SE like a finger. Most of the light of the nucleus is concentrated N of this feature, with a thinner strip of light on the S side. Very peculiar. Reminds me a little of NGC 5128 in Centaurus. In the 9mm the dark protrusion is not as prominent and it seems to hook in from the S more toward the center, then out toward the E. Is this an illusion because of the star patterns? The E-W elongation of the nucleus shows in all powers. Burnham's (Vol. 3, page 1385) says of M15: 'long exposure photographs show several ill-defined dark patches similar to those seen in the great M13 cluster in Hercules.' And it also noted the elongation of the central core. So I guess I'm not the first one to see it this way.
July 30, 1997, Lake Arthur Campground, PA
(4.5-inch) Starting to get some resolution in 50x. Nice view in 100x, good resolution on the whole thing except the central core. It's so bright.
Aug. 6-7, 2004 (Friday night), Crockett Park near Manassas, VA
(10-inch) In 62x- Very bright core with some resolution. This one I can definitely see how Messier could mistake it for a comet if he didn't get any resolution- only slightly less power than in 62x. 114x starts to show it nicely with a lot of resolution. Very tightly packed. Doubled it to 228x and that's a really nice view. It resolves well, but there's still a pervasive fuzz over the whole thing because there are so many faint stars and they're so tightly packed that they don't all distinctly pop out. Also the seeing's not great- maybe a 6/10 or so. But the transparency is about a 9/10.
May 27-28, 2006, The Mountain Institute, Spruce Knob, WV
(10-inch) Really cool in 62x. Lots of good resolution already in that power. That incredibly bright core. It's incredibly dense in 114x. And an even better view in 178x. That may be the best view I've ever had of this one.
Sep. 19-20, 2009 (Sat. night), Green Ridge State Forest, MD
(10-inch) Looking really nice. Great resolution on it in 156x. One of the best views I’ve had of M15, really nice. If I just stare at the center it breaks up into myriad stars. It’s great. Such a bright center.
Sep.11-12, 2024, Shenandoah River State Park, VA
(6-inch) Surprisingly nice resolution in 75x in the entire outer area. Very beautiful view. Also still using the tracking and it's been behaving pretty well. Even better in 175x, which is the 10mm in the barlow. I just love that AstroTech UWA eyepiece. I definitely want to get the 7mm, too. The core is not blown out like in the 10-inch from brightness, so I can get the resolution all the way into the core. It's really cool. Probably the best view I've ever had of this, at least that I can remember. Just beautiful.
Oct. 31, 2024, Arizona Sky Village, Portal, AZ
(6-inch) In the 10mm, just gorgeous like the last time I looked at it. Just all those little sparkly glittering stars and that bright core. Just gorgeous. I just love it.
Sep. 14, 2026 (Mon. night), Sterling, VA
(102mm Mak) Showing up well in the sky. At about 150x it shows some graininess and a few stars that pop out here and there, maybe a half dozen at a time, but nothing really impressive. It is quite bright though.
Palomar 13
Type: Globular Cluster
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.47
Notes:
Oct. 5-6, 2024, Sky Meadows State Park, Paris, VA
(10-inch) Could not pull it out in 125x or 250x. I think I'd have to have much better seeing in a darker sky for a chance at it.
Jones 1
Type: Planetary Nebula
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 12.1
Notes:
Oct. 13-14, 2007 (Sat. night), The Mountain Institute, Spruce Knob, WV
(10-inch) If I'm going to see it with this scope, this would be the time and place to do it. It's up high and this is a good sky. Without looking at the image, I can still get something already in 150x. I get an E-W nebulosity, long and relatively thin. That's on the N side. South of that there's a dimmer arc, not quite up to those two stars that point toward it. Kind of like looking at a much smaller and dimmer Veil Nebula. (The filter fell into the base of the scope and if I reach in to get it, I'll bump the scope. Arrgh. I grabbed it anyway.) This is one where the nebula filter does help. I can see two arcs pretty well, a little bit filled in between the two also, but darker. The northern arc is brighter. I got the best view without the filter in about 150x, but with the filter, the best view is in lowest power (50-60x). As I zoom in it becomes harder to see. That one's pretty cool, and I'm surprised I was able to see it without the filter to begin with.
NGC 7094
Type: Planetary Nebula
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 13.69
Notes:
Sep. 19-20, 2009 (Sat. night), Green Ridge State Forest, MD
(10-inch) The central star is 13.7 mag, so I should be able to pick up that. Close to M15, and I’m surprised I never tried to observe it before, maybe because it’s so dim. Pretty sure I got the central star. The nebula is very faint, but in 150x or so I can see some faint round fuzz around the star, suspected without the filter, but definite with the NPB filter. I think in any higher power it’ll all completely fade out. Lorenzin says you need at least 200x and a filter, but I don’t know what he’s talking about. As usual, it shows up better in the lowest power like other faint nebulae, unless they are too small to use low power. I guess he was using a really big telescope, but in my 10-inch it’s best in low power. A ghostly glow around the central star. Not really well defined edges.
Pease 1
Type: Planetary Nebula
Constellation: Pegasus
Mag: 15.1
Image by Judy Schmidt via Flickr, CC by 2.0.
Notes:
Sep. 19-20, 2009 (Sat. night), Green Ridge State Forest, MD
(10-inch) I tried for Pease 1 again, which is a planetary within M15, but I can’t even figure the scale of the images or match the star pattern. I have no idea how far out it is. I probably need 500x rather than 300x. [Listed as needing at least a 300mm telescope.]
Telescopes/binoculars used in these observations:
7x35: Tasco low end porro prism binoculars
10x50: Orion Ultraview 10x50 porro prism binoculars
10x56: Meade Master Class Pro ED 10x56 roof prism binoculars: 6.5 degrees (65 deg. AFOV), 5.6mm exit pupil, 22mm eye relief
15x70: Garrett Optical Signature Series 15x70: 4.4 degrees (66 deg. AFOV), 4.7mm exit pupil, 18mm eye relief
4.5 inch: 4.5-inch (114mm) Tasco 11TR (.965" eyepieces- Orion Explorer II) - 900mm focal length, f/7.9
102mm/4-inch: Sky-Watcher Skymax 102mm (4-inch) Maksutov-Cassegrain, 1300mm focal length, f/12.7 on either an SV225 mount on tripod or Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi tracking mount.
6-inch: 5.9-inch (150mm) Sky-Watcher Virtuos GTi 150P – 750mm focal length, f/5
BVAC 10-inch: Homemade 10-inch Dobsonian reflector on loan from local astronomy club. Believe it was around f/4 or f/4.5
10-inch: 9.75-inch (248mm) Hardin (GSO) Deep Space Hunter Dobsonian reflector on teflon/ebony star bearings. 1250 mm focal length, f/5
30-inch: Rented Starsplitter truss tube Dobsonian reflector, f/4.45, housed at the Desert Coyote Observatory, Sierra Vista, AZ
Sites (listed alphabetically; not all apply to every constellation):
Estimated light pollution, using the Bortle Scale, around the general time the observations were made. Most sites from years ago are now significantly more light polluted.
Arizona Sky Village, Portal, AZ: Bortle 2
Reston, VA: Bortle 7
Belle Isle State Park, VA: Bortle 3-4
Big Meadows, Shenandoah Nat. Park, VA: Bortle 3-4
Blackwater Falls State Park, WV: Bortle 4
Brighton Twp. PA: Bortle 5-6
Bull Creek WMA, east of Holopaw, FL: Bortle 2
Caledonia State Park PA: Bortle 5
Chautauqua, NY: Bortle 4-5
Cherry Springs State Park, PA: Bortle 2
Chiefland Star Fest, Chiefland, FL: Bortle 3
Crockett Park near Manassas, VA: Bortle 5-6, more sky glow to the east and northeast
Delmarva Stargaze at Tuckahoe State Park, MD: Bortle 5?
Desert Coyote Observatory, Sierra Vista, AZ: Bortle 4
Gibsonia, PA: Bortle 6
Great Meadow, SW of The Plains, VA: Bortle 6, more sky glow to the east
Green Ridge State Forest, MD: Bortle 3-4
Hearts Content Recreation Area, Allegheny Natl. Forest, PA: Bortle 3
Isaak Walton field, Chambersburg PA: Bortle 4-5
James River State Park, VA: Bortle 3-4
Lake Arthur Family Campground, PA (near Moraine State Park, PA, north of Pittsburgh): Bortle 3
Lake Kissimmee State Park Star Party, FL: Bortle 2-3
Mahogany Hammock, Everglades, FL: Bortle 1-2
Lamping Homestead Picnic/campground area, Wayne National Forest, near Marietta OH: Bortle 4
Oil Region Star Party (Astroblast), near Franklin PA: Bortle 4
Pittsburgh, PA (Highland Park): Bortle 7
Ponderosa Park, Kissimmee, FL: Bortle 4, often excellent seeing
Prince of Peace Church, Freedom, PA: Bortle 5, more sky glow to the south
Savage Farm, west of Leesburg, VA: Bortle 4, with strong sky glow to the east from Washington, DC and the Northern VA suburbs
Shenandoah River State Park, VA: Bortle 4
Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park: Bortle 3-4, more sky glow to the east
Sky Meadows State Park, VA: Bortle 4-5, considerably more sky glow to the east up about 30 degrees
Sterling, VA: Bortle 8 (very washed out urban sky in the Northern VA suburbs)
Tamiami Trail, Florida Everglades: Bortle 3
The Mountain Institute, Spruce Knob, WV: Bortle 1-2, very minor light domes near the horizon
Three Lakes WMA, FL: Bortle 1-2
Tomlinson Run State Park, WV: Bortle 5
Wagman Observatory, Amateur Astronomers Assoc. of Pittsburgh, near Russellton PA: Bortle 5