I love the Double Cluster but I have so many favorites it's difficult to pick one. Well, I guess for the summer, this summer anyway, I'd have to say M92 in Hercules. This globular cluster should be on the favorites list of every small telescope owner. This is a bright and compact cluster that appears as a fuzzy ball in a low power (23x) eyepiece. Dropping in my 8.8mm eyepiece increases the power to 70x and the cluster takes on a grainy appearance suggesting it's dense collection of stars.

 

Favorite DSO? Depends on the telescope butwhen using large Refractors with bino viewers ngc869/884 is one incredible DSO and it always gets my attention but I seem to gravitate to the Swan M17 . The Swan in the Pearl stops you dead in your tracks and is my favorite thing to blow peoples minds. With Large Dobs I would have to say M57 has always been a favorite especially in my buddies John Schwartz 28" F4.3 Holy molly.... Of course you have to be on the 8500' Mnt Pinos to get the full effect...

(aveman

 

I love M51, but alas, it is only visible to me through my sbig camera.

 

The Double Cluster is possibly one of the most beautiful things out there but I'd have to say my favorite DSO is M13. Using my 8-inch Newt with a high mag eyepiece, I get almost hypnotized by all those stars!

I also really enjoy looking at NGC457 in Cassiopeia. I've heard it called the Owl Cluster and the E.T. Cluster but I still insist that to me it looks like a lobster. I can clearly make out a tail, body and two big claws and a pair of big, bright eyes. The only thing missing is a little cup of drawn butter.

 

I enjoy all the previous DSO's mentioned -- it's really tough to pick just one! I guess I'll put in another vote for M13 this season because I always have to give it a long look it's so beautiful, then M92, M57, M27, and M22...and on and on.

 

Funny, I know most of the Messier objects by heart (mostly). But there are so many NGC's that I always have to look them up whenever anybody mentions them. NGC4565 is the only one I remember because I love that needle-like edge on view

 

I'm a big fan of the Blue Snowball, NGC 7662. Even in a modest scope you can get some color out of it, and I love its whimsical name.

 

My favorites are mostly clusters, mostly open, and among them I probably like M35 & NGC 2158 best. If it were in Auriga I could just about spend the whole winter in one constellation! (Not really). I have seen commentary that NGC 2158 is quite nice in its own right with ample aperture and magnification, but I have barely been able to resolve a few stars in my biggest scope (8").

The aforementioned M92 is a cluster I have spent little time with before last night, when I pushed magnification up to 200x and 300x. That is a tremendous cluster! Always fond of finding images in the stars, I saw a Medusa head in M92 at these high mags. Very cool!

 

If I had to pick just one object, I'd have to say M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, in Scutum. But I have many other favorites as well.
I enjoy sweeping through a constellation or some part of the sky until I run across something interesting, then looking it up in my star atlas to see what I stumbled upon.

 

The Wild Duck, M11, is one of my favorites, as is NGC 7789 in Cassiopeia. But the Veil Nebula tops them all. I saw it once in a 25" Dob... it was a life-changing experience.

 

Fred, the Veil Nebula isn't a life changing experience for me when viewed thru my 4-inch refractor.

 

Well. my avatar has my choice, M82. Bright in almost any scope, much higher mag/ arc-sec than all but those uninteresting elliptical gals. Which is one of my pet peeves, mag numbers for spiral galaxies! Pure fiction!

 

LewC... I still love the Veil through my 4", although a good UHC filter and dark sky is a must. But DSOs, like music and art, is all a matter of personal preference.

 

Fred, the next time I'm up at the dark sky site, I'll look at the Veil with my 4-inch. I'll try it with and w.o. my UHC filter.
Thanks for lighting a fire under me!
- LewC

 

Gotta agree with you, Steve, M82 is a beautiful sight, especially when seen in the same field as M81. Up close in a dark sky, there's enough detail to hold my attention longer than with other galaxies.

 

Having observed from mid-Northern latitudes for over 50 years, it's difficult to choose a favourite DSO! Since living near the equator for the last 10 years, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I still get to see all of my favourite Northern DSOs, but I can't wait for June when Carina, Crux and Centaurus cross the Meridian. So, I will say that the the Eta Carinae nebula is now my favorite. Well, along with the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. And maybe Omega Centauri. No, I take it back. I'm still in love with the Lagoon and Trifid nebulae in Sag.. And they cross the meridian here at 56deg altitude! I can see details in them with my 90mm refractor that I couldn't see with my 10" Dob in Oregon. Wait! I forgot about the Andromeda Galaxy!

 

So as not to pontificate, like above, I'm just gonna say m42. I'm joking Dr. Ski.