Sky & Telescope - September 2022 - 60

Going Deep
A dark bay runs northwards to the
matched double OΣ 416 (stars of magnitudes
8.6 and 8.9, with a separation of
9.6″), and the peninsula on the eastern
side of the bay is obvious. The tip of
the peninsula lies 0.8° due south of 57
Cygni. In summary, all the nebulosity
between the brighter band along 20h
51m and the line of right ascension of
20h 54m is visible.
So, a surprising amount of the Pelican
Nebula shows itself. But in its faint
western third I only detected a few small
patches of nebulosity, including the
boundary around 13′ west of 56 Cygni
as plotted in the MSA, as well as a short
band near the southwestern corner,
immediately west of four stars that form
a diamond. You'll find the center of the
diamond 25′ south of 56 Cygni. I tried
the O III filter there and several other
places, and I was pleased to find that the
UHC showed the nebulosity better (as
the nebula's emission has a hydrogenbeta
component).
Four nebulae lie south of the Pelican,
around 1½° from 56 Cygni. These
patches are all considered to be part
of IC 5068. The western component,
IC 5068B, had an easy, fairly bright
band, about ½° long. The next component
over to the east had a little
suspected patch on its northern side.
Later I checked an image and my
suspected nebulosity appeared as the
brightest part of that region in the
photo. The third component showed
up as a very faint patch about 11′ north
of HD 199099, while the easternmost
section had a tiny spot visible at its easternmost
tip. I've made a note to myself
that the next time I observe IC 5068, I'll
switch to an O III filter.
I hope you'll enjoy spending time on
these objects as much as I did. Because
both nebulae are large, with few small
details within them, a smaller instrument
at a low power will show almost
as much as a large scope. Just make sure
you take the time to linger in the area.
¢Contributing Editor ALAN WHITMAN
is disappointed that the North America
Nebula omits much of his country,
Canada.
60 SEPTEMBER 2022 * SKY & TELESCOPE
ν
γ
κ
ι
α
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δ
ε
ζ
CYGNUS
β
DELIGHTS IN THE CELESTIAL SWAN Look for the two nebulae in Cygnus, about 3°
west of Alpha Cygni, or Deneb.
Catches in Cygnus
Object
Type
NGC 7000
IC 5070
LDN 935
B355
Collinder 428
B352
NGC 6997
NGC 6996
B353
OΣ 416
IC 5068
IC 5068B
Mag(v)
Emission nebula -
Dark nebula
Dark nebula
-
-
Open cluster
Dark nebula
Open cluster
Star cloud
Dark nebula
Double star
Size/Sep
Emission nebula - 120′ × 100′
60′ × 50′
90′ × 20′
5′ × 5′
10′
8.7
-
10.0
10.0
-
8.6, 8.9
Emission nebula -
Emission nebula -
20′ × 10′
8′
5′
12′ × 6′
9.6″
40′ × 30′
42′ × 14′
RA
Dec.
20h 59.3m +44° 31′
20h 51.0m +44° 24′
20h 56.8m +43° 52′
20h 59.6m +43° 11′
21h 03.2m
+44° 35′
20h 57.2m +45° 54′
20h 56.5m +44° 39′
20h 56.4m +45° 28′
20h 57.4m +45° 29′
20h 52.0m +43° 45′
20h 50.8m +42° 31′
20h 47.3m +43° 00′
Angular sizes and separations are from recent catalogs. Visually, an object's size is often smaller than
the cataloged value and varies according to the aperture and magnification of the viewing instrument.
Right ascension and declination are for equinox 2000.0.
AKIRA FUJII

Sky & Telescope - September 2022

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