A Couple of Globular Clusters & The Dumbbell Nebula

For my most recent night outside with the telescope I dedicated to hunt down a few Messier objects I hadn't seen before which you can see detailed on the image below.

Messier 71
RA: 19 54 Dec: +18 47
Type: Globular Cluster
Magnitude: 7.1

Messier 71 is a Globular Cluster in the Sagitta Constellation and is a distance of around 12,000 light years away from Earth. For quite a while this cluster was actually dense open cluster due to it lacking a dense central region. However, further research has confirmed that it is actually a very loosely concentrated globular cluster, much like M68 in Hydra

To be honest, I really struggled to see this object in my telescope. It was very faint and it took a fair amount of time at the Eyepiece and some averted vision to bring out a very faint smudge of light. To be honest I was having issues of light pollution from my home as my wife kept switching on the lights which wasn't helping. I will need to take a further look at this globular cluster from a darker site at some point.

Messier 92
RA: 17 17 Dec: +43 08
Type: Globular Cluster
Magnitude: 6.4

After barely being able to see Messier 71 I decided to check out Messier 92 which was another Globular Cluster, this time in Hercules. This cluster is about 26,700 light-years away from Earth and is one of the oldest known Clusters.

My first interesting observation on this cluster was that it was much brighter than Messier 71 even though it is so much further away from Earth. It was very clear, compact and bright in the 32mm eyepiece with an obvious brightening towards its centre.

Messier 27 / The Dumbbell Nebula
RA: 20 00 Dec: +22 43
Type: Planetary Nebula
Magnitude: 7.5

My final target of the night was the Dumbbell Nebula, also known as the Apple Core Nebula or Messier 27. It is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula and is a distance of about 1,360 light years from Earth.

The GOTO on my mount was actually off by a little bit when I tried to find it but the nebula was actually visible in my finderscope so it was easy enough to centre it in my 32mm eyepiece. The moment I realised I could see it in the finderscope I knew I was going to be in for a treat and sure enough it was a lovely sight. I could clearly make out an hour glass shape and I am sure I even managed to pick up a hint of green colouring. I am actually a bit upset I left it to last as light cloud was affecting my view and I suspect I could have gotten a clearer view if I had looked at it earlier. It can join the ever growing list of objects that I want to look at again from a darker location.