I'd have to say there are probably two things that I like to observe more than any other two.


The Perseid Double Cluster and the Sombrero Galaxy.


If I had to pick one, probably the Cluster. I'm just amazed every time I see it.





What do you like to view most?

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"I will do my best to understand and explain the universe from big to small without invoking miracles, unrepeatable events, or divine intervention. In place of those things I will use observations, mathematics, and science."


-Cross
My travel blog

Some of my Astrophotography


Those that lack education have a hard time understanding its value. - Cross

My favorite deep-sky object out of the thousands that I've observed has been the Large Magellanic Cloud, which contains numerous star clusters and HII regions that are visible telescopically and one nebula - NGC 2070 (the Tarantula Nebula) that can even be seen with the naked-eye. Second would be the Small Magellanic Cloud, followed by the fantastic Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372) and the great gobular clusters Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) and 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). The Coal Sack, the Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 5128/Centaurus A), the Jewel Box (NGC 4755), NGC 1365, and NGC 3532, the best open cluster in the heavens, also deserve mention.

From the northern hemisphere, my favorites include the Cygnus Loop (Veil Nebula complex), the Pipe Nebula (LDN 1773), the California Nebula (NGC 1499), NGC 4565, the North America Nebula (NGC 7000), NGC 7789, the Ink Spot (B86), M13, M31, and M42.

Dave Mitsky

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Mu Cephei - I just don't tire of that little twinkle of special starshine

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I agree with crosscountry about the Double Cluster. If this was the only thing we could see in the sky, it would still be worth the price of a telescope. Those faint stars in the centres just go on and on...

My other favourites include Albireo, Epsilon Lyrae, M42 and NGC 457.

Ring Nebula. I spent too many summer nights with it directly overhead, filled with me contemplating how our star will look like that one day...
Though I did see the Saturn Nebula through a 61" once, it was blue and looked like a cat's eye. It was so awesome I'm of the opinion that if we took every politician to see it then we would never have issues funding the space program.

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unfortunately astronomy rarely has to do with space programs.

but maybe we could at least get a manned mission to repair Hubble!!!

__________________
"I will do my best to understand and explain the universe from big to small without invoking miracles, unrepeatable events, or divine intervention. In place of those things I will use observations, mathematics, and science."


-Cross
My travel blog

Some of my Astrophotography


Those that lack education have a hard time understanding its value. - Cross

I couldn't pick just one even at gunpoint.

Using my binoculars, my favorite since I was a bow was the Beehive. It is something that doesn't stand out naked eye (once you know its there you can see it on dark nights), but in the binoculars it is very real.

For objects seen with the biggest and best equipment... hard to say perhaps its the Virgo cluster with all the arcs.

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yea, the beehive is neat to see. Thinking more on this I'd like to add the milky way.


from a dark sky with low humidity the milky way spans from north to sout (especially in the summer) it appears as a cloud to the naked eye, but in binocs millions of stars show their glamour.


Gotta add the milky way to my list.

__________________
"I will do my best to understand and explain the universe from big to small without invoking miracles, unrepeatable events, or divine intervention. In place of those things I will use observations, mathematics, and science."


-Cross
My travel blog

Some of my Astrophotography


Those that lack education have a hard time understanding its value. - Cross

It's a flip of the coin between M31 and M42.

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Charlie in Dayton, A.AsC.

Globular Clusters are amazing. M13 in Hercules for example.

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Ditto, though my favs are the southern ones, Omega Cen and 47 Tuc.

I agree with Wolverine though, just impossible to pick a single - or even 100 - favourite.

What would really blow me away would be to be able to see, as in through a telescope, with the naked eye, the blinking of a pulsar, period ~0.3 to 5 seconds. Another amazing would be to see a fast caustic crossing, say several mags over an hour or so.

Andromeda has always fascinated me. I've got an image of it on my website, but it's a quarter-sized version of the full-size original that was several thousand pixels on a side. You could see individual stars, as well as blue dust clouds housing hot young stars and red clouds composed of currently forming stars.

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There are ten kinds of people. Those that understand binary, and those that do not.

I kinda figured, the list we've accumulated is shared by most people

Perseid Double Cluster
Sombrero Galaxy.
Large Magellanic Cloud
Mu Cephei
Albireo
Epsilon Lyrae
M42
NGC 457
Beehive
Virgo cluster
milky way
M31
M13 in Hercules
Omega Cen
47 Tuc.



that's a pretty good list.

__________________
"I will do my best to understand and explain the universe from big to small without invoking miracles, unrepeatable events, or divine intervention. In place of those things I will use observations, mathematics, and science."


-Cross
My travel blog

Some of my Astrophotography


Those that lack education have a hard time understanding its value. - Cross