PATH:	The Astronomy Connection Observing Targets September Messier Tour

By: "Tony Cecce, Corning, NY"

Twelve Month Tour of the Messier Catalog
September Messier Objects

We continue our tour this month with eight more globular clusters, all are possible in binoculars, and two of these are the finest globulars which can be seen from northern locations.

Sagittarius is the home of many globular clusters which surround the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Seven of the these globulars appear in the Messier catalog, we will be visiting five of them this month. When you complete the search for these objects be sure to spend some time scanning this region with binoculars or a telescope and see what other sights you can discover. I gaurantee you will not be disappointed.

M13 - The great globular cluster in Hercules is bright enough to be seen with naked eye. Binoculars easily show this cluster as a bright fuzzy ball. M13 is partially resolvable in small aperature telescopes and becomes a fantastic swarm of tightly packed individual stars through large scopes.

M92 - Another globular cluster in Hercules, M92 is easy to find in binoculars appearing slightly dimmer and smaller than M13. As with M13 it is partially resolvable in small scopes and is a fine sight in large instruments.

M14 - A small, bright globular cluster in Ophiuchus. It is a difficult binocular object, look for a small fuzzy patch of light. Through a telescope M14 is an even patch of light, the stars not resolvable except through large scopes.

M22 - This is the other great globular in our tour this month. Located just above the teapot asterism in Sagittarius, M22 can be seen with no optical aid. M22 is easy to find in binoculars, and easy to resolve in telescopes, with about the same impressiveness as M13.

M28 - Located near M22 in Sagittarius, this is a small bright globular. A tough binocular object, look for a small fuzzy patch. Easily seen in a telescope, but requires large aperatures to resolve individual stars.

M69, M70, M54
All of these are small bright globular clusters laying along the bottom of the teapot in Sagittarius. Very similar in appearance to M28, these are all tough binocular objects requiring dark skies and possibly averted vision to see. M54 is slightly brighter and appears more starlike through binoculars than the other globulars. These are all easily seen in telescopes, though not easily resolvable.

Last Month - M6, M7, M8, M9, M10, M12, M20, M21, M23, M62, M107
Next Month - M11, M16, M17, M18, M24, M25, M26, M55, M75

                                            Revision 8/95, A.J. Cecce