In this episode of Star Hopping, we'll look
at the Cygnus region, and show you how to
find these beautiful deep sky objects
The Gamma Cygni Nebula
The Crescent Nebula
And a Globular Cluster in Lyra, Messier 56
Alright, Let's Go Star Hopping!

Hey Hello Hi and welcome to Episode 58 of
Star Hopping!
I'm Dave Hearn, and I'm pleased as punch to
be your host.
In this series of programs we'll show you
the most beautiful sights in the night sky,
and explain exactly how to find them with
your binoculars or telescope.
Well I was outside last night at the observatory,
after a good imaging session, and I was treated
with an excellent view of the Milky Way rising
out of the south, and arcing the whole way
into the northeastern sky, It finally disappeared
just past Cygnus the Swan.
I could even see the Great Rift of Cygnus.
There are just a ton of great objects in the
constellation of Cygnus, since the Milky Way
does indeed pass right through it.
On top of all that, I see that I have somewhat
neglected Cygnus in the Star Hopping series.
We did check out The North American Nebula
and the Veil Nebula in Episode 34 of Star
Hopping.
But that’s it, so I wanted to correct this
astronomical oversight in tonight’s episode.
Cygnus is loaded with Nebulae, and two of
tonight’s targets are this colorful type
of deep sky object.
And the last is a nice Globular in the neighboring
constellation of Lyra.
So we can get started and check out the largest
nebula in the constellation, right after this
short break.
Stay Tuned!
Star Hopping Target #1
The Gamma Cygni Nebula is very easily found,
surrounding the second magnitude star Sadr,
the centerpoint of the Northern Cross.
Sadr is also known as Gamma Cygni.
Around it lies a huge nebula, IC 1318, also
known, appropriately enough, as the Gamma
Cygni Nebula.
This massive area of nebulosity measures over
3 degrees across.
That’s large enough to fit 6 full moons!
So this is definitely a binocular object and
a great target for wide field astrophotographers.
Since the nebula lies around a second magnitude
star, there is no real Star Hop.
However if you really want to, find brilliant
first magnitude Deneb about 30 degrees up
in the east, about 10:30 PM local time in
June.
Move about 8 degrees to the right and you’ll
see second magnitude Sadr.
Use your binoculars and scan around Sadr to
view the brightest sections of the Gamma Cygni
Nebula.
While the bright star Sadr in the center of
the nebula is about 1800 light years away,
the background nebulosity is more than 3000
light years away.
So Sadr is a foreground object.
Also found in this area, is the open cluster
NGC6910 at a distance of about 3700 light
years.
So we’re moving on to one of my recent astrophoto
targets very nearby in central Cygnus.
We’ll locate it, right after this break.
Star Hopping Target #2
The 
Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, is an emission
nebula in central Cygnus about 2 1/2 degrees
to the right of Sadr.
It is a rather faint object located about
2 degrees SW of Sadr.
For visual observation through your scope,
you’ll need a UHC or OIII light pollution
filter to see it.
Under favorable circumstances a telescope
as small as 4 inches can see its nebulosity.
Larger telescopes, say 8 inches or more, reveal
the crescent or a Euro sign shape, which gives
it its secondary name of the "Euro sign nebula”.
As I mentioned earlier, the Crescent lies
about 2 1/2 degrees to the right and a little
upwards from bright Sadr.
But you are viewing right smack in the middle
of the Milky Way, so there are many faint
stars between Sadr and the Crescent.
It's easy to get lost in this busy area of
sky.
One way of getting there from Sadr is to move
2/12 degrees to the right to 4th magnitude
P Cygni.
Then from P, you can move 1 degree upward
to locate a pair of 7th magnitude stars.
This is the center of the Crescent Nebula.
Pop in your Oxygen III filter and see if you
can spy the brightest part of the arc.
Here's my recent image of the Crescent.
There's still not enough exposure time to
capture the whole loop, so I will need to
have another go at this nebula some time in
the future.
The Crescent Nebula lies about 5000 light
years from Earth.
So we’ll finish up with a nice Globular
Cluster, that we’ll find together, right
after this short break.
Star Hopping Target #3
Messier 56 is a globular cluster, just across
the border into the neighboring constellation
of Lyra the Harp.
M56 is very often overshadowed by the famous
Ring Nebula in Lyra, which we found in episode
3 of Star Hopping.
M56 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779,
and first resolved into stars by William Herschel
around 1784.
Messier 56 lies in a nice low-power Milky
Way field.
At magnitude 8.3, this cluster is one of the
fainter Messier globulars, because it lacks
the bright central core which most globulars
have.
But it’s not too difficult to find, even
in smaller telescopes if you have a dark sky.
This is another fairly easy star hop.
We’ll be starting on the amazing double
star Alberio, with its golden and blue component
stars.
From Alberio, move 2 degrees to the upper
left to 5th magnitude 2 Cygni.
Now move one degree straight up and you’ll
see M56 moving into your wide field eyepiece.
Only about the inner third of this beehive
of stars is visible; about 9 minutes of arc
in diameter.
The brightest stars in this cluster are of
about 13th magnitude.
But collectively they shine at 8th magnitude.
See, there is strength in numbers.
So that was our quick trip through Cygnus.
We started out finding a huge 3 degree wide
area of nebulosity positioned around the star
Sadr, otherwise known as the Gamma Cygni Nebula.
Then we moved slightly to the right and found
the elusive Crescent Nebula.
Lastly we moved across the border into Lyra,
and found the interesting globular cluster,
Messier 56.
So that does it for this week’s episode.
You can find the show notes on our website
at StarHopping.org/SH058, where you can comment
and leave any questions that you may have.
You can also contact me personally on Twitter
@StarHoppingMan, where I’d love to help
you with any astronomy or observing questions.
So feel free to reach out with your questions
- I’m here to help.
Well thank you very much for joining me here,
and I’ll see you next time with more Star
Hopping tips 
and tricks.
