Urban Imaging Target Recommendations

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Recommended Imaging Targets On Moonless Nights

• Sun and Moon

• All planets plus many of their brighter satellites

• Hundreds of globular and open clusters

• Several hundred planetary nebulas

• Brighter galaxies

• Artificial satellites...

  • You can video record hundreds of low power telescopic satellites.  For this it's best to use a rich-field telescope like a short-tube refractor.

  • Dozens of geostationary satellites

  • ISS (visually plus imaging of Sun/Moon transits)

• The brighter quasars, plus one pulsar

• Many hundreds of asteroids

• Stars including, novas/supernovas, variable stars and double-stars

• Occultations

 

Recommended Imaging Targets on Moon-Filled Nights

• Sun and Moon

• All planets

• Stars including, novas/supernovas, variable stars and double-stars.  Including optical resolution tests using ultra-close doubles

• Occultations

• Telescopic artificial satellites, dozens of geostationary satellites, visible ISS passes and Sun/Moon transits

• Hundreds of asteroids

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Non-Recommended Imaging Targets in an Urban Environment

• Dark Nebula (horsehead, coalsack, snake, etc)

• Wide star fields

• Extended nebula such as the NA, California, Veil, etc (unless using a dual or tri-band filter)

• Galaxies (brighter ones exempted)

• Comet tails (comas OK)

• Aurora