Before you can start thinking about what science questions you want to answer or the details of your observation, first you must choose a science target that is above the horizon at night. From the table below, choose four objects from at least two categories.
- Solar System
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Neptune
- Mars
- Pluto
- Ceres
- Vesta
- Galaxies
- M64 Black Eye Galaxy
- M63 Sunflower Galaxy
- M104 Sombero Galaxy
- M102 Spindle Galaxy
- M82 Bode’s Galaxy
- M109
- M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
- Nebulae
- M42 Orion Nebula
- IC 434 Horse Head Nebula
- M43 de Mairan’s Nebula
- M1 Crab Nebula
- M78
- M57 Ring Nebula
- NGC 3242 Ghost of Jupiter
- Star Clusters
- M46
- M53
- NGC 2506
- M13
- M92
- M36
- M3
For each selected object, conduct some research on the internet (We recommend starting with Wikipedia). For each object determine:
- Name(s) of object
- Size of object
- Distance from Earth to the Object (Wolfram Alpha may be helpful for solar system objects!)
- What is your object?
- An interesting fact about your object.