My observations

Observation notes: – Coalsack

• These observations were mainly done during Southern Star Party on the weekend of 5-7 February 2016 at Night Sky Caravan Park near Bonnievale, Western Cape, South Africa. It has been almost impossible to see the Nebula from Melkbosstrand, due to the constant light pollution from neighboring Cape Town area. I did however conduct observations whenever I visited less light poluted areas during my fishing expeditions.
• The sky was dark and light pollution from nearby Bonnievale had little effect on observations.
• Observations were done with binoculars as the area covered by the Coalsack Nebula is too large to be viewed with my telescope (5 inch Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT MAK).
• I calculated the altitude (+35 degrees) above the horizon based on the position of the star BZ Crucis which is situated in about the middle of the Nebula. The RA & Dec were similarly based on this star’s position.
• It is clear that the Nebula is not totally void of stars as several feint stars are visible through both binoculars and telescope.
• The borders of the Nebula seemed to change as sketches made of the Nebula over two to three months differed somewhat.

Observation notes: – Milky Way

• I specifically observed Milky Way over six months period from April 2018 to September 2018. One interesting observation was that it appears as if the general flow of the Milky Way’s band forms the hands of a clock turning clock-wise in the sky. It isn’t apparent over a short period of time but it became clear over the six months period that I specifically observed the brightest band of the Milky Way.
• Other prominent and noteworthy objects that I identified within the band of the Milky Way are:
  • Trifid Nebula (M20 in Sagittarius
  • Ptolemy Cluster (M7) in Scorpius
  • Butterfly Cluster (M6) in Scorpius
  • M26 (NGC6694; Cr389; Mel 212) An open star cluster in Scutum.
  • M11 (NGC6705; Mel 213) Open star cluster, also known as Wild Duck cluster in Scutum.
  • NGC 6520 (CR361; Mel187) Open star cluster in Sagittarius. Known for the dark “drop of ink” molecular cloud of dust (Barnard 86) between it and the bright double star HIP 88384A in the vicinity. I could only barely identify the dark cloud. More a dark area than a cloud from my observation point.
  • Lagoon Nebula (M8) in Sagittarius
  • The Southern Cross (Crux) and the two “pointer” stars (Alpha and Beta Centauri), as well as the famed Jewel Box (NGC4755) in Crux also feature prominently within the band of the Milky Way.
• During April the brightest band of the Milky Way lies from the SSE all the way to NNW. During the following months the Milky Way changes its position in the sky, with its “arms” turning clock-wise from the original position. In May its position changed to SE to WNW, East to West during June, ENE to WSW in July, NE to SW in August and NNE to SSW in September 2018. It should be noted that these directions are only approximate as the Milky Way doesn’t actually run in a straight line. It serves, however to provide an indication of the clock-wise turning of the Milky Way as observed from my location. It should also be noted that the “hands” of the Milky Way doesn’t necessarily run through the middle (zenith) of our sky. I also found that the rest of the so-called Big Five of the Southern Hemisphere actually all lie within the band of the Milky Way or very near to it.
• Although some of the larger and brighter objects are identifiable with binoculars, I did also make use of my Meade LX200R 14” telescope to view the fainter objects. I used it with a Meade Super Wide Angle 40 mm eye-piece. I did not use any filters and concentrated on conducting my observations when the moon was either below the horizon or during darker phases of the moon.

Observation notes: – Milky Way (Continued)

• As indicated in Observation Log Big 5-005-2 the bright band of stars, nebulae and clusters of the Milky Way appears to move in a clock-wise manner over the sky.
• During June 2018 the visible beginning of the Milky Way has moved further South and now lies from the East all the way to the West.
• The graphic illustration is an approximate indication of the Milky during June 2018 as observed from my location.

Observation notes: – Milky Way (Continued)

• As indicated in Observation Log Big 5-005-2 the bright band of stars, nebulae and clusters of the Milky Way appears to move in a clock-wise manner over the sky.
• During August 2018 the visible beginning of the Milky Way has moved further South and now lies from the approximately NE all the way to the SW.
• The graphic illustration is an approximate indication of the Milky during August 2018 as observed from my location.