December 16, 2007 - NGC 40

Tonight I was looking for Comet Tuttle again but ended up observing NGC 40. This planetary is an exceptional sight at 240x in the XT8, even from the light-polluted Woodlands skies. The central star is obvious in the 8-inch, and so is the blobby nebulosity that surrounds it. Burnham's says the central star is mag 11.5. It sits in between and just to the north of two slightly brighter stars. After I had seen the nebulosity at the higher magnification, it was obvious at 40x, also. I believe I had a glimpse of it at the lower magnification before looking more closely. Definitely worth the look!