14 November 2024: Issue 194 of The Deep-Sky Observer (DSO) is now available for subscribers to download

14 November 2024: We have a new Object of the Season for Winter 2024.

1 November 2024: A new Galaxy, Nebula, pair of Double Stars and Picture of the Month. Scroll down to take a look.

11 Aug 2024: Observation: objects around the Coathanger in Vulpecula by David Davies.

Our Annual Meeting

A slight change to the date of our Annual Meeting for 2025 which we hope to hold on Saturday the 28th of June 2025 at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge.

Please note that this date is still provisional and subject to approval by the Institute of Astronomy. We'll add more details here as they become available.

Where to Meet Us

We will be attending the Kelling Heath Autumn Star Party from 30th September to 7th October 2024 at Kelling Heath Holiday Park Holt, Norfolk, NR25 7HW. You will find us on our stand on Saturday 5th October 2024.

Our Publications

The Webb Deep-Sky Society has a wide range of publications on offer.

Mike Swan's excellent Atlas of Open Star Clusters is now available as a single spiral-bound volume. This has a few additions over his earlier volumes 1 and 2.

Owen has a book out based on his Galaxy of the Month column which adds new information and detailed finder charts.

Issue 194 of The Deep-Sky Observer (DSO) is now available.

Why not join us?

You can now join the Webb Deep-Sky Society online using PayPal. Options include Paper and PDF versions of the Deep-Sky Observer journal, or PDF alone for a reduced price.

Perhaps you'd like to join our groups.io mailing group? Access is limited to members, but you're all welcome.

You can subscribe to our mailing list to receive emailed updates when a new issue is released.

Picture of the Month: Van den Bergh 24 in Perseus

Van den Bergh 24 and XY Persei in Perseus courtesy of T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
Image credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

An image from a professional observatory this month, but would you just look at the detail in this reflection nebula. And naturally there's a star taking a leading role too. This time visual observers are in luck.

Galaxy of the Month: NGC 1275 and ACO 426 in Perseus

The galaxies of ACO 426 provided by ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi
Image credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi

Another surprising oversight for Owen in the form of this large and impressive galaxy cluster. He's discovered that he's never covered it before in this column, and commends it to any galaxy enthusiast.

Nebula or Cluster of the Month: NGC 1514 in Taurus

NGC 1514 in Taurus provided by the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS)
Image credit: Digitized Sky Survey (DSS)

A tale of youthful enthusiasm which, eventually, paid off from Patrick this November. A bright but elusive target which it seems was worth waiting over 30 years to see.

Double Stars of the Month: KNT 1 and HJ 3476

Tiny finder chart for the double star KNT 1 in Cepheus
Image credit: created with Cartes du Ciel

This month Bob has a discover by a Victorian amateur and another by one of the giants of British astronomy. Both are very unequal doubles, but should be in the range of modest telescopes.

Object of the Season: NGC 4038 and NGC 4039

Galaxy Pair NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 in Corvus - Credit: W4sm astro via Wikimedia Commons
Image credit: W4sm astro, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wolfgang Steinicke would appreciate your observations of the NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 galaxy pair in Corvus for his Object of the Season column in the Deep-Sky Observer.

The Deep-Sky Observer

The cover of The Deep-Sky Observer 194

Profusely illustrated, The Deep-Sky Observer is printed on art paper. Its magazine format encourages all amateurs to make a contribution to the Society's work.

Double Star Section Circulars

The contents page of Double Star Section Circular 28

Double Star Section Circulars (DSSC) feature the latest techniques and measurements from double star observers around the World. They are available as PDFs for free download.

Observations

M61 in Virgo by David Davies
M61 in Virgo by David Davies

Some observations and images provided by amateur astronomers around the globe. We're happy to receive your images, sketches and observations of the deep-sky made in pursuit of your projects.