9 April 2021: Observation of our Galaxy of the Month by Dale Holt.

5 April 2021: Observation of NGC 2419 in Lynx by David Davies.

1 April 2021: A new Nebula, Cluster, Galaxy, Double Star, and Picture of the Month. Scroll down to take a look.

30 March 2021: Observation of ACO 2197 in Hercules by Vasileios Spanakis-Misirlis.

Our Annual Meeting

Pandemic restrictions mean we're not in a position to hold our Annual Meeting 2021 in June as usual. Instead we're planning for Saturday the 23rd of October 2021, but it's too early to be sure we'll be able to go ahead, so please watch this space...

Our Publications

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

You can grab a free PDF copies of Faith Jordan's 'An Introduction to Deep-Sky Observing' and Miles Paul's Atlas of Galaxy Trios from amongst our free publications.

With kind permission of Kent Wallace, we can now offer our own reprint of his titanic work Visual Observations of Planetary Nebulae. Kent sold out of his own print run some time ago, so don't wait too long.

Volume 2 of Mike Swan's excellent Atlas of Open Star Clusters is now available alongside Volume 1. This completes the coverage of the sky started in Volume 1.

We also have a very limited number of Willmann-Bell books to offer. Why not buy whilst they're still available?

Issue 186 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.

Picture of the Month: The Southern Pleiades (IC 2602) in Carina

The Southern Pleiades open cluster (IC 2602) in Carina courtesy of Marco Lorenzi
This image was provided by Marco Lorenzi

I've headed south to the constellation of Carina and an iconic open cluster. Fainter that their northern namesake, but still spectacular in this image.

Galaxy of the Month: NGC 3637 in Crater

This image of the NGC 3637 was provided by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
Image credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)

This April Owen's posing a serious challenge. A pair of galaxies that are low in the sky and next to a bright star! There's a bonus galaxy for the really ambitious.

Nebula or Cluster of the Month: The Large and the Small

A Hubble image of the core of Messier 3 provided by ESA/Hubble & NASA, G. Piotto et al
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, G. Piotto et al

With clusters in short supply Patrick's still found a showpiece, with an observing challenge, and a far north planetary nebula worth seeking out.

Double Stars of the Month: 35 Sextantis and CPO 12

Thumbnail image of a finder chart for double star CPO 12 in Crux
Image credit: created with Cartes du Ciel

Both of Bob's offerings this April are observable with small aperture telescopes. There are a couple of extra suggestions on offer too.

Object of the Season: NGC 3242 in Hydra

Planetary Nebula NGC 3242 (The Ghost of Jupiter) in Hydra - Credit: HST/NASA/ESA
Image credit: HST/NASA/ESA

Wolfgang Steinicke would appreciate your observations of the planetary nebula NGC 3242 in Hydra for his Object of the Season column in the Deep-Sky Observer.

The Deep-Sky Observer

The cover of The Deep-Sky Observer 184

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

Abell 84 in Cassiopeia by Mike O'Brien
Abell 84 in Cassiopeia by Mike O'Brien

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.