Southern Skies Binocular Observing List: 73 Southern Objects

See any 50 of the 73 in binoculars

• Observe any 50 of the 73 objects with binoculars. Binocular telescopes and bino-viewers do not count.
• Any binoculars are allowed; 50 mm to 80 mm objectives are recommended. Every object can be seen in 7x50 binoculars.
• Log the object, date and time, seeing and transparency, latitude and longitude, the binoculars and their power, and observing notes.
• Send the log to the program coordinator.

The full Southern Skies Binocular list, in the League's order, with a page for each object

Sort any column, or type a name or constellation. The type buttons above the map also filter this table. Best is the month the object is highest at 9 pm. Also on lists the other observing lists the object belongs to, so one observation can count toward more than one program where the League allows it.

40 of the 73 are best in spring: plan the list by month

Each bar counts the objects highest in the sky at 9 pm in that month. An object is also well placed in the month before, late in the evening, and the month after, early in the evening.

42 of the 73 are on another list you may already be working

• Southern Sky Telescopic: 34 of the 73
• Caldwell: 29 of the 73
• Globular Cluster: 15 of the 73
• Open Cluster: 8 of the 73
• Herschel 400: 1 of the 73
• Bright Nebula: 1 of the 73

A list for a trip south of the equator

The 73 were chosen from more than 200 deep-sky objects of the southern sky; 69 lie south of -40°, below the horizon from most of the United States. From latitude 30°N, the southern edge of Texas and Florida, only objects north of -60° rise at all, and those near the limit stay low in the haze.

The list includes the showpieces of the southern Milky Way: 47 Tucanae, Omega Centauri, the Eta Carinae Nebula, the Jewel Box, the Coalsack and both Magellanic Clouds.

More Astronomical League observing programs on Go Astronomy

• Herschel II: 400 more of William Herschel's objects, after the Herschel 400
• Binocular Messier: any 50 Messier objects with binoculars
• Urban: 100 objects for light-polluted city skies
• Bright Nebula: emission, reflection and supernova-remnant nebulae of both hemispheres
• Globular Cluster: any 50 of 190 globular clusters, with their concentration class
• Open Cluster: 100 or 125 open clusters, sketched and classified
• Planetary Nebula: 110 planetary nebulae, from the Ring to 16th-magnitude Abell shells
• Deep Sky Binocular: 60 non-Messier objects for binoculars, the step after the Binocular Messier
• Southern Sky Telescopic: 50 of 100 southern objects, most south of -48°
• Messier objects: the Messier Observing Program, the League's first, since 1967
• Caldwell objects: the Caldwell Observing Program
• Herschel 400: the step before Herschel II