14 ASTRONOMY • JUNE 2022
BINOCULAR UNIVERSE
Walter Scott Houston was born in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, on May 30, 1912. He developed a
love for physics, optics, and astronomy at an
early age. By 12, he had observed all the Messier objects
and his love of astronomy had grown into one that
would last a lifetime.
After college, Scotty — as his countless friends knew
him — moved around, teaching in Alabama, Ohio,
Kansas, Missouri, and Connecticut. During
those years, he landed a contributor role at Sky
& Telescope magazine, taking over a column
called Deep-Sky Wonders from Leland
Copeland in 1946. He would spend the next
48 years educating and enthralling readers,
including myself, on the magic of deep-sky
observing. I’ve affectionately dubbed us
“Scotty disciples.”
I met Scotty several times at Stellafane
conventions. He was quite the character.
And, through the years, he was very kind to
me. He mentioned my first book, Touring the Universe
Through Binoculars, in his February 1991 column,
saying, “Unlike other guides intended for binocular
u sers , ... t he aut hor work s ha rd at add re s si ng t he spec ia l
problems encountered when observing with binocu-
lars.” You can imagine my despair when Scotty passed
away just three years later, in December 1993.
In honor of Scotty’s 110th birthday, I’d like to feature
the three objects he profiled in his first column. All are
visible in this month’s sky, laid out in a pattern that I
call Scotty’s Triangle.
The first target is the Dumbbell Nebula (M 27 ) inVulpecula. M27 is the second-brightest planetary nebula
in the sky at magnitude 7.5. But finding M27 can be
tricky. I get to it by using the constellation Sagitta the
Arrow. M27 is due north from the arrow’s tip, orangish
magnitude 3.5 Gamma (γ) Sagittae. In one of his col-
umns, Scotty suggested to first find an M-shaped aster-
ism 5° north of Gamma formed by 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17
Vulpeculae — all of which are around 5th magnitude.
Our target is just ½° south of 14, the M’s middle star.
M27’s two-lobed shape — which led to its popular
nicknames of the Dumbbell, Hourglass, and Apple
Core Nebula — does not readily show itself at 7x to 10x.
For me, it takes my 16x70s to reveal the cloud’s tapered
waist, while my 25x100s begin to reveal some of the
subtle irregularities in its structure.
Scotty’s second featured object was another planetary
nebula, M 57 , the Ring Nebula in Lyra. At magnitude 8.8,
M57 is bright enough to be seen through most binocu-
lars. Confirming it, however, is difficult because of its
small apparent size. While M27 measures about 8' by 6',
M57 spans less than 2'. That reduces it to a starlike point
at low magnifications.
To find it, center your aim along the bottom of Lyra
the Lyre’s rectangular frame, between the stars Sulafat
(Gamma Lyrae) and Sheliak (Beta [β] Lyrae). M57 sits
almost exactly halfway between them. To confirm that
you are looking in the right place, M57 marks the vertex
of an isosceles triangle with two 8th-magnitude stars just
to its north. If you can identify that triangle, then you’ve
hit M57. If not, try again! It’s the thrill of the hunt that
makes it fun to spot tough targets through binoculars.
Lastly, we come to Scotty’s third target, the
Wild Duck Cluster (M 11 ) in Scutum. M11 is
the easiest of the three to see through binocu-
lars. Find it by tracing Aquila the Eagle’s
diamond-shaped body from Altair to the
curve of its tail-feather stars, Lambda (λ) and
12 Aquilae. Together with Eta (η) Scuti,
Lambda and 12 form a three-star arc that
hooks right toward M11.
M11 is one of my favorite summer objects.
It looks like a ball of celestial cotton, resem-
bling an unresolved globular cluster more
than an open cluster. That’s because, save for a single
8th-magnitude star buried within, none of its suns
shine brighter than 11th magnitude. What also
impresses me are the star-studded surroundings. I like
to just sit back in a comfortable chair and drink it all in.
Next time you observe, think of people in your life
who have inf luenced your enjoyment of the night sky,
as Walter Scott Houston did for so many. And until next
month, remember that two eyes are better than one.Take a journey with me to 1946.
Scotty’s Triangle
I officially met Scotty
at the 1991 Stellafane
convention. Prior to
our introduction, I and
others at Stellafane
1975 joined him in a
game of frisbee.
TOP: RICHARD SANDERSON.
BOTTOM: PHIL HARRINGTONIt’s the
thrill of the
hunt that
makes it fun
to spot tough
targets.
BY PHIL
HARRINGTON
Phil received the
Walter Scott Houston
Award at Stellafane
2018 for his lifelong
work promoting and
teaching astronomy.BROWSE THE “BINOCULAR UNIVERSE” ARCHIVE AT
http://www.Astronomy.com/Harrington