A set of 10 Reference Line Maps, charts and DSS photos of M40, (a pair of stars) and nearby objects.   M40 itself is not an NGC object.  Zone A and Zone B maps show star pairs in the vicinity of M40, but neither match Messier’s description as well as the pair we label as “M40″.

This series of maps has been developed for use with the Reference Line Method.  This method adapts well to both binoculars and telescopes.

How to Use Reference Line Maps to locate deep sky objects.

Credits, Links & Resources:

1. The images of  galactic position of eemission nebulae, star clusters and planetary nebulae relative to our own Sun  are provided courtesy of thinkastronomy.com.
2. A complete online resource for  distances, sizes and locations of deep sky objects is available at seds.org.
3. Sky and Tleescope’s This Week’s Sky At A Glance is worth checking before every stargazing session.
4. Danko’s  Clear Sky Chart provides a 48 hour forecast of observing conditions for every  location  in North America.
5. Reference Line Maps are produced by Project DeepSkyMap, a collaborative venture of observers who enjoy  knowing the heavens and  locating objects for themselves.