This meeting of Spica (upper left), Venus (middle), and the Moon occurred in September 2013. This week brings a similar sight. Credit: Ben (Flickr, CC BY-ND 4.0)

Friday, November 6

The waning Moon leaves us with perfect skies for deep-sky observing. Let’s kick off the week with a bright planetary nebula in Aquarius: NGC 7293, commonly known as the Helix Nebula.

Despite its impressive magnitude of 7.3, the Helix presents a challenge: It is a broad 13’ across, which spreads its light over a relatively large part of sky, lowering its overall surface brightness. That said, you can still find the Helix in large binoculars or any small scope, tucked into southeastern Aquarius, roughly 7.7° southwest of magnitude 3.3 Skat (Delta [δ] Aquarii). If you turn south around 7 P.M. local time, find Skat to the upper right of bright Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus, then scan to its lower right, toward 5th-magnitude 66 Aqr.…