SENDERO PLANETARIES by Don Ferguson Southerly We make a detour from our usual latitudes to visit a collection of exquisite celestial bubbles lying at lower declinations. Planetary Nebulae 28 JUNE 2 021 * SK Y & TELESCOPE S BUG NEBULA A dying star in Scorpius that was once five times as massive as the Sun is now spewing its innards out at nearly 800 times the speed of sound. NGC 6302's " butterfly wings " stretch out for more than two light-years on either side of the central object. tree line to at least -45° in declination. Would it be possible to view some southern planetary nebulae through this gap? I realized then that planning on working up and down by right ascension and timing my observations for when the objects are in the sendero - my window - would make more sense than sticking to a particular constellation or working west to east. Maybe you can apply this approach to other views restricted by buildings or trees or the like. N ASA / ESA / HUBBLE SM4 ERO TE A M I n Texas, where I live, pipelines are laid down in clearcut corridors through the brush country. Called senderos (Spanish for " paths " ) by the workers who initially cleared the way, these pipeline passages deliver their product across the U.S., although I doubt they're called senderos elsewhere. This observing project began to take root while I was examining Minkowski 3-6, a planetary nebula in Pyxis, when the telescope tracked into the foliage of my magnolia tree. After venting my initial displeasure, I noticed a southerly corridor - a sendero! - in the sky on the other side of the magnolia, resulting from the recent removal of a neighbor's tree. The opening was about 20° wide and reached from the top of the