Monthly Summary #6B: Aug/Sept 2013 Part 2: Cassiopeia

     My late night constellation has been Cassiopeia.  Rich in clusters and nebula, I have also been surprised by some impressive galaxies.  I will begin with NGC objects observed this past session, followed by any IC objects.  Lastly will come clusters from other catalogues.  Underlined objects are personal favourites.

NGC Objects Observed During Past Session

oc 0103:  5'.  Brightest * mag. 11.  30 stars on a stem with a branch.
oc 0129:  12'. Brightest * mag. 11. Large group seen well at 60x and 83x. 35 stars near a triangle.
oc 0136:  1'.5.  Brightest * mag. 13. 8 stars resolved at 250x.
oc 0189:  5'. Brightest * mag. 10.9.  Medium rich, dense.  Near a mini-Cepheus, and oc 225.
oc 0225:  15'. Brightest * mag. 9.3.  40 stars at 83x.  Good for 6" and up.
eg 0278:  2'.1 x 2'. Mag. 11.4.  Bright, oval.  Try with 6".  Seen on a very dewy night.
gn 0281:  35' x 30'.  Seen best at 60x with filter.  Very large.
oc 0358:  3'. Asterism of 4 stars.  Faint group south, involved with a 2nd asterism.
oc 0366:  4'. Brightest * mag. 10. 4 bright and 4 dim stars.
oc 0381:  7'. Brightest * mag. 10. 30+ stars at 150x, resolved well.  Dense group.
gn 7635:  Bubble Nebula.  Some nebulosity near bright star.  Disappointing.
oc 7654/M52:  16'. A deep sky wonder!  60x shows well. 125x resolves all. Also see Cz 43.
oc 7788:  4'.  Cone-shaped.  Pair with larger 7790.
oc 7789:  25'.  One of the finest ocs!  For 6" or higher.  Do not miss!  Uncountable stars in 12".
oc 7790:  5'.  A must with a 12".  Middle of 3 clusters, including 7788.  Medium rich at high x.

IC Objects

eg I 10:  6'.4 x 5'.3:  Mag. 12.95.  Seen at 60x and 100x.  Large, faint, oval.  Star near center.
gn I 59:  10' x 5'.  Fairly large, solid block of nebulosity, near faint circlet of stars.
gn I 63:  10' x 3'.  More clumpy, but just as faint as I 59.  Bright star hinders views.
oc I 1590:  4'. Within gn 281!  At 200x a few faint stars around a close triple star.

Other Clusters

oc SkiffJ23302+ 6015:  Small, very faint cloud.  6 or 7 faint stars.
oc Be 02:  2'. Brightest * mag. 15.  Very very small, very very faint.  4 stars at 250x.
oc Be 01:  5'.  15 stars at 150x.  Pendant on a necklace!  Pendant is the cluster.
oc Be 58:  8'.  3rd member of group with 7788 and 7790.  25 stars along a zigzag line.
oc Be 60:  4'. Barely noticed at 60x  250x shows small circle, about 6 very very faint stars.
oc Be 102:  5'. 8 stars in faint cloud N of triple star.
oc Be 103:  4'.  Threshold group begins to resolve at 150x.
oc Cz 01:  4'. 8 tiny, dim stars at end of brighter line of slightly curving stars.
oc Cz 02:  10'. Mostly resolved at 100x.  25 stars at 150x.
oc Cz 43:  6':  Double cluster with M 52, but fine on its own.  Low x shows both.
oc Do 46:  12'.  Brighter white star surrounded by a large cloud of very faint haze.
oc Fr 01:  Brightest * 10.6.  5 bright stars and a dozen faint ones.
oc Ha 21:  3'. Mag. 9.  Seen well at 125x. 5 bright stars with some very faint ones.
oc King 02:  4'. Brightest * mag. 17.  3 stars at 200x. Small, faint haze near bright, compact group.
oc King 12:  3'. Brightest * mag. 10.  A true cluster. 200x shows 15 stars around a close double.
oc King 13:  Very small, very faint.  About 12 stars near a brighter one.
oc King 15:  3'. Brightest * mag. 18.  I saw a moderately rich group at 125x, surrounding a gold star.
oc King 20:  4'.  4 11 mag. stars amidst small cloud of mag. 13 and 14 stars.
oc Mayer 01:  8'. Curving line of stars, S-shape, about 25.
oc St 11:  10'.  10 white stars.  Triple star within.
oc St 12:  30'. Very large.  15 bright stars on Uranometria.  I saw 40 bright ones at 43x.
oc St 19:  3'.  6 stars seen.
oc St 24:  5'. Brightest * mag. 13. 200x shows 9 faint stars.  Very close double involved. 

     Clusters dominate Cassiopeia, with 7789, 7790, 7788 and 7654 (M 52) dominating the group.  Both galaxies viewed this month are also of interest with large mirrors (278, I 10).  Lots and lots of fine sweeping at low power.
Mapman Mike