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
I have been an amateur astronomer since 1968. I hope to share suggestions on making observing sessions more pleasurable and rewarding. I will also share my experiences and descriptions of observations, including my relentless pursuit of NGC objects. Any topic of interest to amateurs may be found here, especially suggestions from readers. Most of my observations are done with an Orion 12" Dobsonian.
Showing posts with label M 52. Show all posts
Showing posts with label M 52. Show all posts
Monday, 16 September 2013
Friday, 23 August 2013
#30: Cassiopeia Deep Sky: Prelude
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know by now that I am interested in observing as many NGC objects as I can. The fact that I am in no real hurry, but will take my time observing each one, is a dead giveaway that I will never complete my project. Even if I lived in New Mexico and had nearly year round access to great skies, my project would never be completed in my lifetime. If I was interested in a mere glance at an object, and carried out marathon NGC observing sessions during clear nights, I might have a chance. But as I have already indicated in an earlier post, this is not my idea of observing. Of course there are many objects, faint galaxies for example, that do not require much observing time once located. But there are so many wonders that repay long looks, using different eyepieces, and even involving some sketching, that observing more than 5 or 6 in one night is a challenging task for me.
I have chosen several constellations to view as the seasons pass. For late summer I will move on to Cygnus and Cassiopeia. Later in the autumn I will return to studies of Cetus, then back into Lepus. During the winter I will continue with Monoceros, then on to Leo once more in early spring, and Bootes later on. I always have planned sessions ready at hand, though I often enjoy just wandering about up there, too.
The deep sky objects of Cygnus were briefly discussed in the previous post. Now it's Cassiopeia's turn. Like Lyra (now completed) and Cygnus, my focus is on the NGC and IC objects. However, since a 12" mirror can do so much more under a dark sky, I have also included clusters from other catalogues. Many are very dim and small, but a few promise just as much fun and adventure as some of the better NGC objects.
Cassiopeia has a grand total of 36 NGC objects, along with 11 IC ones. These 47 objects are my main focus of interest. 29 of the NGC entries are open clusters, including M 52 and M 103 (and, of course, oc 7789!). I can also look forward to 4 galaxies (2 already logged) and 3 galactic nebulae.
The IC list adds 4 more open clusters, 4 nebulae, 2 planetaries and another galaxy.
In the "other" category come no less than 59 open clusters from catalogues besides the NGC. It would appear that a few objects were overlooked back in the day by Dreyer and company! Many of these, due to their faintness and small size, will get just a quick glimpse. However, any special ones noted will get as much viewing time from me as an NGC object.
I can therefore look forward to 92 open clusters, 7 galactic nebulae, 5 galaxies and 2 planetary nebulae in this wonderful constellation (100 deep sky objects!). Using Uranometria All-Sky Edition, my clipboard notes are fully prepared, my mirror collimated and my eyepieces cleaned. All I need now is a much later moonrise time and some great skies for observing. Check back in mid-September to see how I am doing with my Cygnus and Cassiopeia project.
Mapman Mike
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