by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95°24'W Lat: 37°55'N) |
| Equipment | 8" Discovery DHQ dob |
| Eyepieces | 1.25" Plössls - 25mm (49x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x), 6.5mm (188x), 4mm (305x); 2" 51.5mm Plössl (24x) |
| Time | 8:45pm - 10:45pm CST (02:45-04:45 UT) |
| Transparency | Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Stable (8/10) |
| Weather | Temperatures in the upper 40s, dropping rapidly as the evening progressed. There was litle to no breeze. |
| CAMELOPARDALIS | 1, Kemble's Cascade, NGC-1501, NGC-1502 |
|---|---|
| CYGNUS | Fairy Ring |
| PERSEUS | NGC-1245, NGC-1342, NGC-1513, NGC-1545 |
| TAURUS | 118, NGC-1647, NGC-1817 |
Tonight, the skies were clearer and a bit more stable than last night. Although faint, the Milky Was visible overhead, reaching clear to Perseus. In fact, the Double Cluster and Stock 2 were both naked eye tonight. Unlike yesterday evening, tonight I had an observing plan. I wanted to catch a few miscellaneous objects in Camelopardalis (The Giraffe), and also in Taurus (The Bull). The majority of my time, however, would be spent in Perseus. He is located between the two animals, and so is sort of like a celestial zookeeper.
| 1 | Camelopardalis | Double Star | 8:45pm CST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Struve 550 | RA: 0432.0 | Dec: +5355 | Mag: 5.8, 6.9 |
| This double is fairly bright, but it's not visible with the naked eye from my backyard skies. The primary star is milky white in color, and the slightly fainter companion is white with a tinge of blue. It can be split at 49x, but better color resolution is seen at 81x. These two stars are the brightest in the field by far, making them stand out. | |||
| NGC 1502 | Camelopardalis | Open Cluster | 8:50pm CST |
| CR 45 | RA: 0407.8 | Dec: +6220 | Mag: 6.9 |
| This open cluster is somewhat interesting. I just happened to be sweeping the area looking for Kemble's Cascade when I found it. It consists of several pairs of stars in a couple of chains. The main part of the cluster looks like a rhinoceros horn, with a fairly bright star right at the front tip of the horn. Inside the horn are two pairs of stars. One pair of star consists of two bright stars, of siilar magnitude. the second pair is fainter, but they are also of similar magnitude. 81x provides the best view, as it shows a few more stars than 49x. | |||
| Kemble's Cascade | Camelopardalis | Asterism | 9:00pm CST |
| One end of the cascade starts right next to NGC-1502. This asterism consists of a nearly straight chain of relatively bright stars, extending across several eyepiece fields of view. The brightest star is near the middle of the cascade. | |||
| NGC 1501 | Camelopardalis | Planetary Nebula | 9:05pm CST |
| RA: 0407.0 | Dec: +6055 | Mag: 13.3 | |
| This is a faint planetary nebula, easily found by starhopping from NGC1502. Based on the magnification, I'm amazed that I could even see it. The best view is at 188x, where it appears mostly round. There's no detail or mottling at all. With averted vision, the central star will occasionally pop into view. This nebula is pretty large, but it really wants a bit darker sky to stand out. | |||
| NGC 1245 | Perseus | Open Cluster | 9:15pm CST |
| CR 38 | RA: 0314.7 | Dec: +4714 | Mag: 8.4 |
| This is a faint, but fairly large open cluster, easily found halfway between Alpha and Kappa. It appears to be pretty rich. Using direct vision, only about a dozen or so stars are visible, but with averted vision, a lot more pop out. It has the appearance of a cloud of barely unresolved stars. Its shape is somewhat irregular, but roundish overall. The best view is at 125x, where it's magnified enough to nearly fill the field of view, and a few more stars are resolved. I would love to see this one in a little bigger scope. | |||
| NGC 1342 | Perseus | Open Cluster | 9:25pm CST |
| CR 40 | RA: 0331.6 | Dec: +3723 | Mag: 6.7 |
| This cluster is fairly bright and spread out. The best view is at 49x, where it takes up about 1/3 of the field of view. The cluster is elongated and consists of stars of varying brightness. The brighter stars appear to make a shape similar to Gemini or a jellyfish. There are two rows of stars on either edge, with some stars in the middle. The difference between this cluster's appearance and Gemini, however, are that the brightest stars in the cluster are on the feet end. In all, about two dozen stars are visible. | |||
| NGC 1513 | Perseus | Open Cluster | 9:35pm CST |
| CR 46 | RA: 0409.9 | Dec: +4931 | Mag: 8.4 |
| This cluster is fairly faint, but easily seen. At 125x, it fits nicely in the field of view. The cluster mainly consists of a string of stars resembling the outline of a teardrop, with very few stars in the middle. About a dozen stars are seen altogether. | |||
| NGC 1545 | Perseus | Open Cluster | 9:40pm CST |
| CR 49 | RA: 0420.9 | Dec: +5015 | Mag: 6.2 |
| This cluster is easily found right next to the naked-eye star SAO 24531. It's a large cluster, and has several spokes of stars radiating from the center. Several of the spokes are slightly curved arcs. In the center of the cluster is a right triangle of bright stars. At the far end of one of the strings is a nice looking double, one of which is bright and the other somewhat faint. The best view is at 49x. It reminds me of a large asterisk with a face in the middle. | |||
| 118 | Taurus | Double Star | 9:45pm CST |
| RA: 0529.3 | Dec: +2509 | Mag: 5.8, 6.6 | |
| This double is easy to spot, halfway between the two horntips of Taurus. The pair is much brighter than any other field star, making them stand out. 125x offers the best view. The brighter star is milky white and the slightly fainter companion is pale blue. This is a decent-looking pair, and are cleanly split. | |||
| NGC 1647 | Taurus | Open Cluster | 9:55pm CST |
| CR 54 | RA: 0445.9 | Dec: +1908 | Mag: 6.4 |
| This open cluster is large, filling the eyepiece at 49x. It is easily spotted near the V-shaped head of Taurus. The cluster is mostly round, with a couple of short spikes going out here and there. Most of the cluster consists of single stars or pairs of stars; no long chains are visible. The stars are fairly bright and spread out pretty evenly throughout the cluster. About 30-35 stars are visible in all. | |||
| NGC 1817 | Taurus | Open Cluster | 10:00pm CST |
| CR 60 | RA: 0512.4 | Dec: +1641 | Mag: 7.7 |
| This is a fairly large open cluster. The best view is at 81x, where it fills up most of the field of view. About a dozen bright stars can be seen, forming a sort of kite shape. Several fainter stars are interspersed within, showing up best with averted vision. | |||
| Fairy Ring | Cygnus | Asterism | 10:35pm CST |
| RA: 2004.1 | Dec: +3810 | Mag: ? | |
| To end my evening, I thought I'd take a quick peek at the Fairy Ring asterism, which was discussed on the StarryNights message group last month. This asterism fits into the field of view nicely at 49x. The ring consists of 6 double star systems in nearly a circle. There is also a wide pair of stars near the center. If you like double stars, you can get a finder full of them here. One of the components of one of the doubles is a nice orange color. | |||
I really felt good about the amount of "ground" I covered tonight on my Herschel-400 list. And, with only six more doubles to go, I should easily finish off the Astronomical League's Double Star list sometime this Spring.