by Tom Campbell
| Observer | Tom Campbell |
|---|---|
| Location | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95°24'W Lat: 37°55'N) |
| Equipment | Discovery DHQ 8" dobsonian |
| Eyepieces | 1.25" Plössls - 25mm (49x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x), 6.5mm (188x), 4mm (305x) |
| Time | 7:55pm - 8:30pm CST (01:55-2:30 UT) |
| Transparency | Clear (8/10) |
| Seeing | Moderately Stable (6/10) |
| Weather | Temperatures in the mid-30s. |
| CASSIOPEIA | NGC-381, NGC-436, NGC-637 |
|---|
Despite the cooldown in temperatures, tonight was clear and the sky beckoned me. Because of the temperature difference between where I store my telescope and the outdoors, I let the telescope cool down for about an hour or so before I began my observing session. When I came out, low power views had settled down, but at high power, the air currents became more obvious, although there were moments of steady seeing. I decided that the majority of the problem was with upper-level winds.
I didn't have an observing plan per se, but since Cassiopeia was well-placed in the sky, I thought I'd try to observe some more Herschel open clusters. The Queen of the heavens has a large number of these open clusters, no doubt due to her placement along a spiral arm of the Milky Way. These clusters are like little worker bees buzzing around the throne of their queen.
| NGC 637 | Cassiopeia | Open Cluster | 7:55pm CST |
|---|---|---|---|
| CR 17 | RA: 01h 43m 04s | Dec: +64° 02' | Mag: 8.2 |
| This open cluster is fairly bright, but there aren't many members visible. 125x looks about the best. Some of the brighter members are nearly the same magnitude and form an arc. At one end of the arc are three more stars in an odd-shaped triangle. On the opposite side of the arc are a perpendicular pair of bright stars. The overall shape reminds me of a parachute. With averted vision, a few more stars pop into view, making a total of about 12. | |||
| NGC 436 | Cassiopeia | Open Cluster | 8:15pm CST |
| CR 11 | RA: 01h 15m 58s | Dec: +58° 49' | Mag: 8.8 |
| This open cluster is below the feet of NGC457. The cluster consists of fairly faint stars, of which about a dozen are visible. The overall shape is like a letter A, with the top triangle having a greater concentration of stars. At 188x, about 20 stars are visible with averted vision. | |||
| NGC 381 | Cassiopeia | Open Cluster | 8:25pm CST |
| CR 10 | RA: 01h 08m 18s | Dec: +61° 35' | Mag: 9.3 |
| This open cluster is faint, and is somewhat shaped like a square. The field of view looks like a kite, with a string of four bright stars making up the tail and connecting to one corner of the cluster. The stars within the cluster are fairly compact and faint. The best view is at 81x. | |||
Despite the early hour, the seeing was gradually worsening. This helped confirm my suspicions of upper-level winds. I went in for a while to warm up and then came back out, but the view wasn't any better. Saturn was well above the trees, but it was still churning. Ah well, I was getting cold anyway.