[AZ-Observing] NGC 6552
- From: BillFerris@xxxxxxx
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 02:35:54 EDT
This guy shares the same neck of the celestial woods with the Cat's Eye
Nebula, NGC 6543. NGC 6552 resides just 9'.4 due east of the well known
planetary
nebula but is, itself, relatively unknown. This isn't surprising considering
this barred spiral galaxy has a blue magnitude of 14.6 and is only 1'x0'.7 in
size.
NGC 6552 has become an object I use to check transparency during the spring
and summer. If it's not visible in my 10-inch Newt, then I know the atmospheric
clarity is lacking. At Antelope Park this weekend, I was able to see this
galaxy in the same field as the Cat's Eye. When visible in my 10-inch, NGC 6552
is pretty subtle as you can see in this sketch:
http://members.aol.com/billferris/n6552.html
Does anybody else use this object as a test of sky conditions? What's the
smallest aperture you've used to make the observation?
Regards,
Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
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