[AZ-Observing] NGC 7380 and Sh2-142

[BillFerris@xxxxxxx]

Observing and sketching the Herschel 400 list is a project I took on in 1996. 
Having finished most of the galaxies and nebulae three-years ago, I took a 
9-month break to finish sketching the Messier catalog. This provided a much 
needed respite from the faint little stinkers populating the H400.

Since early 2000, observing has taken a back seat to my wife's pregnancy and 
the arrival of our first child nine months ago. Gradually, the urge to 
observe has found its way back into my life and the Herschel 400 project is 
back on.

Of the Herschel 400 objects I've yet to sketch, most are open star clusters. 
I'm not a fan of open clusters. However, that is beginning to change.

Friday, August 17, I took advantage of a break in the monsoon to pack up the 
10-inch Starfinder Newtonian and make the 30-minute drive to Anderson Mesa. 
NGC 7380 was among the subjects that night. This 7.2 magnitude open cluster 
is tucked away in the southeast corner of Cepheus. A pair of 6th magnitude 
stars, PPM 41032 and 41102, share the same low power field.

I noticed the image of NGC 7380 in Vicker's "CCD Atlas: North" shows the 
cluster enveloped within nebulosity, so I decided to outfit my eyepiece with 
an OIII filter and see what materialized. Sure enough, the emission nebula 
Sh2-142 was revealed.

Sh2-142 appeared irregular in shape at 63X in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newt, 
covering a 30'x20' area. It was elongated roughly NW to SE with the brightest 
portion centered within NGC 7380. Of the fifty stars recorded in my sketch, 
some 10-12 are likely members of the open cluster.

This pair is really a fine site and the experience actually has me looking 
forward to observing and sketching the remainder of the H400 OCs.

Regards,

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net


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