[sac-forum] Call for Observations
- From: "AJ Crayon" <acrayon@xxxxxxx>
- To: "SAC Forum" <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2013 18:29:36 -0700
The timing for observations is a little off what with this past month and a
half, especially with Rick Rotramel picking up the news letter
responsibilities. We should all appreciate Rick taking on this responsibility
and know he will do an excellent job for us.
So to get us started for 2013 we will pickup with last month one more time.
That means you can give Andromeda another try this month. Then follow that
with Perseus.
Don't forget to include any drawing you may have of these objects and send them
to Rick.
Now for the article that is presented with no changes, except the absence of
the finder chart for Aveni-Hunter 1.
This New Year will re-start with Andromeda, which has only been done in 2004 -
December to be exact. That installation covered most of the showpieces of the
constellation, yet there is some interesting thing to check out, amongst them
is a couple of open clusters and asterisms in addition to one MCG entry. So,
without farther delay, let's get on with the list. I've read a few times about
a reference to the Andromeda Dipper that, actually, isn't a dipper at all. Yet
some times it creeps up in conversations, articles or the Internet. So to help
understand this here are the stars that make up this misnomer. It starts in
Adromeda with gamma, beta and alpha then continues in Pegasus with gamma, alpha
and beta. Don't ask me where this name began; hopefully this will help from
keeping it from spreading. Now moving on to objects of more interest we start
in the western part of the constellation with NGC7640, a nearly edge-on spiral
listed as faint and large. Also in the western reaches is UGC12623, a 12th mag
spiral. What kind of NGC Description would you use to describe this galaxy?
Next is the open cluster Aveni-Hunter 1 listed in the SAC database as 23h 37.8m
+48° 34'. But the documentation has no reference for this catalog. It
includes the variable star BM Andromeda. With your observation give a star
count and estimate the Trumpler description in addition to other features that
seem important to you. Next is an entry from the Morphological Catalog of
Galaxies and its number is MCG +08-01-016. You can find this 12th magnitude
entry at 23h 59.2' +46° 53'. The MCG notes indicate it is face-on and the
inner regions are completely black. Perhaps a larger scope will reveal this
feature. Moving on to the next is NGC160, an early type spiral galaxy. Be
careful as the field includes an 8th mag star that may make this a difficult
observation. Moving on towards the center part of the constellation is another
galaxy, NGC252. This galaxy has a nice double star that precedes it by about
4'. Now we get a small surprise, NGC272 an open cluster. It is listed as mag
8.5 but don't expect much. As in prior open clusters give star count, your
Trumpler description along with features that jump out at you. Going back to
galaxies is the bright and small NGC529. It precedes another galaxy of mag
13.2; can you see it in your telescope? Now towards the eastern part of the
constellation is an asterism titled the Golf Putter found at 01h 52.5m +37° 30'
and is 95'X25'. What end is the putter found? NGC982 is our last object for
this session. It is a faint, small galaxy that is supposed to be north
followed by 2 galaxies. Do you see them?
After reviewing a number of constellations that would be appropriate for this
time of year, only one really stands out. And that one is none other than
Perseus. Why, because of its plethora of star clusters and nebula. The
biggest problem is from which ones to choose. There are 2 entries in the
Herschel 400 list and we start with both of them. They are the star clusters
that compromise the Double Cluster and are NGC869 and NGC884. The unaided eye
can locate them by just looking midway between Perseus and Cassiopeia. What
does it look like to your eye? Between them they have 350 stars with a reddish
one between. Don't forget this one. Our second cluster is Basel 10 located at
RA 02h 19.5' Dec +58° 19'. It is very small and rather bright so a finder
chart might be helpful to locate its exact location. Next take a side trip to
the colorful multiple star Eta Persei. How many are included in this multiple
and what colors do your eyes see? Getting back to clusters for a moment is
NGC1193, another faint but perhaps large one at that. Now let's delve into two
planetary nebula. First is the stellar IC 351 and you will need a finder chart
despite having a 9th mag star to its east. Our second planetary is IC2003 -
fainter but larger than the preceding planetary. It is located between a 13th
and 12th mag star so a finder chart may also be of assistance. Our final
nebula is the California Nebula, NGC1499. No doubt a possible surprise but how
many of us have an observation of this one? How about trying with the naked
eye? Don't see it? Then what about a UHC or OIII nebula filter? It is easily
located 0.6 deg from Xi Persei. Now, one more cluster and that's end of this
installation. It is Berkley 11, located at RA 04h 20.5' Dec +44° 55'. What
are your magnitude estimates and stellar counts here?
AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ
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