[sac-forum] Heads Up for Observing
- From: "AJ Crayon" <acrayon@xxxxxxx>
- To: "SAC Forum" <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:24:22 -0700
Just in case you need more on your observing list try these objects from Call
for Observations on for size.
Cepheus stars for a box with a triangle on top and in Greek mythology are named
after Cepheus King of Aethiopia. We visit this constellation after a hiatus of
many years. We’ll start with NGC2276 and its companion NGC2300, both about
11th magnitude and about 4° east of Polaris. First NGC2276, which is a late
barred spiral with a ring. It is pretty large and has a little brighter
middle. Our next one is 6’ to the southeast is the elliptical galaxy NGC2300.
It to is pretty large, a little elongated and has a brighter middle. Moving
well to the other side of the constellation we continue with open clusters.
First here is NGC7235, aka NGC7234, and is listed as small, poor and a little
compressed. Naturally both are circumpolar. Next is NGC7261 and is listed as
large, pretty rich and a little compressed. Does this agree with Trumpler’s
description of III 1 p? Now on to the large, pretty rich circumpolar open
cluster NGC7261. Again Trumpler’s description is III 1 p, and do you agree or
not? Keeping in the same general area of the constellation is another
circumpolar cluster NGC7380. It is pretty large, pretty rich and involved in
some nebulosity but you will more likely than not need a UHC or OIII filter to
pull it in. This cluster is on the Herschel 400 list, part of the Cepheus OB1
association. Finally Trumpler’s description is III 3 p n. Going to the
northeast is King 19 and NGC7510, within 20’ of each other. Yet they are easy
to distinguish. First check out NGC7510, another cluster on the Herschel 400
list. It is fan shaped and has some pretty bright stars. Trumpler gives it an
II 2 m n. Look for the region of faint nebulosity to the southeast. After
this is should be easy to locate King 19, with a Trumpler code of II 2 m. Its
brightest star is listed as 12th mag. Good luck with this one.
For October the constellation for us is Pisces particular the southern part.
You will need your galaxy observing eyes for this as that’s all in here for us,
save one asterism for variety. And we start with the asterism called the
Circlet of Pisces, which is about 5deg and is large for an eyepiece field of
view. So try your finder or binoculars. What about stellar color? It is
listed as 3rd magnitude, can you detect if naked eye? It is located at R.A. 23
11.0 Dec +03 40. The first galaxy is NGC7541 a barred galaxy with magnitude of
11.7. How much detail can you detect? What about the 14th mag galaxy 3’ to
the southwest? Moving east of 0h find NGC467. It is almost 12th mag and
small. What other interesting items do you see in a 30’ field? Turns out two
of them are out next objects. About 10.5’ northeast is NGC470 a spiral galaxy
with a ring and a gradually brighter middle. The third in the same field is
NGC474 and should be slightly brighter and larger. Is it? Why or why not?
Comparing the size descriptions of these 3 galaxies has the first two as large
and the latter as small, yet the size field indicates just the opposite. The
reader is left to their own decisions about this fact. Next is a Herschel 400
object NGC524, a bright and large Sa galaxy. Continuing to the east is NGC676,
another spiral galaxy. It is listed as very faint but has a magnitude of 10.5.
Getting towards the end of this month’s selection is NGC718 another barred
spiral that is supposed to have smooth arms. What about irregular features and
brighter middle? Finally we come to NGC741, an elliptical galaxy considered
faint and small. There’s NGC742 involved, at mag 14.3 and is out of reach of
many telescopes. That’s all for now, get out observer, take notes and send
them in for inclusion into this column.
We have a peculiar situation with Pegasus. An attempt was made back in 2009
but never made it to print despite having observations sent in. So here is
what will happen. Following is a list of objects for the 2009 never before
published objects. What I want is for everyone to go out observe and send your
observations. I will combine the new ones with the 2009 ones in a big article.
Sounds good to me. Wouldn’t you agree?
Here are the objects for Pegasus the Winged Flying Horse. This constellation
is composed of mostly galaxies and a number of nice objects still on SAC
observing lists. Have already done M15 and Stephan’s Quintet so let’s look at
what’s left. We’ll start with on of the last entries in the NGC and that is
NGC7839 listed as a double star. The question, not answered in the NGC, is
magnitudes, separations and position angles. The hope here is that more than
just Richard Harshaw will give us an answer. The description is very faint,
resolved. The next entry is the first entry in the NGC, NGC 1. It is a small
galaxy with a little elongation and is between an 11th mag and 14th mag star.
Moving on, to the western part of the constellation is NGC7084 an open cluster
of about 20’ that doesn’t have a very clear description so please supply one.
Next is an asterism named Stephan’s Test, is located at RA 22 37.0 Dec +34 08
and reported as a jagged line. How many stars do you count and what is the
magnitude range? It is 17’ northeast of Stephan's Quintet and was used by
Stephan to test transparency. The last two entries are galaxies, the first
being NGC7331 is barred, bright, large and elongated. What other detail is
there for you? What about the middle, mottling and dark lanes? This galaxy is
on the 110 Best NGC and Herschel 400 lists so there is something there for you.
Last is NGC7479 another barred spiral that shouldn’t be as large or as bright
as the prior galaxy. Yet can you see the central bar? This one is also on the
Herschel 400 list.
Yes there are 3 sets of observations for you to decide on. All for your
enjoyment.
AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ
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