[sac-forum] Call for Observations
- From: "AJ Crayon" <acrayon@xxxxxxx>
- To: "SAC Forum" <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "AZ Observing" <AZ-Observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:29:28 -0700
For those considering a Friday and or Saturday night observing session here is
the current list for March and April. I'll need your observations in to me by
Friday, February 27th because I'll not be available afterwards and this needs
to be completed by then so it can be sent to our great editor. Thanks for your
observations and cooperation.
Call for Observations
Time for another visit to Orion as there's lots to choose from. This month's
selection will include multiple objects in the same field of view, which is
something with which I have organization troubles. Yet the following should
give us some fun time observing. Start in the northern reaches of Orion with
Cr 65, a large, sparse open cluster with a wide magnitude range and includes
several stars in Taurus. Just to the south are some dark nebulae, three to be
exact. The first B 30, is about one degree; second B 31 extends about 0.5°
to the northeast and is the darker part of the triad; finally B 225 is the
south end of an extension running south from B 30. With their irregular shape
you should have fun unraveling this set. Continuing with multiple objects in
the same field of view are NGC1973, NGC1975 and NGC1977 and have the moniker
Running Man Nebula. Keep in mind NGC1973 and NGC1975 are north of the
elongated NGC1977 and NGC1973 is west of NGC1975. Keep in mind there are quite
a number of stars involved in these nebulae. Moving to a more southerly place
is NGC2022, a planetary nebula. Although it is small and faint, can you detect
any annular form? Finally there's NGC2024 also called Tank Track Nebula or
Flame Nebula. It is bright but the glow of its source stars, zeta Orionis,
needs to be masked to see the delicate detail. These last two entries are on
both the SAC 110 Best NGC and 400 Herschel observing lists.
Let's take a second trip to the Twins, Gemini, for April. We will have a nice
variety of deep sky types for our viewing pleasure. The first is IC 444, a
bright nebula with a mag 9.5 star involved. Next is the cluster NGC2304, which
is pretty large. How many stars do you see and what Trumpler classification
would you give? This is followed up with NGC2355, another cluster, which is
about twice as large as the prior cluster. How do these two compare?
Continuing with the open cluster theme is NGC2395 and is even larger and
brighter than the prior two. Do you agree? Next is the planetary nebula PK
205+14.1 also known as Abell 21 or the Medusa Nebula. It is large and has a
low surface brightness. Try using a UHC. Finally is the open cluster NGC2420
that is pretty rich, meaning how many stars do you see? Note all of the open
clusters are entries on the Herschel 400 list. Yes, some of these selections
will be a challenge and will be worth the effort. Enjoy your observations.
AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ
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