Wednesday 14 March 2018

#118: Auriga Part 1--The NGC Objects

 
I recently completed all of the NGC and IC objects in Auriga with my 12" Orion Dob.  The project began  in early December, 2016, and concluded in early March 2018.

oc 1664:  18'; Vis. mag. 7.6; 101 *s; Br. * mag. 10:  This cluster is appealing and easy to identify.  It was located at 60x, and also viewed well at 100x and 136x.  Many stars appear similar in magnitude.  About 50 stars appear in a sting-ray shape, with a tail of stars behind.  It also reminded me of a kite with a tail string attached. A bright star appears at the south end.  Worth a look!
https://in-the-sky.org/data/object.php?id=NGC1664

oc 1724:  1':  This is not exactly a showpiece.  The asterism consists of 3 stars in a tight triangle, when viewed at 60x, 100x, and 136x.  One of those NGC non-objects!
DSO Browser
  oc 1778:  8'; Vis. mag. 7.7; 112 *s; Br. * mag. 10.1:  At 60x I noted many bright stars in a rectangular shape.  136x resolves about 50 stars, including a lovely close, bright double (with two fainter stars also close by).  The star is H. 3265, lying just north of the cluster's centre.  The cluster's 20 brightest stars make this worth a journey for all apertures.
DSO Browser

oc 1790:  15'; 8 *s:  It was spotted at 60x, but seen best at 136x.  There are 20 stars in the area, with 8 of them being brighter.  They precede a bright star and continue to extend west.  Not really much to see, and likely an asterism. 
 DSO Browser

oc 1798:  5'; Vis. mag. 10; 50 stars, Br. * mag. 13:  Firstly, a few comments on the published stats.  The cluster is much fainter then Mag. 10.  The brightest star is mag. 15, not 13.  The 13 mag. star is there, but it is obviously not a cluster member.  This is a very challenging group to locate, and even harder to resolve.  At 100x I noted a very, very faint, round haze (mag. 14?).  At 136x I saw a few stars of mag. 15 and fainter.  250x resolves about 15 stars.  This group likely requires an 18" scope to fully appreciate.
 DSO Browser

oc 1857:  10'; Vis. mag. 7; 40 *s;  Br. * mag. 11:  A mag. 7 star sits near the centre of the cluster, but the other members are pretty faint.  This bright star is a deep, rich yellow in colour.  The fainter members are dimmed by the glare of the bright star, but even so 60x easily identified it as the cluster.  100x shows many tiny and faint stars.  136x resolves the group more fully, with lines of stars intersecting.  At least 40 stars can be counted at 187x.  This is a decent cluster with a 12" scope.
 DSO Browser

oc 1883:  5'; Vis. mag. 12.5; 30 *s; Br. * 14:  Located at 60s, the cluster was small, faint, and hazy.  There is a bright star on the south end.  At 100x there is some resolution.  A line of stars is noted on the north end, with the bright star located immediately south.  The cluster is moderately rich at 187x and 200x.  At 250x about 25 stars are seen, all of them faint.  The cluster is a challenge, but worth it with a 12" scope!
 DSO Browser

oc 1893:  25'; Vis. mag. 7.5; 270 *s; Br. * mag. 9.3:  I managed to get about halfway through my exploration of this fine cluster when dampness finally shut me down for the night.  I observed mostly at 60x and 100x, where I noticed two wings of bright stars.  These areas were pretty dense with bright stars, with a wide area between them with very few stars.  The north wing seems richer and brighter than the south wing.  At 136x the area between is now much richer in stars, filling up with faint ones.  The north wing has nice doubles and triples.
 DSO Browser

oc 1896:  20'; 25 *s; Br. * mag. 8.5:  Located at 60x, the status of this as an actual cluster is in doubt.  It appears as a group of bright stars nestled amongst 4 brighter stars, but open on one end.  At 136x I saw 16 stars in the compact central area.  One segment has an arrowhead shape to it. 
 DSO Browser

oc 1907:  5'; Vis. mag. 8.2; 113 *s; Br. * mag. 11:  At 60x the cluster is small but resolving.  It was viewed successfully up to 250x.  It looked to me like a tent, with slanted lines of stars forming the basic shape, and most of the stars grouped within this A-frame.  It is an easy hop from here to M 38, so it is worth a look, especially with a larger aperture (8" or higher).  It is fun to cruise back and forth, this being a good example of a distant cluster (1907) and a much nearer one (M 38).
DSO Browser


oc 1912--Messier 38:  15'; Vis. mag. 6.4; 160 *s; Br. * mag. 8:  This is a showpiece cluster in virtually all apertures.  It is awfully bright in a 12" mirror.  I observed it at 60x, 83x, and 100x, where it appears as an explosion of bright stars, well over 100 altogether.  100x begins to show many fainter ones.  At 136x starless areas are noted.  The cluster is very large, but it has several of these dark areas.At this range the brightest stars appear quite scattered.  The centre is more or less oval, and pretty dark, with only a few faint stars showing.  It also seems to have an H-shape to it, with an extra line of stars crossing between the legs.
https://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc19.htm#1912
M 38


gn/oc 1931:  gn = 4' x 4' (emission):  oc = 6'; Vis. mag. 10.1; 20 *s:  This is an easy hop from M 36, just preceding it.  This is a strange little object.  Though it is a nebula amongst a small, tight open cluster, it looks like unresolved star haze at first.  The cluster is tightly packed, resembling a close multiple star.  In fact, H 367 lies amidst the haze and has 5 members, mag. 11, 12, 12.8, 14, and 15.  This agrees with what I saw, with the nebula spread amongst them, being especially bright near the 3 main stars.  I expected a richer cluster.  the overall effect is of a bright, fuzzy object with a few stars embedded.

oc 1960--Messier 36:  10'; Vis. mag. 6; 60 *s; Br. * mag. 9.  Though I have observed M 36 in Space Eye, my 2" refractor, and have also seen it in Deb's 6" reflector, this marks my first official observation with the 12" scope.  I never did see it in the Tasco 4.5" reflector, or my old Edmund 8" reflector.  In a 12" mirror, the cluster is large, filled with bright stars, and has a spidery appearance.  Numerous lines of bright stars pass through the dense centre and beyond.  There is a rectangular extension to the north, and a more jumbled one preceding.  At 83x and 100x, many fainter stars appear, resolving behind the brighter ones.  This tends to provide a 3-D effect for the viewer.  At 136x well over 100 stars are seen.  There is a very rich central area surrounding a bright double star (Struve 737:  8.5-9/11"), which soon becomes a triple.  It then shows another fainter member, further out.  This is a showpiece cluster, worth much observing time.  With over 30 bright star members, M 36 is a fun object for virtually all small apertures.  For larger ones, it is an amazing sight!

gn 1985:  0'.7; Vis. mag. 13:  It took some hunting to confirm the sighting of this possible reflection nebula.  It was located at 136x, and confirmed at 187x.  It was very small, pretty faint, and either oval or rectangular.  The centre was stellar, or perhaps a mag. 13 or 14 star.  Though it can be seen well at 200x, it is small and faint.

oc 2013:  8 *s; Br. * mag. 11:  There are two small but bright groups north preceding a white star of mag. 8.5.  The first group has 4 stars, 2 being bright.  The 2nd group, further out, is somewhat roundish, with 5 stars.  There is dark sky between the two groups.

oc 2099--Messier 37:  15'; Vis. mag. 5.6; 1842 *s; Br. * mag. 11:  The cluster resolves at 60x, and is highly attractive at 83x.  First impressions are the similarities between it and oc 7789 in Cassiopeia. M 37 is perhaps a bit brighter.  M 37 consists of a dense and very rich central area, surrounded by more widely scattered groupings, especially preceding.  100x and 136x show hundreds of stars, mostly in the dense middle area.  Many stars appear to be similar in magnitude.  With 187x on the central area, the cluster is stunning!  There appears to be the outline of a shamrock in the very centre, along with many dark areas.  This is a rich cluster, one of the finest in the heavens, and not to be missed! 

oc 2126:  6'; Vis. mag. 10.2; 40 *s; Br. * mag. 13:  Not too bad in a 12" mirror, even from a suburban back yard.  Located at 60x south preceding a very bright and intrusive white star.  A sprinkling of very faint stars was noted.  At 100x and 136x the cluster is moderately rich, though pretty scattered.  187x resolves a dozen stars despite the white star in the field.  I had a chance to view this from a dark sky a few nights later, and can recommend it with a 12".  About 20 stars can be easily seen.

oc 2165:  6'; 15 *s; Br. * mag. 10:  Viewed at 60x, 100x, and 136x.  There were 17 stars, about half of them being pretty bright.  They were pretty scattered.  This may not be a true cluster.

oc 2192:  5'; Vis. mag. 10.9; 45 *s; Br. * mag. 14:  This is one of my favourite type of clusters in a 12" scope!  I first viewed it at 83x, where a group to the south made the cluster seem pretty large.  It was already resolving.  Nice views were had at 136x, where the cluster appears faint but moderately rich.  It lies just south of a mag. 7.5 star.  Good views were had at 187x, and it is still resolving at 250x.  About 25 faint stars can be counted with some difficulty, making this a nice group to observe at higher powers.  There is a very small, very dense group preceding the main central area, just on the boundary edge.

eg 2208:  1'.7 x 1':  Vis. 12.8; SB 13.2:  It was spotted at 100x!  Every constellation must have at least one NGC galaxy!  This one is fairly bright in a 12" scope at 136x.  At 200x a very bright center was noted.  Easy to find, so give it a try!  

pn 2242:  22"; Mag. 15; Cent. * mag. 17.6:  This is tricky to find properly, since at most powers it was stellar.  However, at 272x a bit of fuzz makes it seem like an unfocused star.  Disappointing.

oc 2281:  25'; Vis. mag. 5.4; 119 stars; Br. * mag. 8:  Located at 60x, it is big and bright, and found near 2 bright stars, a mag. 7 star north and a mag. 8 one north preceding.  I have nicknamed this the "Lasso Cluster," as it has an elongated oval pattern of stars that point towards the 7 mag. star.  The central area is denser and somewhat diamond shaped at 100x and 136x, where more than 40 stars can now be counted overall.  The south end is sparse.  Uranometria shows the 5 brightest stars, one of them double (within the diamond shape).  This is a rewarding cluster.

eg 2303:  1'.5 x 1'.5:  Vis. 12.6; SB 13.4:  This moderately bright galaxy was not a problem from my suburban back deck.  It was directly overhead, which helped.  It was near threshold, not large, and sat amidst a wide triangle of bright stars.


gn I. 405:  30' x 20'  (emission and reflection):  This is the famous Flaming Star Nebula, a wonderful sight in long exposures.  I viewed it at 60x with a Skyglow filter and without one.  This is a very poor object visually.  Very poor.  It is easier to "not" see the nebula, by finding where background stars appear to be missing. 

gn I. 410:  40' x 30' (emission):  I saw some definite wisps with the Skyglow filter and medium power (136x), mostly around the double star (Struve 687). 

gn I. 417:  13' x 10' (emission):  Observed at 100x, the field is strewn with a beautiful and bright field of stars (this oc St. 8--see my write up in Auriga Part 2).  Wispy, nebulous patches are interspersed, especially following a bright double star, and again north of it.  There is also a notable absence of stars in one area.

pn I. 2149:  34"; Vis. mag. 10.6; Cent. * mag. 11.5:  The object is very bright in a 12" scope, though it appears stellar at 60x.  At 100x it is bluish, and at 136x it appears like a bright but unfocused star.  At 187x and 250x it seems pretty large, with a very bright center, and then a smaller area of fainter haze surrounding that.  It also appears oval at higher power. 

eg I. 2175:  1'.6 x 0'.8:  Vis. 13.9; SB 14:  When you look this object up on most lists, including my Orion computer, you are told that the object consists of 2 stars in Gemini.  However, Skymap.org and Uranometria lists it as a galaxy, and in a different position (preceding the two stars).  Anyway, I saw it at 250x, just south preceding an annoying star of 8.6 mag.  The galaxy was faint and oval, and seen only with averted vision.  It sits just north of the border with Gemini.

This completes the NGC report on Auriga.  Clear skies!
Mapman Mike


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