Category: Star Clusters

Open Cluster with a Surprise

Messier 46
Messier 46 and NGC 2438
Sketch and Details by Oscar Ll. (Almach)

Object Type: Open Cluster – Planetary Nebula

Location: Barcelona – Spain

M46 is one of my favorites open cluster. But is necessary dark skies without light pollution in order to enjoy with its view.

This open cluster practically fills the eyepiece field with 50x. We can see a large number of stars not too bright, between 9th and 14th magnitude… and the surprise: the planetary nebula NGC2438. To see the planetary I had to use an OIII filter.

For more details of my observation you can visit my blog:

http://laorilladelcosmos.blogspot.com/2010/01/m46-cumulo-abierto-con-sorpresa-en.html

M46 – Open Cluster / NGC 2438 Planetary Nebula

Date and Time: 2010-01-15, 23h 24m UT

Telescope: SC Celestron Nexstar 5i (5″)

Eyepiece: 25mm (50x)

White paper, HB2 graphite pencil, and scanned and inverted with Photoshop

Seeing: 4/5 (5 the best)

Transparency: Clear. Moderate light pollution.

Location Constellation: Puppis

Position: R.A. 07 h 42 min

Dec. -14° 49′

Thank you and best regards.

Oscar

The Diamond Cluster

NGC 2516
NGC 2516
Sketch and Details by Orestis

The Open Cluster: NGC 2516

As soon as i laid my eyes on this beautifull cluster i knew that i must sketch it and so i did.
Observation and sketch was made at my home in Australia.

It was a beautifull clear sky but there was a near full moon so i decided to try and sketch something bright and the first object which came to mind was ngc 2516 which i could still see naked eye despite the near full moon.

I observed for a while and then started sketching ,i had never sketched a open cluster before and i didn’t know it was going to be so fun.I counted about 80 or so stars in the fov and noticed that the distibution of the stars was quite irregular were they seemed to loop out from the red central star.There was also a bright yellow star to the far east.

Sketch info:I used a 130mm reflector and a 20mm plossoll as my observing tools.I used a #2 mechanical pecil to plot the stars on 110 gsm white paper and then digitized it using gimp.All in all the sketch took about an hour to complete at the eyepiece.

To me ngc 2516 is like a blossoming flower waiting to be gazed upon,it truelly is an amazing open cluster.

Big Star’s Carpet

NGC 5139
NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri)
Sketch and Details by Laurent Ferrero

Object Name : NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri)
Object Type : globular cluster
Location : Corral del Niño, Tenerife, Canaries islands
Date : april 2009

Magnificient globular cluster which covers a large scale in the eyepiece at 68x. The cluster looks like at big star’s carpet with little dark holes and no central condensation. The global shape of the object is clearly oval. The observation was made with my Intes 6″.

Best regards,

Laurent

Messier 46 and NGC 2438

Messier 46
Messier 46 and NGC 2438
Sketch and Details by Paul Byrne

This was rendered with a fine point pen for the stars, the nebula was sketched with charcoal and blending stump.

I observed the cluster through a 305mm Orion Newtonian and 13mm Nagler. The date was 9th January 2010 at 01.12 UT, it was very cold with a sharp northerly wind, the temperature was well below freezing.

The nebula was not visible until an O-III filter was inserted and it popped into view.

Thanks for your time.

Paul

47 Tucanae

NGC 104/47 Tucanae
NGC 104 / 47 Tucanae
Sketch and Details by Scott Mellish

NGC 104/ 47 Tucanae
Globular Cluster
Ilford NSW Australia
17/10/09
56cm f5 Dobsonian Telescope
Field: 17′
Magnification: 354x
Sky Quality Meter reading: 21:78

White pen
Soft white pencil
Hard white pencil
White pastel chalk

I have made numerous attempts at sketching this remarkable globular cluster over the years, mostly in small telescopes at low power where it is just a bright ball. At higher magnification in my 56cm dob it is a vastly different object.

I had a dose of the Flu while I was away observing, but the sky was clear so I spent a solid two hours at the eyepiece sketching this globular, and it nearly done my head in. Every time I looked in the 8mm Ethos there seemed to be more and more stars to add, plus the 100deg FOV of this eyepiece was almost to much to handle.

The following night was clear again so I spent another 40mins just dabbling with the sketch to try and get as accurate eyepiece view as possible.

I have never been 100% satisfied with the sketches I have done previously of NGC 104 and most made the bin. This one however came out fairly good, it is certainly the best I could do with 47 Tuc.

I do not like to overdo eyepiece sketches, especially with size and brightness as one can be tempted to get a bit carried away, and detract from the visual perspective.

There has been no processing done with the sketch.

I do not think I will be doing NGC 104 again any time soon.
Too many stars!

Scott Mellish.

Caroline’s Discovery

NGC 659
NGC 659
Sketch and Details by Paul Mettam

CH 20 NGC 659
OPEN CLUSTER
CASSIOPEIA

12″ NEWTONIAN F5
X165
FIELD OF VIEW: 13′

12 / 12 / 2009
LONG EATON, DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND.

GRAPHITE PENCIL, WHITE PAPER, INVERTED.

NOTES:

With Cassiopeia high overhead in the evening at this time of year it is a good time to view its many deep sky objects. This cluster, which is about 6′ of arc in diameter, was discovered by Caroline Herschel on September 27th 1783 and is number 20 on her list. Four magnitude 10 stars form a rectangle on the east side and about 30 magnitude 10 to 13 stars form chains to the west of this. A close double star lies near the centre. It is difficult to decide where the outer edge of the cluster lies as it is in a rich area.

This cluster is about 9200 light years away in the Perseus Spiral Arm and is around 35 million years old. It has been found to contain several fast spinning, giant, Be type variable stars.

Mists of the Charioteer

M37
Messier 37
Sketch and details by Peter Mayhew

Object Name: M37
Object Type: Open cluster
Location: York, UK
Date: 6th December 2009

When I first started staring at the night sky with binoculars a couple of years ago, I used to gaze for hours at the open clusters M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga; they seemed like patches of mist drifting across the rich stellar backdrop. Now I own a telescope, two of these, M36 and M38, resolve easily into visible stars, but at low power M37 retains its ethereal misty quality. With direct vision only a few stars can be seen, but they seem surrounded by faint mist. Moving around the scene, myriads of fainter stars in the catch sensitive spots in my retina and flicker in and out of existence, much like they seem to with the brighter globular clusters. Because of its delicate flickering quality, it’s by far my favourite of the three through a telescope. Several dark lanes cut through the mist, enhancing the seasonal character of the scene.

I use a Skywatcher Skyliner 150mm f8 Dobsonian, and viewed this through a 25mm eyepiece between 19.30 and 20.30 UT. I drew using graphite pencil on white paper, digitally scanned the image and reversed the colours using editing software.

Busy as a Beehive

Busy as a Beehive

M44 (NGC 2632), the Beehive Cluster in Cancer
Sketch and Details by Math Heijen

Hello,

M44, also known as Praesepe, is a large and bright open cluster that is very easy to locate. Tonight I can see it as a faint smudge of light just using my naked eyes. Praesepe (also know as the Manger) is clearly visible as a round, or using averted vision, a more oval glow between two 4th magnitude stars, delta and gamma Cancri. In the 4-inch refractor at the lowest possible magnification this large open cluster is very well detached from the background, a wonderful view. This low magnification of 28x is achieved with the 35mm Panoptic, and is also used for making the sketch. M44 is a huge cluster, more than 1 degree, and in the 4-inch refractor with a field of view of 2.2 degrees I count more than a hundred stars. This makes it a rich cluster. The range of brightness of the stars is huge. The brightest stars are of magnitude 6, the faintest of magnitude 12. I see no glow of unresolved background stars or nebulosity.

There are many double stars and other geometric forms, like triangles and semi-circles, visible. South of the centre of Praesepe I see 4 bright white stars in an asterism that reminds me of the Keystone asterism in Hercules. Only this keystone hangs upside down. A lot of stars are arranged in chains, and there are definitely empty spaces visible, especially a wide strip running from southwest of the centre to the north. But also to the east and northeast of the centre I can see two large empty spaces. There are two colored stars visible. To the north of the centre of M44 I see a yellow star and to the east of the centre I see a star with a yellow-orange glow. I cannot detect any other stars that show color.

I have seen this cluster through my big binoculars many times, but the view through the 4-inch refractor is the best until now.

For the complete observing report and some background information on M44 (Praesepe, Beehive) follow this link.

Best regards,

Math Heijen

Radiant Heart of Perseus

Radiant Heart of Perseus

M34 (NGC 1039), a bright galactic cluster in Perseus
Sketch and Details by Tamas Bognar

The data of the drawing:
M34

Telescope: 7×50 binocular
Date: 17.11.2009

Observing Location: Zakany – Hungary, 46° 15′ N 16° 57’E elev.: 129m
This digital drawing preparated GIMP 2.6 programs.

Thank you for it!

Clear Sky !

Tamas Bognar