| ← Early Winter |
Herschel II Project - Late Winter
06h–09h NGC 2139–2639 A photo journey of my observing adventures with EAA/CAO (electronically assisted astronomy / camera assisted observing) Observed for the Astronomical League's Herschel II Observing Program
Marie Lott, Atlanta, GA
Updated 09/23/22 01:58 AM -0000 |
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| Size: | 2.6' x 1.9' | Mag: | 12 | Type: | Galaxy Sc |
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| Observations: A pretty face-on sprial with two main arms in a widening swirl extending E-W. The western (right) arm makes an almost 90 degree hook due south. The core is bright with a slight bulge. Two dainty lines of small stars dribble to the galaxy's North and South, the southern trail of 5 stars in a noticeable, mostly evenly spaced, straight line.I like this one! Zoom in on the larger image to take a closer look. | ||
| Size: | 4.7' x 4.4.' | Mag: | ~ | Type: | Bright Nebula |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: Lovely nebulosity around several of the bright stars in this field. (Image would benefit greatly by a longer expoure next time!). The nebula surrounding the very bright star in the center of the field is our target. The bluish haze is extensive, but the structure and extent of the nebulosity are washed out by the center brilliance due to the enclosed mag 10 star. Bright mag 9.65 star HD42004 in the NE shows some nice nebulosity as does SAO 132868, mag 9.21, unlabeled in the astrometry image but directly to the south of HD42002. The nebulosity of the latter stands out as it is concentrated in two streaks. Reddish nebulosity can be detected in bewteen SAO 132868 and our target NGC 2170. | ||
| Size: | 3.0' x 2' | Mag: | ~ | Type: | Bright Nebula |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: Most noticeable here is the asymmetrical haze of this nebula. The star it surrounds is a double star - a mag 9 star is the primary with a slightly dimmer (mag 10) star 44" away to the NE. This could well explain the uneven glow which is more prominent to the WSW (about 5 o'clock). Some fragmentation of the cloud is seen in the WNW (about 2 o'clock). A modest void pool lies in the west (right) side of the field.Some nice strings of smaller stars decorate the field as well. | ||
| Size: | 5.0' | Mag: | 10.9 | Type: | Ocl |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: This cluster is crowded with many small stars. Two loops extend east & west, reminding me of M6, the Butterfly Cluster (but without the two bright wing tip stars and ¼ of the size). Maybe we can call this one the Tiny Moth Cluster.Bright mag 7.7 star HD 42903, a red giant, lies due north. | ||
| Size: | 2.8' x 2.1' | Mag: | 11.2 | Type: | Gx E |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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Observations:This bright oval elliptical galaxy is encircled by a diffuse but uniform haze. This is especially evident in the larger imaage. Several dainty streamers
of small stars trail off to the E, SE, and S. The top streamer of fainter stars is fun because it changes course
as it goes from E to W (left to right) and marches up and over the galaxy before splitting into two on the opposite side.
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| Size: | 6.0' | Mag: | 8.5 | Type: | OCl |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations:A distinctive wedge of stars anchors the SE corner of this cluster. From this corner a squashed circle of stars delineates the center of this cluster. From the west side (3 o'clock), two thickend arcs of stars form "eyebrows" curving north (upwards) and south (downwards). A prominent pair of stars, one yellow/orange and the other blue-white lie to the NE. A bright orange-red star (class M) holds court in the WSW of the field. | ||
| Size: | 2.0' x 2.0' | Mag: | ~ | Type: | Bright Nebula |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: Lovely fan-shaped nebula spreading southward from a sharp point at the north end. A little waft of "smoke" shoots due east from the tip. Shades of blue haze flow over a nice triangle of stars just below center.Three diffuse tendrils extend further to the south. Quite pretty. Bright mag 8 star HD 46265, lies immediately to the east (left). The round blue-white reflection nebula NGC 2247 can be seen further NE in the field. | ||
| Size: | 20' | Mag: | 7.7 | Type: | Ocl |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: Most striking here is the long straggle of about 30 stars running N-S, with a thick curve at the top and a splayed-out wedge at the bottom. Two mirrored arcs of 4-6 stars eac lie to the east of the N-S structure. Taken as a whole, it reminds me of disappearing sky writing. If one adds the rounded hump of stars further to the east, the whole arrangement looks like a primitive sketch of a horse. Cave painting anyone? | ||
| Size: | 4.0' | Mag: | 9.1 | Type: | OCl |
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Images: Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: This irregular cluster of 40+ stars looks like a squashed stick man with outstretched arms and a bright belly, where the brightest stars form a belt and a shiny side. Three much brighter stars stand out on the west (right) side of the field. A triangle of medium bright stars encloses two smaller stars and floats in a lagoon of blackness to the cluster's SW (lower right). | ||
| Size: | 4.5' | Mag: | 10.8 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: About 25 stars lie in a dusty clump with the brightest of the stars encircling a pool of the dimmer ones. Another 10-12 very faint stars are at its base, and a hook of 6stars strings out from the circlet to the NE. A brilliant mag 6.4 star, HD 47156, shines brightly in the right side of the field; it has a yellow glow to it but technically it is orange-red, spectral class K0. Lots of splotchy voids in the field.An especially nice void snakes westward from the top of the cluster towards HD 47156 | ||
| Size: | 2.0'x1.0' | Mag: | ~ | Type: | Bright Nebula |
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| Observations: This is cool! NGC 2361 is an emission and reflection nebula surrounding variable star R Mon. At this time it apears quite bright. The left (east) side of the northern edge has a vivid blue tint, and to the outside, a long tendril is seen extending upwards. Shades of pink flicker on the right (west) side ot this edge. There is a small gap in between the blue and pink streamers along that edge. The nebula narrows quickly to a distinct, bright point at the southern edge.The wedge shape of the nebula is not perfectly symmetrical but has a slight bit of a curve to it, swooshing slightly to the left (east) side. This nebula ould be easily mistaken for a comet except for the fact that it stays in one spot! . | ||
| Size: | 4.0' | Mag: | 10 | Type: | OCl |
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Images:20s exposures, live stacked for ~5 minutes Observatory: Scope/Camera: Seeing: |
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| Observations: A dozen or more small stars gather tightly together in a bowed formation pointing westward (right). The brighter of these stars are grouped in the southern arm of this crescent. Squint your eyes and consider the two brighter interior stars as "eyes" and the three below those as a "mouth". Do you see a face in a storm trooper or Darth Vader helmet like I do? | ||
| Size: | 1.2' x 1.0' | Mag: | 13.1 | Type: | E Gx |
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| Observations: Two bright galaxies are easily spotted in the center of this field. The lower and brighter one is our target, an elliptical galaxy with a very luminous round core. It is surrounded on all sides by a fine haze, which spreads out wider to the south & west. Above this galaxy to the north is NGC 2275, an intriguing sprial with a prominent distinctively hooked upper arm. To the west (right) is a small and sweet spiral, UGC 3537. At mag 15, it is quite faint, but some nice structure and color can be teased out of the cloud. Two mag 8 stars are at the top of this busy field, with a couple mag 10 and mag 12/13 stars scattered about. I enjoyed observing this field! | ||
| Size: | 3.6'x 2.7' | Mag: | 12.9 | Type: | Sc Gx |
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| Observations: Foreground stars partially obscure the structure of this delicate spiral galaxy, but a top "left hook" and a bottom "right hook" are still discernable. There's a pink color to this galaxy that make it look nebulous. A longer exposure and possibly the use of a narrow band filter should yield more detail. I will try that next time. A yellow-orange giant, HD 48923, shines brightly at mag 6.9 in the SW. | ||
| Size: | 2.5' | Mag: | 8.9 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: This is a loose open cluster with a knot of 8 brighter stars grouped tightly to the SE of mag 6.6 V743 (an eruptive variable). Other than this grouping, there's not much else to draw one's attention to this cluster. A rather empty space, not quite a void, is seen in the top right (NE) of the field. A few other pools of low star density are also present in this area. | ||
| Size: | 3.0' | Mag: | 120.5 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: An elongated cluster, with 25-30 stars forming a relatively wide swath running NW-SE . A horizontal line of 15 or so stars straggles across it from left to right (E-W). This is another busy field unevenly awash with stars, most mag 12-15 or dimmer. | ||
| Size: | 2.0' | Mag: | ~ | Type: | Bright Nebula |
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| Observations: Uneven orangish clouds can be seen surrounding this bright nebula. A void obscures the haze to the NE, wrapping stealthily around the top edge. A bright mag 8.6 star lies just behind the nebula, offset to the NE, giving an oblong appearance to the combo at low mag. | ||
| Size: | 18.0' | Mag: | 8.5 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: An irregular cluster with the most prominent aspect being ~25 stars arranged vertically in a looping, dipper-like string. A tight circlet of 8 stars is situated at the eastern corner of the base of this loose cluster. | ||
| Size: | 2.7' x 2.0' | Mag: | 12.5 | Type: | Sbc GX |
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| Observations: This small spiral is quite lovely - zoom in and see! Two long spiral arms can be seen extending soutward and another can be seen hooking around the northern side. It has a prominent bar and a bright stellar core. There is darkness between the core and the bright encircling cloud. This is definitely worth a re-visit with longer exposures and possibly a narrow band filter. | ||
| Size: | 52" | Mag: | 11.8 | Type: | PN |
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| Observations: A bright oval in a busy field, with blue fringing to the north and pink/grey fringing to the south and west. There's a little bleb protruding on the "waist" of the object on the west (right) side, possibly one on the east (left) side as well. Less exposure next time so as not to blow out the center? | ||
| Size: | 1.7' x 1.2' | Mag: | 13.2 | Type: | Sb Gx |
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| Observations: Thin spiral galaxy is oval in shape, so appears to be tilted away from us. A uniform diffuse haze surrounds it. Faint wisps of the haze extend even further to the north. A bright mag 7 star dominates the field above the galaxy. In general, the field stars are much less dense here than in Monoceros. A few nice strings of stars are seen, including a long N-S zigzag running vertically through the entire western (right) field. | ||
| Size: | 13.0' x 11.0' | Mag: | ~ | Type: | Nebula |
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| Observations: Wow! Gorgeous colors and drama abound here! The wind-swept clouds of this nebula look like they are forcefully being blown off from the central bubble. What a force there must be coming from the central star to be creating such a bow shock! The field is packed with hundreds of other, much less dramatic stars. | ||
| Size: | 8.2'x 3.3' | Mag: | 11.5 | Type: | IB Gx |
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| Observations: VERY faint initially, but with the magic of CMOS imaging, was able to increase the luminance of this narrow oval, barge-like dwarf galaxy to bring out the beautiful knots and distortions in the upper portion of its swirling cloud. A smaller galaxy, NGC 2363 is seen as a small cloudy island docked next to 2366, interacting with it on the SW (lower right) side. There is a super luminous blue-white patch in the southern part of our target galaxy which is an HII star-forming region called Mk71. This has two prominent bright star-like knots. A petite triangule of stars is superimposed just above Mk7 just to the right of center of this long galaxy. | ||
| Size: | 3.5' | Mag: | 7.9 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: This cluster stands out in the field due to its distinctive Y-shaped "slingshot" of 8 of the brighter stars A half-circle of 5 or 6 stars sits on top. A couple of bright stragglers sit off to the left side.Four bright HD stars stretch across the SW corner (bottom right) of the field. | ||
| Size: | 10' | Mag: | 8 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: This loose cluster contains three semi-circles of stars with about 10 tiny packed stars wedged in on the left side between two of the arcs . At low magnification these three circles can be imagined to be the eye sockets and mouth of a skull. The larger semi-circle on the right (the mouth) is comprised of 14-16 stars surrounding a round, rather empty area. A bright red star, HD 58100, shines above the cluster to the right in a very busy, rather disorganized, field. | ||
| Size: | 10' | Mag: | 7.4 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: Loose and irregular, this cluster does not stand out from the field. It is centered by a 4-star trapezoid with a mag 8 star just off of its lower right corner, glowing a distinctive orange/red. Notable are two streamers of stars coming down from left of center. The shorter string has about 8-10 stars while the longer has 15-16. An extremely bright eruptive variable blazes away at mag 5 at the top of the field. A red pulsating variable, FX Canis Majoris (mag 8.6-8.9 over a period of ~48 days), lies to the west (far right) of the cluster. Splotches of emptiness abound in the upper center, wrapping around the top of the cluster. So despite the cluster iteself not being much to write home about, there's a lot to look at here! | ||
| Size: | 4.0' | Mag: | 7.9 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: A short wobbly string of 6-7 similarly bright stars runs almost due E-W across he center of this cluster. The string is anchored in the center by a brighter mag 8 star with a yellowish tint. Trailing down and towards the west (right) from the brighter star is a tail of about 10 stars of diminishing brightness. A diagonal line of 5 rather bright (mag 10) and fairly evenly spaced stars marches confidently below this tail, running NE-SW. | ||
| Size: | 0.9' | Mag: | 12.8 | Type: | Sm Gx |
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| Observations: NGC 2415 is a non-discript small galaxy with an extremely bright stellar core and only a little bit of diffuse haze around it. The haze is most visible on the N, W, and S sides. On the west side the haze has a dark gap in it, most likely a section under the spiraling northern arm. The southern arm is thicker and appears smooshed towards the east (left) side. More detail could be seen if the core were not so bright. This galaxy could easily be misinterpreted as a star, since at low magnification it is virtually indistinguishable from the three brightest HD stars (mag 8.1 9.2, and 9.5) identified in the astrometry results of the field. | ||
| Size: | 7' | Mag: | 10.2 | Type: | OCl |
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| Observations: This is a tight dangle of stars, easily picked out from the background. A dozen or more stars dribble from N to S in a tight formation. Several bright stars are noted in a busy field. My eye is drawn most to the red supergiant HD 61730 due west (right) of the cluster. It shines brightly at mag 8 and is in spectral class K01b. | ||
| Size: | 15.0' | Mag: | 7.1 | Type: | OCl + Bright Nebula |
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| Observations: Finding this nebula surrounding the target open cluster was such a nice surprise! Bright nebula SH 2-311 is known as the "Skull and Crossbones" nebula, but in my short exposures I can just see the mustache and face of the pirate. The cluster stars are described as a line of sight cluster but the central grouping of 15-20 stars is easy to see and is anchored by bright white-yellow supergiant V402 Puppis (HD 64315), a variable double star. | ||
| Size: | 1.9' | Mag: | 13 | Type: | S0 Gx |
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| Observations: Round and bright with a stellar core, this galaxy has a diffuse surrounding halo that expands outward at the NE & SW ends (upper left & lower right). This gives an oval appearance to the galaxy at low magnification. This galaxy makes makes a nice equilateral triangle with a set of two stars to its upper right.The bright mag 7.6 star to its upper left can be added to the grouping to make a kite-shaped asterism. A small galaxy, PGC 22463, is located about halfway between 2493 and the bright star HD6542, and can be detected as a fuzzy orange spot when zoomed in on the larger image.Look for tiny NGC 2495 as well (labelled in the astrometry photo). A satellite zipped through the field at the last moment before capture. | ||
| Size: | 2.9' x 2.6' | Mag: | 12.2 | Type: | Scd GX |
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| Observations: What a sweet & complex face-on spiral! It has a thin arm sweeping out from the south side (bottom) towards the west (right). A tiara of tiny blue stars crosses across the top end. [Note: it turns out that the blue bits are actually patches of intense star-forming regions.] Two knots are visible in the upper left and right in the haze. A faint arm curves down from under the left knotted spot. A wide right triangle of three mag 9 & 10 stars runs south & west below the galaxy (the bottom right of the field). I'd like to visit this one again. | ||
| Size: | 2.9' x 1.9' | Mag: | 12.3 | Type: | Scd Gx |
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| Observations: A pretty barred spiral with widely spaced arms; gaps can be seen between the arms and the core. Two reddish mag 8 stars shine brightly in the N & SE. Lots of star chains in straight lines and arcs are scattered about in this busy field. | ||
| Size: | 6.3' x 3.1' | Mag: | 12.3 | Type: | SAB Gx |
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| Observations: This is an elongated diaphonous galaxy with a bright oval core. Not too much detail evident - it is a dim gauzy smear running NNW-SSE in the field under a double curve line of three relatively bright stars,with a secondary curve of three smaller stars. The diffuse haze of the galaxy spreads out wider at the bottom than the top. It looks like a standing ghost with its arms by its sides! | ||
| Size: | 38" | Mag: | 13.6 | Type: | PN |
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| Observations: What a pretty planetary! It sits as a lovely turquoise donut around a central star. It is not perfectly round.The brighter and broader part of the ring appears to have ruffled edges all along its right side. A thin bubble of nearly transparent blueness wafts out asymmetrically from main ring - more is visible to the top & bottom, with a bit on the right side. Several bright orange or yellow stars stand out in a busy field of smaller stars. The brightest of these (mag 6.6) is just to the upper left of the nebula; the others (mag 8/9) form a cradle underneath it to the lower right. | ||
| Size: | 1.8' x 1.0' | Mag: | 12.6 | Type: | Sa Gx |
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| Observations: This spiral galaxy has a very bright oval core with a diffuse fuzzy haze at the tips, but not much on the sides.Zooming in on it, there is a noticeable gradation of brightness between the core out toward the NW tip of the haze.The galaxy is tilted away from us and is posistioned diagonally NW/SE in the frame. The field is uncrowded, but a nice zigzag of 15 stars runs alongside the galaxy to its left. | ||