Constellation of the Month: October
Cassiopeia (The Queen and Wife of Cepheus)

by: John Mirtle.
Page last updated: May 3, 2004

Contents
Small Scope Objects    Big Scope Objects    Challenge Objects    Maps    Photos

Small Scope Objects:

Name R.A. Decl. Details
  NGC 457! 01hr 19.1m +58° 20' The "Owl Cluster" - A bright open cluster of 80 stars, mag 6.4. The stars trace out the shape of an owl 13 arc minutes across, the 2 brightest stars mark the "eyes". (110NGC) Look for NGC 436 - a small mag 8.8 cluster of 30 stars 32 arc minutes NW.
  M52
(NGC 7654)		 23hr 24.2m +61° 35' A bright, open cluster of 100 stars, 13 arc minutes in size. Stars are easily resolved at mag 8.4 and fainter.
  M103
(NGC 581)		 01hr 33.2m +60° 42' A smaller open cluster of 25 stars 6 arc minutes across, shining at mag. 7.4. Stars are mag 10.6 and fainter. Appears triangular shaped.
  Trumpler 1 01hr 36m +61° 17' A small open cluster of 20 stars not far from M103. Mag 8.1 covering 5 arc minutes of sky, stars are mag 9.6 and fainter.
  NGC 7789!! 23hr 57.0m +56° 44' A very rich open cluster of 300 stars, visible in binoculars. 16 arc minutes across, mag 6.7, stars are mag 10.7 and fainter. (110NGC)
  NGC 129 00hr 30m +60° 14' Another rich open cluster of 35 stars, mag 6.5. 21 arc minutes across, stars are mag 8.6 and fainter.
  NGC 663! 01hr 46.0m +61° 15' A mag 7.1 open cluster of 80 stars, 16 arc minutes across. (110NGC) Look for clusters NGC 654 and NGC 659 nearby.
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Big Scope Objects:

Name R.A. Decl. Details
  NGC 281!! 00hr 52.8m +56° 37' The "Pacman Nebula" - a bright emission nebula, 28 x 21 arc minutes. Use low power and a nebula filter. (110NGC)
  NGC 147 00hr 33m +48° 30' A companion dwarf elliptical galaxy to M31. Mag 9.3, 12.9 x 8.1 arc minutes in size. No visible detail in amateur telescopes.
  NGC 185! 00hr 39.0m +48° 20' Another dwarf elliptical companion to M31. Slightly brighter at mag 9.2, 11.5 x 9.8 arc minutes. (110NGC)
  IC 289! 03hr 10.3m +61° 19' A small, faint planetary nebula, 34 arc seconds in diameter, mag 12.3p, central star is mag 15.9. (110NGC)
  NGC 7635! 23hr 20.7m +61° 12' The "Bubble Nebula" - located near M52, covers 15 x 8 arc minutes of sky. A difficult nebula, requires good skies and a nebula filter. (110NGC)
  NGC 278 00hr 52m +47° 33' A compact elliptical galaxy, 2.2 x 2.1 arc minutes, mag 10.9.
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Challenge Objects:

Name R.A. Decl. Details
  IC 59 and
IC 63		 00hr 57m +61° 04' A pair of faint reflection nebula near g Cass. g makes them difficult to observe - use medium power from a dark site and use clean optics! 10 x 5 and 10 x 3 arc min.
  IC 1805 and
IC 1848		 02hr 43m +60° 50' A pair of large, sprawling emission nebula. 96 x 80 and 100 x 53 arc minutes in size. Try using a nebula filter with binoculars or finder scope from a DARK site.
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Constellation Maps:

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Lines No Lines Reverse Reverse No Lines No Map

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Photos:


Photo 1
South is at top to match the view in an inverting telescope.
Photo credit: John Mirtle.
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