Kembles elusive cascade

[breezy]

Hi gang

Despite using advice in stargazing with binoculars I still can't find this with my bins.

I imagine a line from top two stars of cass and follow it to the left but just can't spot it .

Any ideas ?

[jonathan]

If your skies are moderately dark then you should be able to spot it quite easily by following the W down as you say, this was the advice given in the Moore Winter Marathon guide and it worked perfectly for me. I saw it in 8x42 bins, so definitely not a high magnification object. I can see the Milky Way from my usual viewing location, if you can see this too then your skies should be dark enough.

[ian_j_kirk]

i have found kemble's cascade in my 8 inch dob fairy easily. you are looking in the right direction, so keep at it. are you looking for different coloured stars, because even in my scope they all looked fairly similar? a couple of the redish ones stood out a bit. best advice i can give is to look for a straightish line of stars, as that isn't normally a naturally occurring shape, usually they are all randomly spaced in all directions. i struggle to see the milky way most nights from my garden and i still managed it, so keep on looking! hope this helps

ian

[wookie1965]

I found it quite easy using the Moore Marathon guide the two widest stars of the w and the same again and it was there if you can understand that. Imagine looking up and they look 4inchs apart move another 4inchs and kembles cascade is there hope this helps.

[scarp15]

I took a look at this using my 12" dob in quite dark skys recently. I intend to locate it again in my binoculars, though probably from the same dark location.

[scarp15]

I do not have the Moore Marathon Guide, so for locating it, I used my rather battered Phillips Deep Sky Chart, although Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas (Amazon) would serve this purpose better, although for this object you may need to turn page's a bit to reference position in relationship with Cassiopeia.

[Cloudycat]

I'm struggling with this too - I'm a bit light polluted and definately can't see the Milky Way from my yard.

[breezy]

Cheers chaps I shall persevere , I'm sure I'm roughly in the right spot

[JamesM]

You might find these instructions from backyard astronomy helpful in locating the Cascade. The easiest way to find it ultimately is to locate NGC 1502 on a good star map as this sits at one end of it. I think part of the confusion might be that many use Cassiopeia to help describe its location when in fact it sits within the the constellation of camelopardalis which is next door. This distinctive line of stars can be easily seen with binoculars and is something that can be viewed even if you do experience some light pollution. Certainly a great target to bag and makes for great viewing as it so high in the night sky. Happy hunting!

Clear skies

James

[Rockrae78]

I saw it for the first time the other night (in my bins), with a full moon and load of light pollution... Though not by using the instructions in the Moore Winter Marathon (which is the Cassiopeia route).

Instead, I used my Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas (specifically map 11). The brightest star in the cascade is visible to the naked eye (just), as are 3 stars in an arch sort of shape just above this bright star. Once I'd located the 3 'arch' stars, I found the cascade straightaway - despite spending night after night trying to search for it before! Use Cassiopeia (and Camelopardalis if you can see it!) to try and locate these 3 stars which will lead you right to it!

I must also stress, that I sat out in the dark (well as dark as it gets in my back garden) for about 30 mins to get my eyes fully adjusted. Only then did the stars I mentioned above become visible! Just keep looking up!

[breezy]

Cheers again chaps , didn't get chance to really look much at work tonight but got a few days off now so fingers crossed ill find it , I have the pocket sky atlas so ill inspect that page too

[cotterless45]

Easiest way is to just hold up your hand to the top of the W of Cassiopeia. Then finger one end and thumb other end, then move left with that span and that'll be where the cascade is, you'll find a few faint stars for reference. It is very long and best seen at low mag.

[bingevader]

I do not have the Moore Marathon Guide

It's all free on the BBC website.

There's a link somewhere else already.

But here it is again!

Cheers

[scarp15]

Thanks for the link.

[Marki]

Got this tonight from my back garden in 10x50 bins - the lack of moon certainly helped! Couldn't quite get the colours as per the lovely photos they showed on S@N, but still a lovely straight line and unmistakeable once I'd actually hit it.

[breezy]

yep at last i managed to get it, its a very nice sight and was worth the hunt

[wookie1965]

Great stuff well done.

[Rockrae78]

Got this tonight from my back garden in 10x50 bins - the lack of moon certainly helped! Couldn't quite get the colours as per the lovely photos they showed on S@N, but still a lovely straight line and unmistakeable once I'd actually hit it.

Yeah, i know what you mean... I didn't really get the different colours either, but the actual line is quite a sight to see!