Unplanned Pleasures (& Failures) In Cygnus

[cloudsweeper]

Cold and clear around 5pm, so out came the 10" Bresser Dob.  I started at Sadr, and followed patterns to Eta Cygni.  On the way, RS Cyg really stood out.  It's a carbon star, and the lovely orange/amber colour was outstanding.  Well worth a look, amidst a sea of silver specks.

P Cyg/34 Cyg is a luminous blue variable (LBV) which also stood out brightly in a sharp, rich field.  (Stellarium calls it the Revenant of the Swan, a supernova remnant, but there is no other reference to that title that I could find, and it is not a nova, although it erupted in the year 1600.)

Half a degree away lies IC 4996/Cr 418 (open cluster), the P Cyg Cluster (Stell.).  At x42 it showed as three close, faint stars, then four more close, fainter members appeared at x 91.

In that region, I hit the locations of C27 (Crescent Nebula) and the Tulip Nebula (same FOV as Eta Cyg), but no joy at various exit pupils and with filters.

In for a meal after 70 minutes of enjoyment, taking in simple and unplanned targets - a good time of year for stargazing, despite the cold.

Doug.

[cotterless45]

Still amazes me that in November we're still getting the best of the Summer Triangle. Try NGC 6811 in Cygnus , certainly lives up to "hole in the cluster", best under 

clear skies ! 

Nick.