Auriga – Palomar 2

[AKB]

During last night's virtual observing session(1-Dec-2021) for the local astro club (Abingdon) I was challenged to get the Palomar 2 globular, which I did...

Below is a widefield shot from the usual Hyperstar/Ultrastar combination:

 

This was discovered in the National Geographic Society – Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-I) started in 1948 and finished in 1958, using the 48" Oschin Schmidt telescope.  The survey was repeated in the 1980's and 1990's (POSS-II) using better films and an upgraded telescope.  The results are available here:

https://archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form?target=palomar+2&resolver=SIMBAD

I was keen to see how my 10-minute integration with a 9.25" Schmidt (actually stopped down to 8.6") would compare.  Here it is, as a negative, with a similar field of view to the red plate  images available from POSS-I and POSS-II, which follow (inverted, flipped, and grey-levels adjusted.)

How technology has moved on! (I'm also not at the top of a mountain.)

Tony

PS: Interesting to note that there are a couple of stars to the right of the cluster which appear in POSS-I and not POSS-II or mine.  Not sure what these might be?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by AKB

[Mike JW]

Here is Pal 2 in the Globular Feast post 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/354766-a-globular-feast/page/2/#comment-4162083

Mike

[Martin Meredith]

Interesting about the extra stars. Too much to hope they captured a nova? Maybe a variable star flare up or an asteroid? Odd though that there are 2 of them, so perhaps some kind of artefact.

Martin

[AKB]

6 minutes ago, Martin Meredith said:

perhaps some kind of artefact.

That was my thinking, but it seems odd on a plate which is a sky survey.  There's actually another one or two on the very left-hand edge halfway down.

This image shows it too, although it's unclear to me what the provenance is (obviously POSS-I somehow, but not via the site that I used.)

https://www.astronomy-mall.com/Adventures.In.Deep.Space/palpix.htm#pal2