A night with the Clusters in Cassiopeia

[SwiMatt]

Transparency wasn't great tonight (we come out of two days of high humidity and sun) but seeing was passable with 150x being about the limit of acceptable.

I started the night with a binocular view of the Kemble's cascade before cranking my neck to search for the open clusters in Cassiopeia. M52 proved very difficult for some reason, and I found NGC 7510 before I found M52 (new on my Messier list!).

After this long time of search, I tried to get Caroline's Cluster but while I was in the right part of the sky I could not find the object - which I know to be hard. I rapidly bagged NGC 129 and then the nice NGC 225 (the Sailing Boat - which looks like a boat with sails, surprise!): this might become a favorite of mine!

After these I went on to the more flashy stuff: NGC 457 (Owl Cluster) showed its characteristic eyes of different colors, yellow and pale blue. Then M103 launched me towards NGC 663 aka C10, and NGC 659 (which I honestly only saw a glimpse of - and only because it was in an easy star field). NGC 663 is surprising as it is so close to N103 and yet not in Messier's catalogue! Probably it wasn't nebulous enough...

I then dedicated some time to look at Eta Cassiopeiae (Achird, showing a main yellow star and a very faint secondary which to me seemed to show some pale pink). After this I split Gamma Andromedae (Almach, with a main yellow star and a secondary blue-ish and almost green). In Andromeda I further checked out M31 and M32. 

To close the evening, I just looked around Perseus a bit, taking in the beautiful starry views, then I had a binocular view of Stephenson 1 (the group of stars surrounding Delta Lyrae) and M39, before getting back at the eyepiece to check out Saturn.

[RobertI]

Great report. 👍

[NGC 1502]

Enjoyed your report on this lovely bit of sky. I too find  Caroline’s cluster difficult from my town sky. It really needs a better sky. Then it reveals its true beauty with a mass of faint stars that form a nebulous glow imbedded with the less dim members…..quite mesmerising if you catch it right!

Whilst you’re at M103 it’s a very short hop to strange open cluster Trumpler 1.  It’s a tiny line of stars, visible at low power but better at medium to high. Unmistakable when you spot it!

If ever I get a clear night I’ll check them out again……

[SwiMatt]

1 hour ago, NGC 1502 said:

Enjoyed your report on this lovely bit of sky. I too find  Caroline’s cluster difficult from my town sky. It really needs a better sky. Then it reveals its true beauty with a mass of faint stars that form a nebulous glow imbedded with the less dim members…..quite mesmerising if you catch it right!

Whilst you’re at M103 it’s a very short hop to strange open cluster Trumpler 1.  It’s a tiny line of stars, visible at low power but better at medium to high. Unmistakable when you spot it!

If ever I get a clear night I’ll check them out again……

Thanks for this insight! Even googling it I couldn't find much information about it, except that it is found in both Trumpler's catalogue (#1) and Collinder's (#15)... I will for sure track it down, especially considering that M103 is an object I keep going back to for its beauty and for how it changes when increasing magnification!

[bosun21]

Another 👍 for Trumpler 1.

[Alan White]

Your report made me smile, such a great patch of sky to ramble around.

I am a few miles from Ed @NGC 1502 and my sky is occasionally darker, but not often. I have not found Caroline’s cluster for want of trying. 
One for the try again list for if we ever get a clear sky again.

[RobertI]

I always think Caroline’s cluster (or rose or haystack depending on what you read) looks more like a globular cluster in small scopes - a real beauty though. 

[Nik271]

Caroline's Rose is not easy in a Mak because it is quite large and needs a wide view. 10x50 binoculars in dark skies show it well. A 4 inch F7 refractor or 6 inch F5 Newtonians start to resolve hundreds of its tiny stars, it is quite spectacular.

[SwiMatt]

31 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

Caroline's Rose is not easy in a Mak because it is quite large and needs a wide view. 10x50 binoculars in dark skies show it well. A 4 inch F7 refractor or 6 inch F5 Newtonians start to resolve hundreds of its tiny stars, it is quite spectacular.

I will try it with both Mak and binoculars when I get up to better skies in November or so! 

[Nik271]

To follow up on this: last night I was out with the Skymax 127 and tried Caroline's Rose. It is possible to see it well, but you need to know exactly where to look: between Sigma Cass and Rho Cass. The web says it is only 14' wide but I don't believe it to me it seems as large as the full Moon. I could see a spirals of faint stars in all directions.

I used my Hyperion 24mm EP for the widest possible view of about 1 degree. It looks like this, of course with fewer stars:

 

 By the way if you are in this area try Sigma Cass. It is a close unequal double which is a good test for the Mak at higher magnifications.

Clear skies!

[SwiMatt]

40 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

To follow up on this: last night I was out with the Skymax 127 and tried Caroline's Rose. It is possible to see it well, but you need to know exactly where to look: between Sigma Cass and Rho Cass. The web says it is only 14' wide but I don't believe it to me it seems as large as the full Moon. I could see a spirals of faint stars in all directions.

I used my Hyperion 24mm EP for the widest possible view of about 1 degree. It looks like this, of course with fewer stars:

 

 By the way if you are in this area try Sigma Cass. It is a close unequal double which is a good test for the Mak at higher magnifications.

Clear skies!

I might give it a try again tonight or tomorrow, we're expecting good weather (but the sky remains as polluted as always, alas). Thanks!