NGC 457 - Owl Cluster (2021)
- Constellation: Cassiopeia
- Right Ascension: 01h 19m 32.6s
- Declination: +58° 17′ 27″
- Distance: 7,900
NGC 457 is an open cluster located in Cassiopeia, often called the Owl cluster, or a more recently the E.T. cluster with the two brightest stars forming eyes. I tend to see it more as an Owl. The cluster contains some 150 members and has an estimated age of around 21 million years. Less than idea weather for imaging, with a thin cirrus clouds, but a good bright target for commissioning the RC 10 scope and the ZWO 2600 mono camera.
- Details
- Category: Open Clusters
- Telescope: GSO RC10
- Camera: ZWO 2600 MM
NGC 157
- Constellation: Cetus
- Right Ascension: 00h 34m 46.751s
- Declination: −08° 23′ 47.36″
- Distance: 76 million
NGC 157 is a spiral galaxy with somewhat distorted arms located in the constellation of Cetus. Discovered by William Herschel in 1783. Many other distant galaxies are visible in this area notated by PGC numbers.
- Details
- Category: Galaxies
- Telescope: Explore Scientific 127 Refractor
- Camera: ZWO 2600 MM
Messier 2 (2021)
- Constellation: Aquarius
- Right Ascension: 21h 33m 27.02s
- Declination: –00° 49′ 23.7″
- Distance: 37,500 - 55,000 ly
Messier 2 is a globular cluster located in Aquarius. Containing around 150,000 stars. it is also one of the older and largest of the Milky Way globular clusters. Esimated age is 13 billion years and spans 175 light years in diameter.
Was using it as a test object for my new to me camera.
- Details
- Category: Globular Clusters
- Telescope: Explore Scientific 127 Refractor
- Camera: ZWO 2600 MM
NGC 2261 Hubble's Variable Nebula (2021)
- Constellation: Monoceros
- Right Ascension: 6h 39m 10s
- Declination: +8° 45′
- Distance: 2,500 ly
So named because of its changing light and dark patterns on the nebula is though to be caused by dust clouds near the illuminating source by the star R Monocerotis casting shadows on the nebula. The star itself a T Tauri variable, is encased dense clouds of dust.
The patterns are know to change over weeks and months. Discovered by William Herschel and studied by Edin Hubble.
- Details
- Category: Nebulas
- Telescope: Explore Scientific 127 Refractor
- Camera: ZWO 1600 MM
NGC 1491
- Constellation: Perseus
- Right Ascension: 04h 03m 15.9s
- Declination: +51° 18′ 54″
- Distance: 11,700 ly
Emission nebula NGC 1491, sometimes called the Fossil Footprint Nebula located in Perseus. Located about 10,700 light years away. Illuminated by a 11.2 magnitude star actually blowing a bubble in the nebula from its intense stellar "wind".
- Details
- Category: Nebulas
- Telescope: Explore Scientific 127 Refractor
- Camera: ZWO 1600 MM
Messier 42 The Orion Nebula (2021)
- Constellation: Orion
- Right Ascension: 05h 35m 17.3s
- Declination: −05° 23′ 28″
- Distance: 1,300 ly
Messier 42, The Orion Nebula is one of the most iconic deep sky objects and one of the brightest nebula, it can be seen as a fuzzy star in the sword of Orion figure. Illuminated by a central cluster of stars, the four primary ones are referred to as the Trapezium, for their shape of a trapezoid. As a stellar nursery it is in the process of forming new stars as pockets of the nebula collapse under gravity.
- Details
- Category: Nebulas
- Telescope: EDT 80mm Reftactor
- Camera: ZWO A071 Color
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