2012 09 21 – NGC 457/H 7. 42
2012 09 21, 0547 UT NGC457/H 7.42 – Owl Cluster
Erika Rix – Texas, USA
16” Zhumell reflector f/4.5 on a non-tracking Dobsonian mount, Baader Planetarium Hyperion 8-24mm Mark III (observation at 75-225x magnification – sketch at 75x)
73F, 57% H, 6 mph winds SSE, clear, Pickering 6, T 4/6
Alt 54deg 40´, Az 28deg 2´
Open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia, 01h 19.1m, +58deg 20´, Tr Type II 3 r., m13´, m6.4v, dist. 9.3 kly, 150 stars of magnitudes 12-15, aka: Cr 12, Mel 7, OCL 321, Lund 43, h 97, GC 256, Caldwell 13, and “Kachina Doll Cluster
The pair of open clusters, NGC 457 and NGC 436 barely fit into the FOV using the 13mm Ethos. Swapping eyepieces to the Hyperion, NGC 457 fit snuggly at 75x magnification. It had a very obvious bird shape and wasn’t difficult to see how it was dubbed the Owl Cluster. Phi Cassiopiea was stunning and the sketch did a very poor job reflecting its glow.
Eyepiece sketch on white photocopy paper with black felt tipped pen for brightest stars, #2 pencil for medium-magnitude stars, and a 0.5mm mechanical pencil for the faintest stars, blending stump for the nebulosity. Template is from the Astronomical League.
PCW Memorial Observatory - Erika Rix 