October 6, 2024

Early Fall Herschels

October 5, 2024. Cherry Springs. 20" F/4. T 4/5, S 4/5. SQM 21.1, diffuse aurora. Early fall Herschels.

NGC 7209, OC, Lac. Fills the field of 13 mm but is well detached from the surrounding background. Uniform bright stars, no concentration.

NGC 7243, OC, Lac. This cluster is only moderately well detached. Very large; stretches across the field of 13 mm. Moderate range of star magnitudes. Appears to consist of two unequal parts, with a void in the middle. Overall irregularly extended.

NGC 7296, OC, Lac. 13 mm. This is a questionable star group in a busy field. Lucida on one side, a chain of 5 stars leading to it. Brighter star near.

NGC 6939, OC, Cep. 13 mm. This is the OC near the galaxy NGC 6946. Uniformly faint stars. No concentration. Overall triangular, one side marked by bright stars.

NGC 7160, OC, Cep. 13 mm. Small group of bright stars. Double lucida in the middle, arc of faint stars around it, bright small arc near.

NGC 7142, OC, Cep. 13 mm. Irregular group of faint stars, large, no concentration. The backbone is greatly extended and resembles a Milky Way patch. On one side of it is a double lucida, on the other a long arc of faint stars around a void.

NGC 7380, OC+EN, Cep. 13 mm. Triangular cluster of moderately bright stars with no concentration. Well detached. Bright star at the vertex that is facing the bright double outside the cluster. A fainter double near. All of the cluster appears to be highlighted by nebulosity, and it is especially bright in patches along the edge opposite the bright star.

NGC 7510, OC, Cep. 13 mm. Extended bright cluster, irregular, no concentration. Lucida on one end, the other end is marked by a triangular arrangement of bright stars.

NGC 7448, GX, Peg. 8 mm. Overall slightly elongated; small nucleus. A rapidly tapering arm points at a small group of faint stars that is nearby.

NGC 7217, GX, Peg. 8 mm. Bright round core. Faint halo has a distinct edge on the W side. Faint star embedded N of the core.

NGC 185, GX, Cas. 8 mm: Faint, round, gradually brighter to the middle, edges diffuse. Bright star group N, fainter star WNW, threshold star embedded on NE side. 5.5 mm: Most of the nebulosity is erased, but the formerly threshold star now appears steady and the core looks double, with the more compact and brighter part to the ENE. [This was the first time I had been able to see this detail.]

NGC 278, GX, Cas. 5.5 mm. Small core, well-detached grainy halo. Short arm points W from the NE side.

NGC 7789, OC, Cas. 13 mm. Large, well detached, no concentration. Faint and bright stars. The cluster is better defined on one side, where it has a rounded boundary and a semicircular void just inside it. On the opposite side, the cluster seems to be embedded in the Milky Way.

NGC 7790, OC, Cas. 13 mm. This is a loop of bright stars with a clump of fainter stars attached to it. Overall reminiscent of a lasso.