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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Binocular Icon 21 : The Coathanger.
One of the highlights of a summer binocular tour of the heavens is Collinder 399. It is a loose group of stars, which is visible to the naked eye. The first written observations of this cluster go back to AD 946, when the Persian astronomer Al Sufi described Cr 399 as a little cloud. Cr 399 can be found between Cygnus and Aquila, a mere 5° west of Sagitta. From my backyard, I can detect a trio of stars in a little fuzzy spot. With a pair of binoculars, the cluster shows a real coathanger! Point the bino’s at Albireo and draw a line to Anser (Alpha Vulpeculae). Continue in the same direction until Answer nears the northern border of the field of view. Cr 399 should appear at the southern edge of the field stop of the binoculars. The Coathanger is an amazing sight, even under light polluted skies. The cluster consists of 10 bright stars. Six of them form the 1.4° long bar of the hanger, in a perfect east to west orientation. Cr 399 is believed to be a chance alignment and not a true cluster.
Site : Bekkevoort, Belgium
Date : June 10, 2008
Time : around 00.30UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 2,5/5
Transp. : 3.5/5
Nelm : around 5.3
Sketch Orientation : N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with Photo Paint, based on a raw pencil sketch.
(Note: if the sketch does look too dark on your monitor, try to darken the room.)
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
Edited by rodelaet (06/24/08 03:22 PM)
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 4276
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Rony,
Well done! The Coathanger is a favorite at star parties at my school. 
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Thank you, Michael!
I guess the kids at school find it a cool asterism, cause they can recognise it.
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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jmcdonald
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/01/05
Posts: 1516
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Again, I was viewing this just the other night - this time from fairly pristine skies in the mountains near Tucson. That's another great sketch.
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Jerel
Discovery 12.5" modified truss DOB
Garret 15x70 LW Binoculars
22-T4,13-T6
IDA Membership
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 4082
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
Very nice job. I like your directions for finding it and like Michael said this is a favorite at star parties. 
Frank
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my gallery
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Jerel and Frank,
Thank you both for the kind comments.
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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Demelza
super member
Reged: 05/07/06
Posts: 184
Loc: The Netherlands
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Wow! I really love this sketch, Rony! Well done!
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Take a look at my website: Observing the night sky.
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rodelaet
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Demelza, thank you for the kind words.
I hope you've been observing these days, as the weather is very kind to us at this very moment.
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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