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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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My first encounter with NGC 6940 was one of pure coincidence. I was sweeping with the binoculars along the rich Milky Way star clouds of Cygnus without any preparation. While trying to find the location of the Cirrus nebula, I stumbled upon an oval brightening in the sky, as large as the full moon. It was an enchanting, yet mysterious object. I did not know of such an object in the constellation Cygnus. This marvellous object turned out to be NGC 6940, an open cluster which belongs to the constellation Vulpecula. The easiest way to locate NGC 6940 is to start from … Cygnus, indeed. First locate Epsilon Cygni. Then move south to 52 Cygni, and a little west to 41 Cygni. Now move south until 41 Cygni borders the northern edge of the field of view. And voilà, there is NGC 6940. My 8x56 binoculars show a conspicuous, elliptical haze bordered with a handful of foreground stars. The lucida of this cluster is a mag 9 red giant. Therefore my binoculars don’t resolve many stars from the glowing haze. The cluster’s distance is about 2700 light years and its age is a respectable 800 million years. NGC 6940 is a very rewarding open cluster, and should be included in every tour of the summer constellations!
Site : Bütgenbach, Belgium
Date : June 28, 2008
Time : around 23.30UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 2,5/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : around 5.9
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 Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Edited by rodelaet (07/06/08 06:50 PM)
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3007
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
This is most impressive. I looked through my notes and I have never looked at this cluster. Thank you, I am going to have a look before the summer ends. You did a great job capturing the faint star glow in your sketch.    
Frank 
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3082
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
An interesting open cluster in Vulpecula. The cluster appears as a faint glow in your observation as it does in the sky. I will have to observe it soon myself. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Links;
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/vul/vul.html
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/maps/vul/vul1.gif
http://www.astrosurf.com/jwisn/ngc6940.htm
http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jmi/images/ngc6940.jpg
Carlos
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Frank & Carlos,
Thank you!!
Carlos, I do enjoy the links you provided.
Hey guys, I hope to have triggered your curiosity, to see this cluster with your own eyes. I look forward to your observations. 
Edited by rodelaet (07/07/08 04:32 PM)
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cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 2115
Loc: San Diego, CA
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Nice work on each of these recent binocular sketches, Rony!
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Eric
6" f/6 Parks Newtonian
10x50 Bushnell Binocs
CN Sketch Gallery
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GlennLeDrew
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 577
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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This is the one that Patrick Moore should have included in his Caldwell list, not the paltry NGC6885. And as usual, a very nice drawing, Rony!
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Eric and Glenn,
I'm very pleased with your kind comments on my impression.
Quote:
This is the one that Patrick Moore should have included in his Caldwell list, not the paltry NGC6885.
Glenn, you're absolutely right.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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ayiomamitis
super member
Reged: 02/10/07
Posts: 185
Loc: Athens, Greece
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Rony,
As luck would have it, I managed to capture this impressive cluster just last night. Here is the result: http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-6940.htm ... if you click on the image itself you will be able to see a much better version of the result.
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Clear skies,
Anthony Ayiomamitis
Athens, Greece
http://www.perseus.gr
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WadeVC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/02/05
Posts: 2781
Loc: Lodi, California,
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BRAVO!!
BRAVO!!
As always, you have decided to share with us one magnificent sketch!
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Orion XTi10 f/4.7
Orion XTi8 f/5.9
Meade NGC 70mm f/10
Orion UltraView 10x50 Wide-Angle Binoculars
My Sketch Gallery
My Astronomy Blog
A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top.
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Anthony,
Congratulations with your image. It shows in great detail the many stars that produce the soft glow in a small pair of bino's.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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