Return to the Cloudy Nights Telescope Reviews home page

Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums

Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu.... uh, User

Observing >> Deep Sky Observing

Pages: 1
starbux
sage


Reged: 02/08/06
Posts: 216
Loc: Silicon Valley, CA
Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clusters
      #2561906 - 08/05/08 02:00 PM

Are there any good sources, online or otherwise of data of the magnitudes of the brightest star(s) in both open and globular clusters?

Eicher's "Deep-Sky Observing With Small Telescopes" has a small but useful table of info for open clusters though the table for globulars lacks the "bright star magnitude" that the open cluster table has.

Burnham's Celestial Handbook often lists the star magnitude for many globulars but the figures seem too dim for what I'm seeing and may reflect the average rather than brightest stars in the cluster.

Are there any other sources for both kinds of clusters where I can get the info? The brightest-star-magnitude listing is extremely relevant in determining how much if any resolution will be seen, and I'm surprised there aren't more sources on this.

Messier 45.com doesn't appear to have the info.


Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
astrokido
sage


Reged: 06/09/08
Posts: 265
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clus new [Re: starbux]
      #2562491 - 08/05/08 07:11 PM

Your best bet may be to search for stars within an RA,DEC range on SIMBAD or similar extensive online database. Try some of the queries here: http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/

There are sources but they are often results of specialized astronomy projects too complicated for the rest of us. The Tycho star catalogs will have the entries you're looking for but they're very big, with some 3 million stars for the Tycho-2.

--------------------
- Gill C. - All opinions subject to a speed limit of 299,792,458 m/s unless noted otherwise.
Nikon D40 Bushnell 10x25 Zhumell 20x80 Celestron Cometron CO-100 binochair CN gallery
skyatlas.rgbstore.com - free charts & more cool stuff


Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
sgottlieb
sage


Reged: 07/22/07
Posts: 240
Loc: SF Bay area
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clus new [Re: starbux]
      #2562624 - 08/05/08 08:05 PM

Take a look at the home page of WEBDA or go directly to the INDEX for open clusters.

Once you drill down to the RA range and the specific cluster you're interested in, choose the link for "Available Data" under "WEBDA Content". You'll probably find all the info you're looking for, including positions and UBV photometry for the cluster's stars. You can also query this information from a chart of the cluster which is also available from the main page for the cluster.

--------------------
Steve Gottlieb
18" f/4.3 Starmaster
Adventures In Deep Space - New article on MASH planetaries
7500+ NGC/IC Visual Descriptions
NGC/IC Project


Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
BillFerris
Carpal Tunnel
*****

Reged: 07/17/04
Posts: 2582
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clusters new [Re: starbux]
      #2562666 - 08/05/08 08:27 PM

Here's a list for globulars that includes data on the brightest members of the clusters (Vtip) and the typical brightness of cluster members (VHB): The Globular Cluster Database

Bill in Flag

--------------------
Grand Canyon Adventure
Lowering the Threshold

18" Obsession
4.5" Meade 4500
10x50 Swift Audubon

Cosmic Voyage




Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
GlennLeDrew
professor emeritus


Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 608
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clus new [Re: BillFerris]
      #2562763 - 08/05/08 09:13 PM

I've seen open cluster data which listed the visual magnitude of the *fifth* brightest member. I assume this was done so as to indicate at what limit your instrument should reach in order to get at least some resolution into stars. I believe this was done by some compiler decades ago (Shapley, perhaps?), and is no longer continued.

--------------------
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.


Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
sgottlieb
sage


Reged: 07/22/07
Posts: 240
Loc: SF Bay area
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clus new [Re: GlennLeDrew]
      #2562946 - 08/05/08 10:40 PM

Quote:

I've seen open cluster data which listed the visual magnitude of the *fifth* brightest member. I assume this was done so as to indicate at what limit your instrument should reach in order to get at least some resolution into stars. I believe this was done by some compiler decades ago (Shapley, perhaps?), and is no longer continued.




George Abell listed galaxy cluster magnitudes using the 10th brightest cluster member, though I don't recall seeing this for clusters. Makes sense, though, particularly for globulars.

--------------------
Steve Gottlieb
18" f/4.3 Starmaster
Adventures In Deep Space - New article on MASH planetaries
7500+ NGC/IC Visual Descriptions
NGC/IC Project


Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
*****

Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 10954
Loc: Los Angeles
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clus new [Re: sgottlieb]
      #2563080 - 08/06/08 12:00 AM

Excellent source, and great reference:
http://www.willbell.com/HANDBOOK/starclusters/index.htm
also:
http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/
and:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/
and:
http://www.willbell.com/atlas/atlas2.htm

--------------------
Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie


Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
starbux
sage


Reged: 02/08/06
Posts: 216
Loc: Silicon Valley, CA
Re: Listings for brightest star magnitudes in clus new [Re: Starman1]
      #2571146 - 08/09/08 10:02 PM

Thanks for everyone's replies. I have had the Archenal and Hynes book on my Amazon wish list a long time (waiting to no avail for a cheaper used copy) but I see it can be less to simply order directly from Willmann-Bell (free shipping) than through Amazon. I currently have Mark Allison's "Star Clusters and How to Observe Them" and am looking forward to getting a better received book.

Post Extras: Print Post   Remind Me!   Notify Moderator  
Pages: 1


Extra information
6 registered and 8 anonymous users are browsing this forum.

Moderator:  matt, Olivier Biot 

Print Thread

Forum Permissions
      You cannot start new topics
      You cannot reply to topics
      HTML is disabled
      UBBCode is enabled


Thread views: 228

Jump to

Home



Cloudy Nights Sponsor: Astronomics