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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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Cepheus offers some interesting binocular sights. One of them is the pair of rather faint objects called NGC 6939 – 6946. The former is a 1.6 billion old galactic cluster; the latter is a distant galaxy, seen face-on. Look for a pair of hazy patches at 2° SW of Eta Cephei. Both objects are only 2/3° apart in a SE-NW direction. At first sight they appear identical to me. The northern one, NGC 6939 looks a tad brighter, but it’s still a close call. Both objects show an amorphous glow, with small stars embedded in their diffuse halo. It’s hard to tell which one is the galaxy, and which one is the cluster. My 15x70’s don’t show much distinction. NGC 6946 has the most amorphous appearance. NGC 6939 appears to display a V-shaped brightening, with the tip pointing westward. The loose open cluster’s distance is 4100 l-y. In spite of the fact that both objects shine with an even brightness, NGC 6946 is 4.500 times further away: 18 million l-y!
Site : Le Castellard Melan, France ( 44° N )
Date : September 28, 2008
Time : around 22.00UT
Binoculars : TS Marine 15x70
FOV: 4.4°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 2/5
Transp. : 4/5
Sky brightness : 21.33 magnitudes per square arc second near zenith (SQM reading).
Nelm: 6.5
Sketch Orientation: N up, W right.
Digital sketch made with Corel Paint Shop Pro X2, 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 (10/15/08 05:55 PM)
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 4084
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
Very impressive sketch of these two deep sky targets. You have proven time and time again much can be seen with small aperture and a good sky. Well done Rony, it is always a pleasure to see what you have captured.   
Frank 
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my gallery
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GlennLeDrew
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 1250
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Excellent rendition! Very much like what I see in moderate size binos, too. In the best skies, this duo is visible in a bino as small as 7x35. It's not until the aperture and magnification are large enough to begin to resolve the cluster that their appearance becomes more dissimilar.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Home-made Mk II RA bino, using interchangeable objectives and eyepieces
My Gallery
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4132
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
A very interesting odd couple in Cepheus. It is difficult, as you point out, to determine which of the pair is the cluster or galaxy. Thank you for pointing out this interesting pair for us all.
Carlos
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cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 2357
Loc: San Diego, CA
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Excellent observation Rony! You've captured the wedge-like aspect of 6939 and the trademark triangle of stars south of 6946. Very nice!
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Eric
6" f/6 Parks Newtonian
10x50 Bushnell Binocs
CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral 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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Frank, Glenn, Carlos, Eric,
Thank you for the kind replies. 
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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jdavalos
member
Reged: 08/24/04
Posts: 69
Loc: Guadalajara, Méx 20.30N\103.20...
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Hi Rony!
Excelent work... as ever!. Are you thinking to do something special for the 2009 astronomy´s year? I think it would be good a serie about Jupiter and moon like Galileo did it 400 years ago.
Greetings, Jorge.
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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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Jorge,
Thank you!
A tribute to Galileo, that sounds like an excellent idea!
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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WadeVC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/02/05
Posts: 2831
Loc: Lodi, California,
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Rony,
Once again you have blessed us with a most wonderful rendition of the night sky through binos. I really like the way you captured these subtle yet interesting galaxies in Cephus.
Nicely done indeed!
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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
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 3063
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Thank you, Wade!!
I hope you get the chance to observe this cluster/galaxy combo with your scope. They should reveil their true nature with your aperture.
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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