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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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One of the largest clusters within the constellation Cassiopeia is often passed over by most observers. This fine binocular cluster is neglected by many observer handbooks also. I found not one single description of it in any of the books that I own. So, what object am I talking about?
It is Collinder 463, a mag 5.7 open cluster with an apparent size of 40’. Maybe it’s hard to find? No, it isn’t. Just look for a small trapezoid asterism formed by 50, 48, 42 and 40Cas. The asterism can be found with the naked eye between Epsilon Cas and Polaris. Cr 463 can be seen in the middle of the little trapezium. Dark skies should allow a naked eye observation of this object. The cluster is almost 2000 l-y away and resides at the edge of the Orion arm of our home galaxy. The age of the cluster is estimated between 150 and 300 million years.
A pair of binoculars will easily show the four trapezoid stars in a single field of view. From my light polluted backyard, my 15x70’s show Cr 463 as a large collection of faint and very faint stars. With averted vision, Cr 463 looks like a crescent shape. The view from a dark site must be very rewarding.
I wonder if anyone over here has ever observed CR 463??
Site : Bekkevoort, Belgium ( 51° N )
Date : October 22, 2008
Time : around 20.00UT
Binoculars : TS Marine 15x70
FOV: 4.4°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 3/5
Transp. : 3/5
Sky brightness : 19.66 magnitudes per square arc second near zenith (SQM reading).
Nelm: 5.35
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 (12/02/08 09:34 AM)
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 4084
Loc: Illinois
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Rony,
Beautiful sketch and equally impresssive write up. I really like the way it glows.  
Frank 
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my gallery
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cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 2357
Loc: San Diego, CA
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I have observed this one in my scope - too spread out to be impressive even at 30x. Apparently it fares a little better in binoculars. Thanks, Rony!
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Eric
6" f/6 Parks Newtonian
10x50 Bushnell Binocs
CN Sketch Gallery||MinDat Mineral Gallery
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GlennLeDrew
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 1269
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Even before I'd finished reading your first sentence, Rony, I *knew* you were talking about Cr463. I 'discovered' this cluster (before I knew of its existence) using my 2.3x40 Owl Eyes back in '94, from our club's observatory. It struck me as an awfully bright object (I did assume it was a cluster) to have not appeared in any of my observing guides. So when I got home I checked my Sky Atlas 2000, and yep, it was plotted there.
By the way, it was not long after this that I began actively searching for previously undiscovered clusters using my 10x50s, and I actually found several candidates. Most of them are included in Archinal and Hynes' book, Star Clusters.
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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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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 2233
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Wonderful cluster. It is just amazing to me that at every magnitude of observing, unique things can be observed. Great sketch. Roland
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Roland
Sketches in members galleries: rolandlinda3
Inspirational stories/sketches at:
www.christworksministries.org
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4138
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
A fine buried treasure in Cassiopeia. This is an interesting open cluster that is often ignored as you point out. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Links;
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/maps/cas/cas1.gif
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/images/cas/cr463.jpg
Carlos
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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 all for the kind replies!
Eric and Glenn, thank you for sharing your observations with me. 
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Rony
My Astronomical Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
Callibrate your Monitor with this little strip.
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