· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article 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 You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Astrophotography and Sketching >> Sketching Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 rodelaet Post Laureate Reged: 04/28/06 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per.       #2904034 - 02/02/09 04:30 PM Attachment (56 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   There is this one particular field of view with such a immense beauty that it alone deserves to be the single reason to buy a common pair of binoculars. It is the wide field encompassing the double cluster, NGC 869 and NGC 884 in Perseus. But not in the way that you see it with a telescope. The low power view of a pair of binoculars will allow you to follow a chain of stars that emerges from the double cluster and crosses the border of Cassiopeia to reach the large and mighty open cluster, Stock 2, a few degrees N of the double cluster. Count to that the faint glow of NGC 957 and you have one of the most attractive views of the heavens. The double cluster is one of the largest and brightest open clusters of our galaxy. Compared to NGC 869 and NGC 884, which are about 7.500 l-y away, Stock 2 is a poor cluster. Stock 2 is in fact a foreground object at a distance of 1000 l-y. It appears large, only because it is so nearby. NGC 957, at a distance of 3.300 l-y, is a small patch of light at one and a half degree E of the double cluster. This beautiful view is reserved for the binocular observer only. Site : Bekkevoort, Belgium ( 51° N ) Date : December 29, 2008 Time : around 18.00UT Binoculars : Bresser Spezial-Jagd 8x56 FOV: 5.9° Filter : none Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window Seeing : 3/5 Transp. : 3/5 Sky brightness : 19.38 magnitudes per square arc second near zenith (SQM reading). Nelm: 5.1 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.) Post Extras:       Tom and Beth Carpal Tunnel Reged: 01/08/07 Loc: Tucson, AZ Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per. [Re: rodelaet]       #2904260 - 02/02/09 06:05 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   While I can't appreciate nor use binoculars, observing this region again with an equivalent wide field scope will be a treat tonight. Post Extras:       JayinUT I'm not Sleepy Reged: 09/19/08 Loc: Utah Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per. [Re: Tom and Beth]       #2904304 - 02/02/09 06:26 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Rony, Truly amazing the details of the two clusters and your chain of stars. One aspect of your sketch(es) I really enjoy is how you vary the brightness of stars, giving that view of looking through an eye piece. I can actually use various vision points and pick up new things when I look at the image. Again, fantastic job and thanks for posting. Post Extras:       Special Ed Postmaster Reged: 05/18/03 Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per. [Re: JayinUT]       #2905337 - 02/03/09 09:56 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Rony, Outstanding work! Those 8x56 binoculars really take in a lot of sky. Post Extras:       Tommy5 Carpal Tunnel Reged: 03/28/04 Loc: Chicagoland Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per. [Re: Special Ed]       #2906732 - 02/03/09 11:02 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Wow fantastic sketch of the best open cluster in the northern skies, thanks again for posting. Post Extras:       frank5817 Postmaster Reged: 06/13/06 Loc: Illinois Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per. [Re: Tommy5]       #2906778 - 02/03/09 11:33 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Rony, Beautiful and misty. Love this one. I have never taken this in the way you have captured it in wide field. Great sketch. Frank Post Extras:       rodelaet Post Laureate Reged: 04/28/06 Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium) Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' Per. [Re: frank5817]       #2907853 - 02/04/09 03:46 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks for the kind and warm compliments, guys! This only is the view from my backyard. The view from a really dark site is truly breathtaking, and very demanding to sketch. Post Extras:       GlennLeDrew Postmaster Reged: 06/18/08 Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Re: Binocular Icon 54: A wide view of 'h and Chi' [Re: rodelaet]       #2913742 - 02/07/09 04:15 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Imagine just how much more spectacular the Double Cluster would be if not for the significant reddening and dimming by intervening interstellar dust. Where the intrinsic colours of the brighter O- and B-type stars is decidedly bluish, reddening yellows the colours to a more neutral whitish. And the total visual extinction is 1.5 magnitudes, or a factor of four in brightness! Post Extras:       Pages: 1 Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 2 registered and 5 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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