30 replies to this topic

[thedude_01]

I was really enjoying the Owl Cluster-NGC 457 I believe in Cassiopeia last night! It's become of my favorite open clusters to enjoy with a 31MM or 40MM eyepiece.

What are everyone's favorite DSO in Cass?

 

[havasman]

N457 is certainly among them. N7789, N281, M103, N278, IC10, M52, Stock 2, all those little open clusters along and either side of the "W"

 

Clearly in too-many-to-name territory in Cassiopeia. 

Edited by havasman, 29 September 2024 - 08:09 PM.

[MTibb]

My favorite is NGC 457 but the nearby NGC 663 is also a beauty. It's a fairly rich cluster, and looks nice in all my scopes (smallest 70mm, largest a 10" SCT).

[Refractor6]

 Havasman covered most of the highlights and there's a few more I first discovered with binoculars..... Cr463 and NGC129

 

  Cr463 kind of reminds me of a fainter and smaller version of the beehive cluster due to be framed by a set of outer brighter stars at low power. The cluster itself really shows itself well in the 6" refractor.

 

 Another situated right beside a star, NGC129. In binoculars it appears as a haze next to the star. With the 6" refractor its nicely resolved.

Edited by Refractor6, 29 September 2024 - 09:14 PM.

[Refractor6]

 The thread got me checking out a few during my observing session last night. One that came up along the way worth mentioning is right near everyone's old favorite the Owl Cluster NGC457.

 

Its you're using a widefield ep to view the owl you don't need to venture very far to find the much smaller and fainter open cluster NGC436. You'll need a bit of magnification to resolve it but it looks nice at low power in contrast to its brighter and striking nearby neighbor NGC457.

[Epick Crom]

We can't see Cassiopeia from down here 

[DSOGabe]

Caroline's Rose, NGC 7789 (I think)

[Refractor6]

Caroline's Rose, NGC 7789 (I think)

 My personal favorite....incredibly rich in my 6" refractor and the highlight for me last night of my Cassiopeia cluster tour in a 24mm ep.

[bphaneuf]

We can't see Cassiopeia from down here 

A fair point.  But from up here we can't see the Southern Cross, the Jewel Box, LMC, SMC, Eta Carinae Nebula, 47 Tuc.....    We should all trade places for a year or so! 
 

[Job99]

Absolutely agree that NGC 457 is tremendous! I think it looks like a manta ray. Just a couple nights ago I was going through a number of OC's in Cassiopeia. I would highlight NGC 7789, M103, NGC 663, NGC 654 (loved pumping up the mag on this one), and NGC 129 as the most notable that I spent time on that evening but there are so many more that are beautiful in their own right.

[thedude_01]

last night I saw M103 with binoculars for the first time, but it looked like a fuzzy patch, similar to M13 in binoculars. I was only using a 7x50 pair, so I'm assuming with more magnified binoculars you can see more? Are any of the NGC clusters in Cass also visible in binos or do you need really dark skies for that?

[thedude_01]

I was out observing Cass last night too! I think it's my favorite part of the night sky this time of year to observe .

 

 The thread got me checking out a few during my observing session last night. One that came up along the way worth mentioning is right near everyone's old favorite the Owl Cluster NGC457.

 

Its you're using a widefield ep to view the owl you don't need to venture very far to find the much smaller and fainter open cluster NGC436. You'll need a bit of magnification to resolve it but it looks nice at low power in contrast to its brighter and striking nearby neighbor NGC457.

[Refractor6]

last night I saw M103 with binoculars for the first time, but it looked like a fuzzy patch, similar to M13 in binoculars. I was only using a 7x50 pair, so I'm assuming with more magnified binoculars you can see more? Are any of the NGC clusters in Cass also visible in binos or do you need really dark skies for that?

Get a copy of Sky&Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas and go hunting is my advice. 10x50 binoculars start showing some of the fainter NGC clusters better than 7x50's.

[thedude_01]

Great advice! Last night I changed from my 7x50s and used the 15x70s Skymaster Pro. I was able to see most of the NGC star clusters in CASS, I think my favorite view was seeing both M103 and NGC663 I believe in same field of view. Of course, they all look better in a telescope, but I enjoyed the views in binos too. 

[Refractor6]

Great advice! Last night I changed from my 7x50s and used the 15x70s Skymaster Pro. I was able to see most of the NGC star clusters in CASS, I think my favorite view was seeing both M103 and NGC663 I believe in same field of view. Of course, they all look better in a telescope, but I enjoyed the views in binos too. 

  Sounds good and glad to hear you had a fun night   .....nothing wrong with doing the CASS tour with binoculars.

 

What I do is search out targets with the binoculars first then decide which ones I want to star hop to with the telescope for a closer look. Both methods work hand in hand..

[Tony Flanders]

I learned about the 663-654-659 trio when I was just starting, from Turn Left at Orion. It remains a favorite of mine to this day. Each of those clusters is so different from the others!

[musikerhugh]

Love the Owl - though I agree that it looks more like a Manta Ray, and since the Owl already has a nebula....

 

Also, I recently heard about NGC 225, the Sailboat Cluster, and found it for the first time last night. Very pretty - another asterism that exercises the imagination - though with its two masts, maybe we should call it the Ketch or Yawl Cluster. It's just above and slightly to the right of Tsih in the middle of the W.

I strayed out of Cass to find M76 - the Little Dumbell Nebula - just across the border in Perseus. About 10 degrees S of Ruchbah, found about 1º beyond the line segment formed by two nearby naked-eye bright stars in Perseus. Finally, I mention the Double Cluster (again, just beyond the border into Perseus - sorry, but who drew these borders anyway?) because of its beauty, the striking red stars within it - especially the one exactly in the middle of the two clusters - and the pleasure of following the chain of stars leading up to the many small clusters in Cass leading up to M103.

Using a 15" Obsession with a wide-field EP

Edited by musikerhugh, 03 October 2024 - 06:28 AM.

[mountain monk]

Another vote for Caroline’s Rose. And does it ever take magnification! 
 

Dark skies.

 

Jack

[Refractor6]

Another vote for Caroline’s Rose. And does it ever take magnification! 
 

Dark skies.

 

Jack

  Got in the last clear night yesterday and had my 120 f/7.5 ED out on this target and was amazed with the view bumping up the power.....the view of this object never disappoints at the ep at a wide variety of magnifications   .

[Dave Mitsky]

I like all of the open clusters that have been mentioned so far but my favorite one in Cassiopeia is NGC 7789 (Caroline's Rose).  NGC 457, which has at least 15 different common names, is my second favorite.

[bphaneuf]

Let me put in a vote for NGC 278, the odd galaxy in CAS amongst all those splendid OCs.  It's a delightful compact spiral. Saw it for the first time last night.  Thanks Alex and Karl!

 

 

-b

[Tony Flanders]

NGC 281 is an outstanding nebula.

Edited by Tony Flanders, 04 October 2024 - 05:58 AM.

[Refractor6]

NGC 281 is an outstanding nebula.

 Agreed..........first really good view of it this summer in binoculars under dark skies 

[russell23]

NGC 457, NGC 663, and NGC7789 are all great - and really could have been part of the Messier catalog.

[KidOrion]

Trumpler 1 is a fascinating little cluster with larger apertures.