Deep-Sky Companions

DEEP-SKY COMPANIONS
The Secret Deep

In this fresh list, Stephen James O’Meara and for his remarkable skills as a visual observer.
presents 109 new objects for stargazers to O’Meara spent much of his early career on the
observe. The Secret Deep list contains many editorial staff of Sky & Telescope, before joining
exceptional objects, a piece of the only super- Astronomy magazine as its Secret Sky columnist
nova remnant known visible to the unaided eye; and a contributing editor. An award-winning
the flattest galaxy known; the largest edge-on visual observer, he was the first person to sight
galaxy in the heavens; the brightest quasar; Halley’s Comet on its return in 1985, and the first
and the companion star to one of the first black to determine visually the rotation period of
hole candidates ever discovered. Each object is Uranus. One of his most distinguished feats
accompanied by beautiful photographs and was the visual detection of the mysterious
sketches, original finder charts, visual histories, spokes in Saturn’s B-ring before spacecraft
and up-to-date astrophysical information to imaged them. Amongst his achievements,
enrich the observing experience. Featuring gal- O’Meara has received the prestigious Lone Star-
axies, clusters, and nebulae not covered in other gazer Award, the Omega Centauri Award, and
Deep-Sky Companions books, this is a wonder- the Caroline Herschel Award. Asteroid 3637
ful addition to the series and an essential guide was named O’Meara in his honor by the Inter-
for any deep-sky observer. national Astronomical Union. In his spare time,
Author of several highly acclaimed books, O’Meara travels the world with his wife, Donna,
including others in the celebrated Deep-Sky to document volcanic eruptions. He is a contract
Companions series, Stephen James O’Meara is videographer for National Geographic Digital
well known among the astronomical community Motion, and a contract photographer for
for his engaging and informative writing style, National Geographic Image Collection.
DEEP-SKY COMPANIONS
The Secret
Deep
STEPHEN JAMES O’MEARA
with object photos by
Mario Motta
cambridge university press
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore,
São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City
Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521198769
# S. O’Meara 2011
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception

and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2011
Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
O’Meara, Stephen James, 1956–

Deep-sky companions : the secret deep / Stephen James O’Meara ; with object photos
by Mario Motta.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-521-19876-9 (Hardback)
1. Galaxies–Observers’ manuals. 2. Astronomy–Observers’ manuals. I. Title.
QB63.O638 2011
523–dc22
2010038356
ISBN 978-0-521-19876-9 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external
or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any
content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
To Donna,
My love for you is fathomless.
To Daisy Duke, such a joy,

My secret writing companion.
And in memory of Milky Way, Miranda-Pyewacket, and Pele,

My spirits in the sky.
Contents
Preface page ix
1 About this book 1
2 The Secret Deep 17
Appendix A
The Secret Deep: basic data 464
Appendix B
Twenty additional Secret Deep objects 467
Appendix C
Deep-sky lists: comparison table 468
Appendix D
Photo credits 471
The Secret Deep checklist 473

Index 477
Contents vii
Preface
The Secret Deep is the fourth instance, 10.7-magnitude IC 4593 – the
title in my Deep-Sky Companions series – White-Eyed Pea planetary nebula in
the other three books are Deep-Sky Com- Hercules. A 2½-inch refractor can easily
panions: The Messier Objects, Deep-Sky sweep up this object, but many fail to see
Companions: The Caldwell Objects, and it because they are fooled by its starlike
Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures. form at low and moderate powers. But this
Like the third companion, The Secret Deep striking planetary, consisting of a complex
is an important work because it brings to system of asymmetrical shells, is a glorious
light a new list of 109 deep-sky objects little gem at high magnifications; I’ve
visible in small telescopes under a dark viewed it with magnifications up to 100
sky. None of the objects in the Secret Deep per inch of aperture! Then there’s NGC
list appear in the Messier, Caldwell, or 5846 in Virgo; this fantastic elliptical galaxy
Hidden Treasures catalogues; I’ve included not only flanks the celestial equator, but its
an additional 20 objects in Appendix B. size and brightness rivals many Messier
Owners of this series, then, have at their galaxies in the Coma–Virgo Cluster.
fingertips more than 450 deep-sky objects Again (and I never get tired of repeating
to explore. this), despite popular belief, the famous
All the Secret Deep objects are visible Messier catalogue is not a list of the
from mid-northern latitudes, though five “brightest and best” deep-sky objects for
or fewer are best seen from more southerly small telescopes. It is a catalogue of
locations in the Northern Hemisphere or objects compiled by the eighteenth-
further south. Still, the most southerly century French comet hunter Charles
object in the Secret Deep list – globular Messier (he did not discover many of these
cluster NGC 2298 in Puppis – lies at a dec- objects), who believed they could be con-
lination of 36 exactly, so it is only 1¼ fused with comets “just beginning to
further south than open cluster M7 in shine.” Like Hidden Treasures, the Secret
Scorpius, the most southerly Messier Deep list is an extension of the Messier
object. From the latitude of New York City, catalogue – a deep-sky list for the twenty-
NGC 2298 will be 9 above the southern first-century observer. In fact, two Secret
horizon when highest. Deep objects could very well be con-
I have taken great care to select objects sidered true Messier objects: Messier men-
visible through my new 5-inch Tele Vue f/5 tions NGC 5195 (Secret Deep 67) in his
refractor (see Chapter 1) under a clear, description of M51 but does not give it an
dark sky. As with some objects in the individual listing. And there’s an argument
Hidden Treasures list, several of the Secret that NGC 3953 (Secret Deep 48) is actually
Deep objects are surprisingly bright – M109.
including some open star clusters visible
in binoculars and to the unaided eyes, a HOW THE 109 SECRET DEEP OBJECTS
few galaxies more apparent than the dim- WERE SELECTED
mest Messier ones, and a couple of planet- The purpose of this book is simple. It’s
ary nebulae with central stars you can designed to help you continue to explore
spy through large binoculars. Take, for the infinite wonders that populate the
Preface ix
starry heavens and enrich your observing “Additional Objects”: Hawaiian
experience. As with my Hidden Treasures Astronomical Society
list, it would be wrong to call any of the “Best Objects in the New General
Secret Deep objects “the best,” because Catalog”: A. J. Crayon and Steve Coe,
what’s “best” is highly subjective. (What Saguaro Astronomy Club (Phoenix,
one person claims is “the best” others Arizona)
might not agree.) It would be fair to say “Finest N.G.C. Objects”: Alan Dyer, Royal
that the 109 selections in the Secret Deep Astronomical Society of Canada
are all deep-sky splendors worthy of your “TAAS 200”: The Albuquerque
attention. Astronomical Society (New Mexico)
The Secret Deep list is actually an exten-
As you can see in Appendix C, 51 percent
sion of the Hidden Treasures list. Both
of the Secret Deep objects appear in these
were created, in part, by the collective
other lists: this is remarkable given that,
“you.” While researching Hidden Treasures,
unlike the Secret Deep list, many of these
I came up with more than enough objects
lists include objects only in the NGC; they
to fill the table. The “remainder” then
also include objects in the Messier, Cald-
became the foundation of a new list of
well, and Hidden Treasures catalogues!
109 objects that I decided to call “The
The Secret Deep list contains 97 NGC
Secret Deep.” That new list expanded after
objects, and fully 75 percent of these
I completed my Herschel 400 Observing
appear in the other lists.
Guide (Cambridge University Press, 2007),
The final 109 Secret Deep objects com-
which alerted me to some fascinating
prise 38 galaxies, 23 open star clusters,
deep-sky objects I hadn’t previously
18 planetary nebulae, 15 bright nebulae
encountered. Once I received my new tele-
(some with clusters embedded in them),
scope, I began to re-observe all these
11 globular star clusters, 1 supernova rem-
objects with a fresh eye.
nant, 1 asterism, 1 quasar, and 1 black hole
With that telescope, I also resurveyed
(the visible companion star). The table
the night sky, constellation by constella-
compares the number and types of deep-
tion, for other bright or interesting objects
sky objects covered in all four catalogues.
that would be visible to amateurs living
Owners of all four titles in the Deep-Sky
in the Northern Hemisphere – ones not
Companions series will have the most
already listed in the Messier, Caldwell,
up-to-date astrophysical and visual infor-
and Hidden Treasures catalogues. When
mation on 436 deep-sky objects, with
the list grew to more than 200 objects,
ancillary data on many more. And since
I decided to whittle it down. I did so, in
the astrophysical, visual, and tabular data
part, by comparing my findings against
in The Secret Deep have been gleaned from
those in the popular deep-sky object lists
many of the same sources in the other
published by the following astronomical
three volumes, you can compare the data
societies:
with confidence. No other series of books
“Herschel 400”: Ancient City Astronomy to my knowledge offers observers such
Club (St. Augustine, Florida) consistent data.
x Preface
Object comparison table
Messier Caldwell Hidden Treasures Secret Deep

Object type Catalogue Catalogue Catalogue Catalogue
Open star clusters 27 28 38 23

Galaxies 39 35 35 38
Globular star 28 18 8 11
clusters
Bright nebulae 7 12 8 15
Planetary nebulae 4 13 14 18
Dark nebulae 0 1 1 0
Supernova 1 2 segments of 1 0 1
remnants
Star clouds 1 0 0 0
High-proper- 0 0 1 0
motion stars
Double stars 1 0 0 0
Asterisms 1 0 4 1
Quasars 0 0 0 1
Black holes 0 0 0 1
The Secret Deep list has many superla- and those still in the process of formation.
tive and fascinating objects. These include There’s also an abundance of globular
a planetary nebula whose last thermal star clusters. These ancient stellar “cities,”
pulse has produced a circumstellar shell which populate the outskirts of our
similar to the one expected in the final Galactic disk and halo, contain tens to
days of our Sun’s life, a piece of the only hundreds of thousands of suns. Held
supernova remnant known that’s visible together by the fantastic bond of gravity,
to the unaided eye, the flattest galaxy these stellar congregations may be as old
known, the largest edge-on galaxy in the as the universe itself.
heavens, the brightest quasar, and the You’ll also find many starburst galaxies
companion star to one of the first black (extragalactic systems that can manufac-
hole candidates ever discovered. ture suns at the phenomenal rate of hun-
And there’s much more. Several of the dreds of millions per year), cannibalistic
open clusters are not only double but also galaxies (those consuming their dwarf
possible binary clusters, being physically neighbors), interacting pairs of galaxies,
related. Some of the nebulae (vast swaths and grand-design spiral systems with
of dust and vapor) form fanciful shapes supermassive black holes at the center of
(a flying fox, cosmic rosebud, and fossil their active galactic nuclei.
footprint, for instance). Many of these In Chapter 1, “About this book,” I discuss
clouds of nascent matter harbor new stars the telescopes I used to observe the Secret
Preface xi
Deep objects, my observing site and astro-imager, whose efforts in the field
methods, helpful observing hints, and I appreciate just as much as I do those
more. Since the history, astrophysics, employing the eye alone. Just take a
and visual descriptions of many of these moment to scan the gorgeous images of
objects have never been described at each Deep Sky object as captured by Mario
length in any other popular work, this Motta, whose work is featured in the book
chapter also explains my approach to pre- (see also Chapter 1). The details are stun-
senting the information. ning, the framing, exquisite.
I detail the 109 Secret Deep objects in Several appendices complete the work.
Chapter 2. In many cases the essays Appendix A tabulates each Secret Deep
describe recent observations from the object’s position, constellation, type,
Hubble Space Telescope, the world’s larg- apparent magnitude, and angular size.
est ground-based telescopes, and a fleet of Appendix B does the same for the 20 add-
spacecraft that now peer (or have peered) itional Secret Deep objects. Appendix C is
into the universe with X-ray and infrared- a table that lists each Secret Deep object
sensitive “eyes.” The essays are also flush and shows which astronomical societies
with historical anecdotes and some have a considered it be one of the finest in the
dash of mystery (such as whether NGC night sky. Appendix D is a list of photo
3953 is the real M109, and whether NGC credits, and at the end of the book is a
5195 should become the mysterious Secret Deep checklist – a place for you to
M102). Those interested in the history make personal notations on each object
of astronomy will not be disappointed. you find; it includes spaces for you to write
The Secret Deep list includes objects dis- down important information, such as the
covered by many great astronomers from date observed, your location, the telescope
the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth and magnification used, atmospheric
centuries, including William and John seeing and transparency, and any other
Herschel, but also Per Collinder, James special notes you want to record. It is a
Dunlop, Williamina Paton Fleming, personal log that you can return to weeks,
Beverly T. Lynds, Albert Marth, Lord Rosse, months, or years, later to see how you are
Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan, Jürgen progressing as an observer.
Stock, Wilhelm Tempel, and others. Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep
Since some of the objects will present a is not only a valuable resource or compan-
visual challenge, especially to novice ion volume; it is your companion to take
observers, I try to help as much as possible with you under the stars. I want the words
in the related essays by offering tips on to speak to you as you search, as if I were
how best to succeed in your search. It’s there to help guide you. It’s difficult in our
also important to note that some of the hobby sometimes to be alone under the
nebulae in the list may appear quite small stars. I want you to know that you are
to visual observers, but they transform into not; I am there with you in spirit. We all
magnificent cloudscapes in CCD images. share a common bond – a love for the
In fact, this is the first book in the Deep- night. Not only do I want to encourage
Sky Companions series that considers the you to observe, to push yourself to new
xii Preface
limits, but to enjoy a shared camaraderie. whose discoveries have ties to Harvard
As I often tell my wife, Donna, when College Observatory.
we are apart traveling, “No matter how I thank my friend and colleague Larry
many miles separate us, we can still share Mitchell of Houston, Texas, for supplying
the sky.” me with William Herschel’s original notes,
I’ve written each essay so that you can which he drew from his original catalogues
not only enjoy your time with it under the as they appeared in the Philosophical
stars, but also in the daytime, or on those Transactions of the Royal Society of
cloudy nights. I hope you enjoy reading the London; your kindness has been invalu-
histories and science of these glorious able. Thank you to Terry Moseley, John
objects. We have come so far in our know- M. Farland, and Wolfgang Steinicke for
ledge of the night and the things we seek their help with Lord Rosse’s discovery of
out with our “star ships.” I want to share NGC 3165. And a big bow goes out to the
with you that realized wonder. large pool of professional astronomers
I would like to thank Vince Higgs, (many of whom are listed as the authors
Lindsay Barnes, Caroline Brown, and the or principal investigators of professional
editorial staff at Cambridge University papers on the objects being discussed)
Press for their encouragement, help, and who took the time to look over the science
support in this book and the Deep-Sky presented in this book; you’ve enriched
Companions series. I applaud Al and David the text so much with your words and
Nagler of Tele Vue Optics in Chester, wisdom. Of course, if any errors have crept
New York, for making such superb refract- their way into this book, I’m responsible.
ing telescopes that help me to dive deep Finally, I would like to express my love
into the visible universe. for my beautiful wife, Donna, and Daisy
I give special thanks to my longtime Duke, our loving papillon, for standing
friend Mario Motta for taking the time to beside me on this long journey; I thank
create the wonderful images of the Secret you for your love, support, and
Deep objects he imaged with his 32-inch understanding.
reflector – a part of his home! I thank Har- Well, it’s time for you to go forth under
vard astronomer and historian Owen Gin- the stars, pick away at the Secret Deep, and
gerich for looking over the interesting savor each galactic and extragalactic treat.
histories of some of the deep-sky objects Good luck.
Preface xiii
CHAPTER 1
About this book
Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden
from us forever. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
I h av e b e e n s ta r g a z i n g f o r n e a r ly
half a century. But I have yet to see all the
sky’s bright telescopic wonders. I don’t
mind. I’m in no rush. Unlike time and tide,
the deep-sky objects we seek seem to hang
around and wait for us to care. I suspect
we all care. But I also understand that the
task of seeking out these wonders without
some guidance can be overwhelming. I felt
that way recently when I forgot my star
atlas on one very clear night. The stars
shined down in magnificent splendor, the
Milky Way appeared rich and pure, a
marvel to behold. But I also felt a sense of
loss, in that, without an atlas in hand,
I didn’t know where to point my telescope
to find new wonders. The fact is, when it
comes to taking any journey, guidance
helps.
That’s why I write these books. By
sharing with you lists of celestial objects
that have inspired me over the years,
I hope to chart a course for you through yearn for more. If anything, in the Deep-
the stars, to help you see its deep-sky Sky Companions series, I’ve tried to use my
splendors and enrich your time under inner voice, to inspire you to find your own
the night sky. Besides, half the fun of any teller of secrets, so that you too can share
journey is sharing what we’ve learned the joy of astronomy with others. It’s how
along the way. This book is my latest mes- we grow both personally and spiritually.
sage to you about yet another “romp” The Secret Deep objects are a rich
through the heavens and the wonders assortment of visual and photographic
I have seen. gems that can add depth to your observing
As silent as the sky may appear, it has experience. They’re all relatively bright,
a voice. It’s the inner voice we listen to some more obvious than others, with a
each time we look through our telescopes. sprinkling of visual challenges. Admittedly,
It cheers us on during the excitement of beyond the bright and obvious Messier
the search, and celebrates with us each objects, we have to search for fainter and
time we find a new target. It influences less conspicuous wonders, but wonders
our thoughts and inspires emotion. It adds nevertheless. Besides, I’d argue that many
significance to our nights and makes us of the faint fuzzy objects we like to seek
About this book 1

require half eyesight and half imagination of those eerie, simultaneous light-bulb
to “see.” I’m not talking about the “bad” moments. I felt it was time for me to
imagination – the one that leads us to see graduate to a slightly larger telescope; at
things that don’t exist – but the good the same time, I wanted to somehow pass
imagination that fires up that special back- on my observing “torch” (the Genesis) to
ground knowledge of what we’re actually another observer. When we talked, Al
looking at. not only understood, but he had already
That’s why the CCD images that Mario thought of the solution.
Motta took of these objects are so special. It turned out that he was considering
They help add a visual perspective not donating his prototype of the 13-mm Nagler
attainable in that type of detail with the ultrawide eyepiece to the Springfield Tele-
eyes alone. It’s like being in an art gallery scope Makers, the amateur astronomy and
looking at Van Gogh’s Starry Night and telescope-making club that sponsors the
trying to see beyond the canvas, into the annual Stellafane convention on Breezy
creator’s mind. In our quest, we satisfy our Hill, Vermont. Al suggested we unite the
visual appetites by not only looking at CCD Genesis refractor (with an autographed
images, but also reading about the history tube, and the accessories I used including
and physics of each object. Indeed, many three eyepieces (22-mm Panoptic eyepiece,
of these objects have been studied with and 7- and 4.8-mm Nagler eyepieces), 2-inch
large ground-based and space telescopes star-diagonal (with a 1¼-inch adapter),
in all wavelengths of light. So we have a 1.8 Barlow, Tele Vue Qwik-Point finder,
lot to ponder as we look through our tele- and original carrying case) and his proto-
scopes. It’s an exciting time to be an ama- type 13-mm Nagler, and jointly auction
teur astronomer. We have at our fingertips them off on eBay. The proceeds from
greater insight into the nature of the the sale, he said, would be donated to the
universe than ever before. This book, like Stellafane convention to help defray the
its companions, will help you to see how cost of Stellafane’s recently completed
astronomers have peeled back the onion Flanders Pavilion.
layers of understanding over the years to Al’s thinking was most appropriate:
give you the best and present knowledge of The Stellafane convention, whose roots
each wonder. date to the 1920s, inspired a revolution in
amateur telescope making; Al’s 13-mm
THE TELESCOPE AND SITE Nagler inspired a renaissance in deep-sky
There has been a change. The Tele Vue observing that began in the 1980s and
4-inch f/5 Genesis refractor I used to continues to this day; and Tele Vue’s
observe all the objects in the three preced- Genesis refractor has been referred to as
ing Deep-Sky Companions series of books, “the catalyst for todays growing popular
as well as my Herschel 400 Observing Guide, 4-inch APO market.” The auction closed
is no longer in my possession. I loved (and on August 17, the Genesis refractor and
still do love) that scope. It had been my Al’s historic eyepiece have found a new
observing partner for 13 years. But in 2007, home, and the money earned was donated
Tele Vue founder Al Nagler and I had one to Stellafane.
2 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

on occasion (again with
small and bright planetary
nebulae), I’ve gone as high
as 990.
As a finder I use a Tele Vue
Starbeam (it’s like a laser
pointer). The NP-127 offers
me a field of view near 2.4
wide when I use the 20-mm
Nagler. The telescope sits in
the cradle of a sturdy Gibral-
tar mount, and the entire
setup can be broken down
in a couple of minutes in case
I need to be mobile.
What I now have in my possession is a All the observations for this book
beautiful Tele Vue NP-127 Nagler-Petzval were from my front yard in Volcano, Hawaii,
5-inch (660-mm) f/5.2 apochromatic refrac- which is at an altitude of 3,500 feet (1,100 m).
tor with a redesigned four-element optical I used to observe near the summit of
system that offers me not only crisp wide- Kilauea volcano in Hawaii’s Volcanoes
fields of view with 2-inch eyepieces, but National Park, but something dramatic
also high-power capability with 1¼-inch changed the environment and the land-
eyepieces. And by high power, I mean, at scape: On March 19, 2008, after I had
times, I have pushed the instrument to its finished my observations for the Hidden
extreme: 100 per inch of aperture, espe- Treasures and Herschel 400 Observing
cially with planetary nebulae. Note that, Guide, Kilauea had its first summit explo-
throughout Chapter 2, I generally refer to sion since 1924.
this telescope simply as
“the 5-inch.”
My arsenal of eyepieces
consists of four workhorses:
a Tele Vue 20-mm Nagler
type 5 (33), Nagler 11-mm
type 6 (60), Nagler 7-mm
type 6 (94), and Nagler 2–
4-mm zoom (330–165).
I also have a Tele Vue 3
Barlow, which offers me
more magnification options
up to 990; as a rule,
I generally go no higher than
495, but I must admit that,
About this book 3

(vog) and particle fallout – though now our
home sits between two erupting vents and
the vog conditions can be a problem here
when the winds shift. The photo below shows
vog over the town of Volcano at night from
the “second” erupting vent, called P’u O’o.
Another benefit of observing from home
was that I no longer had to “migrate” to
avoid the ins and outs of the island’s
whimsical clouds or of curious passersby.
No. If the clouds rolled in, all I had to do
now was sit back in a chair, take a sip of hot
chocolate, look up at the sky in the comfort
of my home, and wait. Besides, although the
telescope I have today is only 1 inch wider
in aperture than my Genesis, it’s a little bit
heavier (perhaps Al thought I needed more
exercise). But seriously, the night sky as
seen from my house is no different than that
up on the volcano’s summit, which is just a
few miles away. I can see the zodiacal light
and band, as well as the gegenschein, from
Since then, large swaths of the volcanic my home. I also get to run inside whenever
caldera have been off-limits, and dust and something wonderful is out, so I can share it
ash remain a problem there to this day; the with Donna. It’s been a wonderful and
summit eruption continues to enlargen calming experience, working on this book,
a new vent inside Halemaumau crater, and I appreciate the sky I have.
which also contains a glowing lava lake. So,
while viewing the volcano is
an awesome sight at night, it
can also be less than ideal
for looking at the stars on
some “bad air” days (see
the photo at the opening of
this chapter).
Once I began observing
at home, I actually found
the “journey” very peaceful.
I didn’t have to drive any-
where, contend with car
headlights in the Park, or
the issues of volcanic smog

describes how to locate
the object and simply
follow the directions.
After the full-page wide-
field finder chart, each
object’s entry in Chapter 2
opens with an image of the
object (oriented with north
up and east to the left, unless
otherwise noted) and a table
of essential data: Secret Deep
number; common name(s),
if any; object type; con-
stellation; equinox 2000.0
coordinates; apparent mag-
In addition to the Tele Vue 5-inch, I also nitude; angular size or dimensions; surface
used 10 50 Meade binoculars, and, on brightness in magnitudes per square arcmi-
occasion, a nineteenth-century brass tele- nute (for most objects) and a personal rating
scope made by Ross of London, which of the object’s ease of visibility from 1 (diffi-
I simply refer to as “the antique telescope” cult) to 5 (easy); distance; and the object’s
in Chapter 2. It’s the same antique tele- discoverer and discovery date.
scope I used to observe some of the Hidden Note that you don’t have to use the charts
Treasures. The tube measures 17⅛ inches in this book. Since I provide the object’s equi-
when open, and 7¼ inches when closed. nox 2000.0 coordinates, you can instead
The 1¾-inch objective is in excellent employ your favorite detailed sky atlas (such
condition. as Wil Tirion’s Sky Atlas 2000.0) to locate the
object. The choice is yours. The charts
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK I created have a simple design. I’ve tried not
To find a Secret Deep object, first locate to clutter them up with unnecessary details.
its position on the wide-field finder They are designed to help you make the sim-
chart that opens each entry. The chart plest and fastest sweep to each object, based
not only gives you a wide-field view of on my personal experience. You might think
the constellation it’s in, but marks the otherwise, and I encourage you to pursue
location of the object relative to bright whatever venue you find suitable to your
nearby stars (those with Greek letters or needs. Otherwise, my charts should be easy
Flamsteed numbers). Next, locate those to read and simple to use.
stars on the detailed finder chart that Below the table you’ll find William
accompanies the object’s photograph Herschel’s original published description of
and text. Both the wide-field finder the object, or, if William did not observe
charts and the detailed finder charts are the object, his son John’s. If neither observer
oriented with north up and east to the discovered or observed the object, that
left. Finally, find the part of the text that section is blank. Larry Mitchell, a member
About this book 5

of the Houston Astronomical Society, sup- VII. Pretty much compressed clusters
plied me with William’s original notes, of large or small stars
which he drew from his original catalogues VIII. Coarsely scattered clusters of stars
as they appeared in the Philosophical
The Arabic numeral that follows is simply
Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
the order in which that object appears in
Most of the John Herschel quotations
that class. So H I-156 is the 156th object in
have been gleaned from those given by
Herschel Class I (bright nebulae).
the “Deepsky Observer’s Companion”
The original 1888 New General Catalogue
(www.fortunecity.com/roswell/borley/49/),
(NGC) description, or a description from
which was created by the Astronomical Soci-
the supplemental Index Catalogues (IC),
ety of South Africa to promote its Deepsky
follows each Herschel entry (if any). If the
Observing section. The quotes are from John
object is not from one or the other of these
Herschel’s original observations, published in
catalogues, it is left blank.
1847 as “results of Astronomical Observations
The Herschel and NGC/IC catalogue
made during the years 1834, 5, 6, 7 [and] 8, at
descriptions are followed by the running
the Cape of Good Hope; Being the completion
text, which may not only enhance the his-
of a telescopic survey of the whole surface of
torical entries mentioned above but also
the visible heavens, commenced in 1825.”
bring to light any recent research findings.
During his stay in South Africa, John Herschel
I then begin to describe the object’s
often made several observations of each
appearance in the sky, starting with its
object. The quotes used in this book’s tables,
location and how best to find it. The direc-
however, refer only to his first observation; a
tions are followed by my visual impres-
date is given only if the junior Herschel dis-
sions as seen through the 5-inch at
covered the object. At the end of each Herschel
various magnifications. At times, I record
description is a code contained in parentheses
its naked-eye or binocular appearance, or
(“H VIII-88,” for instance, or “h 2327”). These
the view through my antique telescope;
codes date to a classification system created
ocasionally I include descriptions by other
and used by the Herschels. “H” stands for the
observers using larger instruments. There
elder Herschel and “h” for his son.
may also be a visual challenge or two, as
The Roman numeral in William Herschel’s
well as a brief visual impression of any
system identifies the class into which the
other interesting objects nearby.
elder Herschel placed each object:
A drawing of the object as seen through
the 5-inch at various magnifications also
I.Bright nebulae
accompanies the text, so you can compare
II.Faint nebulae
your view of any Secret Deep object with
III.Very faint nebulae
my own. The views may be very dissimilar,
IV.Planetary nebulae: Stars with burs,
but that’s okay; we all see things differently.
with milky chevelure, with short rays,
remarkable shapes, etc.
V. Very large nebulae SOURCES OF DATA AND INFORMATION
VI. Very compressed and rich clusters The data and information in this book were
of stars drawn from a variety of modern sources.

Many of these sources were used in Deep- Stellar data
Sky Companions: The Messier Objects, Deep- Stars, http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/
Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects, and sowlist.html.
Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures, ESA. The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues.
so you can compare the properties of these Noordwijk, the Netherlands: European
objects with confidence. Generally speak- Space Agency, 1997.
ing, I gleaned recent research findings on
the physical nature of each object from the Double stars
Astronomical Journal or the Astrophysical Luginbuhl, Christian B., and Brian A. Skiff.
Journal, and citations are given. From each Observing Handbook and Catalogue of
object’s apparent diameter and distance Deep-Sky Objects. Cambridge, UK:
I calculated its physical dimensions using Cambridge University Press, 1989.
the formulas that appear on page 35 of Deep- USNO. The Washington Double Star Catalog.
Sky Companions: The Messier Objects. Other Washington, DC: Astrometry Department,
information, such as constellation lore; prop- U.S. Naval Observatory. http://ad.usno.
erties of stars;and objects’ positions,apparent navy.mil/ad/wds/wds.html.
magnitudes, angular sizes, and surface
brightnesses, come from the following excel-
Variable stars
lent sources (primary sources are listed first).
American Association of Variable Star
Observers, www.aavso.org.
Star names, constellations,
and mythology
Allen, Richard Hinckley. Star Names: Their Open star clusters
Lore and Meaning. New York: Dover Archinal, Brent A., and Steven J. Hynes.
Publications, 1963. Star Clusters. Richmond, VA: Willmann-
Ridpath, Ian. Star Tales. New York: Bell, Inc., 2000.
Universe Books, 1988. See also www. Open star cluster distances generally were
ianridpath.com/startales/contents.htm. gleaned from the professional literature.
Staal, Julius D. W. The New Patterns in the
Sky: Myths and Legends of the Stars. Globular star clusters
Blacksburg, VA: McDonald and Harris, William E. Catalog of Parameters
Woodward, 1988. for Milky Way Globular Clusters.
Hamilton, ON: McMaster University.
Stellar magnitudes and spectra www.physics.mcmaster.ca/~harris/
Stars, http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/ mwgc.dat.
sowlist.html. Skiff, Brian A. “Observational Data for
Hirshfeld, Alan, Roger W. Sinnott, and Galactic Globular Clusters.” Webb
Francois Ochsenbein, eds. Sky Catalogue Society Quarterly Journal 99:7 (1995),
2000.0, Vol. 1, 2nd edn. Cambridge, UK: updated May 2, 1999.
Cambridge University Press, and Globular star cluster distances generally
Cambridge, MA, USA: Sky Publishing were gleaned from the professional
Corp., 1991. literature.
About this book 7

Planetary nebulae Extragalactic supernovae
Skiff, Brian A. “Precise Positions for the List of Supernovae. Cambridge, MA: Central
NGC/IC Planetary Nebulae.” Webb Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
Society Quarterly Journal 105:15 (1996). http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/
(Positions.) Supernovae.html.
Luginbuhl, Christian B., and Brian A. Skiff. Other details of discovery were gleaned
Observing Handbook and Catalogue of from individual IAU Circulars.
Deep-Sky Objects. (Dimensions and
central star magnitudes.) Historical objects
Cragin, Murray, James Lucyk, and Barry Smyth, Captain William Henry. A Cycle of
Rappaport. The Deep-Sky Field Guide to Celestial Objects. Richmond, VA:
Uranometria 2000.0, 1st edn. Richmond, Willmann-Bell, Inc., 1986.
VA: Willmann-Bell, Inc., 1993. Glyn Jones, Kenneth. The Search for the
Planetary-nebula distances generally Nebulae. Chalfont St Giles, UK: Alpha
were gleaned from the professional Academic, 1975.
literature or from the World Wide Web Other historical anecdotes in this book
page of the Space Telescope Science were gleaned from various individual and
Institute (www.stsci.edu). professional papers from the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries.
Diffuse nebulae
Cragin, Murray, James Lucyk, and Barry General notes
Rappaport. The Deep-Sky Field Guide to Note that the World Wide Web Uniform
Uranometria 2000.0, 1st edn. Reference Locators, or URLs, are subject
Diffuse nebula distances were gleaned to change. The dimensions, magnitudes,
from the professional literature. and positions of all other additional deep-
sky objects in this book were taken from
Galaxies The Deep-Sky Field Guide to Uranometria
The Deep-Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000.0.
2000.0, 1st edn. (Positions, angular size, As in the other books in the Deep-Sky
apparent magnitude, and surface Companions series, the data in this book
brightness.) differ from those appearing in older but
NASA. The Extragalactic Database. Pasadena, popular references. This book contains
CA: Infrared Processing and Analysis the most up-to-date astronomical data
Center. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/. and accurate historical and observational
(Types, mean distance, radial velocity, and information about each object in the
all detailed descriptions of galaxy structures Secret Deep catalogue that you’ll find in
as seen in photographs have been gleaned any book in the popular literature.
from the accompanying notes.)
Tully, R., Brent. Nearby Galaxies Catalog. THE FINDER CHARTS
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University As I previously mentioned, the wide-field
Press, 1988. (Inclination, total mass, and and detailed star charts in Chapter 2 are of
total luminosity.) my own design. The Secret Deep number

Secret Deep 8
(NGC 1084)
N
µ 1
2 Pisces
Mira
Cetus
E W
NGC 1084
77
80
Eridanus 2 1
and proper name of each object appears at object only, and I’ve done the field work
the top of the chart. The maps appear with to help you get there in the fastest and
north up and east to the left. most efficient way possible. Why clutter
The purpose of the wide-field finder the view, I reasoned, with lots of dim stars
charts is simply to show you the brightest and other objects when all you want to
constellations or star fields around the do is see the target you’re after. As the old
Secret Deep object. Each shows stars saying goes, “Obstacles are what you see
roughly to magnitude 4 or 5, and some- when you take your eye from the goal.”
times 6 (but generally only in the region To help you in your search, I’ve traced
near the Secret Deep object, and only if out the “stick figure” form of the main
I feel they will help in the naked-eye or constellations in the view. I’ve also labeled
binocular search. Faint stars are more them and their brightest stars, using the
prevalent if the constellation is dim, like traditional Bayer (Greek) letters or Flam-
Sculptor. steed numbers. Sometimes I’ve included a
In creating these charts my philosophy popular star name, such as Mira, the well-
was to simplify the view, to help you focus known winking star in Cetus the Whale.
on your target by removing peripheral But in special cases, you may find a non-
noise. The purpose of these charts is to traditional, italicized, lower-case letter,
help you hone in on one object and one such as an a or b; these are additional
About this book 9

unnamed or numbered guide stars, which I use the traditional symbols below to
you’ll find in the text described as Star a or represent the different classes of deep-sky
Star b, etc. One symbol, a circle, is used to objects. In the case of galaxies, I also show
mark the location of each Secret Deep their apparent orientations.
object on these wide charts. Thus, to find a Secret Deep object, first
The detailed finder charts have the same locate the object’s position on the wide-
orientation as the wide-field charts, but field finder chart. Next, note the brightest
they show a much smaller area of sky in star near the object and locate it on the
more detail. The constellation name is detailed finder chart. Now, read the accom-
given as are any boundary lines. A scale panying text on how to locate the object
bar appears at the bottom of each chart. and simply follow the directions.
Stars are shown to magnitude 11 near the
target; sometimes, fainter stars are shown, THE IMAGES
if I feel they’ll help you to identify it. In the All the object images in this book are
detailed charts, I’ve labeled each Secret reproduced in black and white, with north
Deep target with its full proper name (such up and east to the left. Unless otherwise
as NGC 1084) in black. A faint gray symbol noted, all were taken by my longtime
is used to mark the location of other inter- friend and colleague Mario Motta with an
esting deep-sky objects nearby, which are STL 1001E SBIG camera on his homemade
labeled (also in gray) with the NGC prefix 32-inch telescope. It has a field measuring
omited. Note too that, in these charts, the 170 170 . Photos of objects larger than 17
italicized letters may also refer to an aster- arcminutes were taken with Motta’s 6-inch
ism (a triangle, arc, pair of stars, or line), F/9 Ritchey–Chrétien astrograph, which has
as described in the text. a 1 field. (Detailed credits for these and
additional photos appear in Appendix D.)
I took some of the wider shots, such as
Orion’s Belt and other large deep-sky objects.
N I’ve also reproduced images from the
Hubble Space Telescope and other large tele-
Eridanus Cetus 1022
scopes. These images were used for the sole
b
purpose of inspiring you to use your imagin-
NGC 1084
a
ation. You certainly will not see anything like
E W these images when you look through your
c 80 77
telescope, but how else can you fully appre-
1052
1042 ciate what it is you are seeing? So do not be
discouraged, be enlightened.
1˚
Open Cluster Globular Cluster Planetary Nebula Bright Nebulae Galaxies

Mario Motta and his 32-inch Mario is quick to tell you, however, that
dreamscope it was his charming wife, Joyce Motta,
Astrophotographer and longtime amateur a lawyer by profession and an artist/photog-
astronomer Mario Motta wears many hats. rapher by avocation, who was responsible
By day, he’s a renowned cardiologist in for finding this astronomer’s paradise, which
Salem, Massachusetts. He served as the also doubles as a quiet reserve for Joyce’s
President of the Massachusetts Medical artistic and photographic endeavors.
Society from 2009 to 2010, is a member of One of the largest telescopes in New
the American Medical Association’s New England, Mario’s Monster (as I congenially
England Delegation, serves as an AMA call it) is a state-of-the-art, robotic tele-
delegate from Massachusetts, was elected scope that weighs 1,200 pounds and sports
to serve on the AMA Council of Science a special optical system of the relay design.
and Public Health, and holds an academic It was the brainchild of Mario, his optical-
appointment as Associate Professor of designer friend Scott Milligan, and other
Medicine at Tufts Medical School, among members of the Amateur Telescope Makers
other things. By night he’s an extraordinary of Boston (ATMOB), of which Mario has
amateur astronomer and dark-sky advocate. been a longtime member and past presi-
An advanced amateur astronomer, Mario dent. It is this same telescope that Mario
has built several observatories and tele- used to take the images in this book.
scopes. His Wingaersheek Observatory – Mario’s telescope is an all-spherical,
which sits atop his study in his home in multi-element, relay design – an improved
Gloucester, Massachusetts – houses his optical system of the one pioneered by
homemade 32-inch reflector under a Donald Dilworth a quarter century ago and
20-foot dome that overlooks Ipswich Bay displayed at the annual Stellafane telescope-
to the north and a large salt-water marsh makers convention in Vermont. This new
to the south. These calm bodies of water system (which ameliorates chromatic
help to produce great local
atmospheric seeing condi-
tions; they also help to
keep his skies reasonably
dark. A member of the
International Dark Sky
Association and the local
New England Light Pollu-
tion Group, Mario has been,
and continues to be, an avid
promoter/protector of dark
skies: Thinking globally and
acting locally, Mario spear-
headed a successful lighting
ordinance to further protect
the night sky over his town.
About this book 11

aberration effects and extends the sharp corrector lenses. The main advantage of
imagery in the telescope’s off-axis perform- the scope is the smooth, highly accurate,
ance), provides “significant advantages,” fully coated, spherical optical surfaces.
Mario says, over a conventional Newton- The double pass through the front surface
ian, Cassegrain, or Dall–Kirkham telescope. removes the spherical aberration of the
The new design incorporates a 32-inch primary mirror.
f/3 spherical primary mirror, a 7.8-inch “The converging beam then comes to a
Mangin spherical secondary mirror (with focus back down the central axis,” Mario
a flat back end), and 3.8-inch spherical explains, “allowing for a natural field stop
for much greater contrast
and enhancement than
that in conventional tele-
scopes.” This converged
beam is then passed
through an all-spherical
doublet, then two separate
spherical lenses. “These
lenses both collimate the
beam for refocusing back
behind the primary,” he
says, “and also remove the
color aberrations of the
system.” The light finally
passes through a central
5-inch perforation in the
primary mirror, and
comes to a focus 11 inches
behind it, offering sharp,
high-contrast images.
When I first met Mario,
I was a 14-year-old
“apparition” haunting the
halls of Harvard College
Observatory, in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where I had
been given permission
to use the Observatory’s
9- and 15-inch refractors
to study the stars and
planets. Mario was there
because the ATMOB held
its monthly meetings at

the Observatory’s Phillips Auditorium, and and clubhouse. After I moved to Hawaii,
its members used the 9-inch refractor on Mario and I kept in touch. Occasionally
clear nights after the meetings. It didn’t he makes it out to the Rock, and occasion-
take long before Mario and other friendly ally I get to visit him on the East Coast. In
faces invited me to join them. They also fact, on a memorable Halloween night in
persuaded me to give a talk to the club 2009, I was a guest of Mario and Joyce.
about deep-sky observing – specifically Mario and I stayed up almost until the
on how to find Messier objects with my dawn, visually observing deep-sky objects
own 4½-inch reflector from the city. through his impressive 32-inch telescope.
Since I had never given a public talk In fact, the first object we looked at was
before, I didn’t know what to say or how van den Berg 1 – the first object in the
to say it. So I rehearsed for weeks, trying Secret Deep catalogue.
to memorize a half-hour worth of words. As former president of the ATMOB,
When the big night arrived, I thought I was Mario initiated a collaboration between
ready. But as soon as I faced the audience, public schools and the ATMOB, who now
my body seized up. My throat tightened, give over 50 star parties a year in the
my eyes widened. I began to sweat pro- greater Boston area for school kids, and
fusely. My heart thumped uncontrollably partner an amateur with a school
in my chest (Mario was probably ready to district. Mario’s interests have been in gal-
get his portable heart paddles). Everything actic evolution, gamma-ray bursters,
I had planned to say was wrapped in a supernovae, as well as variable stars. He
mental fog. I couldn’t breath. When my also gives many talks on light pollution
mouth broke free, and my lips moved, issues. In 2003 Mario received the Las
nothing audible came out. Cumbres Award from the Astronomical
An eternity passed. I heard people in the Society of the Pacific for astronomical
room shuffling in their seats, some cleared outreach, and in 2005 he received the
their throats. Their eyes bored into mine. Walter Scott Houston Award from the
Then Mario asked me a simple question Astronomical League. I am honored to
about a Messier object. After a moment share with you the results of his latest
of thought, calmness magically returned. passion: deep-sky imaging. Mario also
I wasn’t speaking to an audience anymore wanted to share the following words
(at least not in my mind), I was speaking to with you.
Mario, and that made all the difference.
I have enjoyed astronomy for as long as
I answered his question, then another,
I can remember, starting as a young child.
and another. The night didn’t turn out so For a time, I strongly considered making
bad in the end. astrophysics my career choice, but eventu-
After that, Mario and other ATMOB ally ended up in medicine as a cardiologist.
members took this “kid” under their wings. My love of astronomy, however, has never
Their meetings were like being with family. waned. I built my first telescope, an 8-inch
We enjoyed not only nights at Harvard, Newtonian, as a teenager at age 14. I enjoyed
but, over the years, many crisp nights that telescope, but always yearned for larger
under the stars at the club’s dark-sky site optics. As my appetite for large telescopes
About this book 13

always exceeded my budget, I, through the always well written and highly informative,
years, continued to build larger and larger and thus it was an honor to be associated
telescopes, always completely homemade. with this project. I hope all of the
I bought an old lathe and milling machine amateur astronomers who track down the
and learned to make all the mechanical parts objects in this book will get as much pleasure
as well. I consider grinding the optics and from observing or photographing them as
manufacturing all of the mechanical parts I did.
not only a challenge and scientific pursuit,
but also an art form.
I have built three home observatories THE DRAWINGS
through the years. My latest telescope and All the sketches in Chapter 2 are compos-
observatory, which was completed in 2006, ites of field drawings I made at various
is what I consider my ultimate dream tele- magnifications. They are shown with north
scope. A 32-inch f/6 relay telescope, it has up and east to the left. The orientation
the power to allow me to gaze deep into the matches that of the corresponding photo-
universe, and the precision and accuracy to graph. Each Secret Deep object in the
give me stunning views when I image. All of drawing is labeled with its proper name
the images attributed to me in this book
in the upper left corner, two field orienta-
were taken from my home observatory with
tion labels (N for north and W for west),
this telescope. It is an unusual design, an
and a scale bar to help you size up each
all-spherical optical design with 11 optical
surfaces.
object in your own telescope.
The primary mirror is 32 inches. It has 584 The composites show details visible at
mechanical parts, all personally hand made. low, medium, and high power. This is a
The final result is an instrument of beauty technique I’ve employed for decades and
to behold and to use. I have the very good enables me to share with you the overall
fortune of being married to a wonderful grandeur of the object in one portrait.
woman who allows part of her house to be It’s important to note, however, that I’ve
an observatory. This house was built from boosted the contrast greatly for two reasons:
the initial design to have an observatory as (1) to hold the detail for reproduction, and
an integral part of the house, with a pier
(2) to enhance the beauty of the subtle
extending through two floors to reach the
observatory. This allows me to observe the
heavens any clear evening with little effort,
the telescope always ready.
When my good friend and author of this
book asked if I would be interested in
obtaining the images I jumped at the chance.
Steve O’Meara and I have a long-term friend-
ship going back over many years, and what
has always cemented our friendship is a
mutual and deep love of observing the uni-
verse. This has created a deep bond that
binds us despite the fact that we now live
thousands of miles apart. Steve’s books are

view. If I were to try and reproduce the could not see) at different magnifications,
delicate details of some deep-sky objects, so use the verbal description as your
you probably wouldn’t recognize them, or explanatory guide.
see them for that matter, in the drawings, It’s time now to go out and explore
they would be too faint. In the text, I do and give thought to the splendor of the
break down what details I could see (and universe.
About this book 15

CHAPTER 2
The Secret Deep 1
Secret Deep 1
(van den Bergh 1)
N
Cassiopeia
44
E W
vdB 1
The Secret Deep 17

1
1
van den Bergh 1 ¼ LBN 578
Type: Reflection Nebula
Con: Cassiopeia
RA: 00h 11.0m

Dec: þ58 460
Mag: –
SB: 13.5 (Rating: 3)
Dim: 50 50
Dist: ~1,900 l.y.
Disc: Beverly T. Lynds (listed in her 1965
Catalogue of Bright Nebulae)
w. h e r s c h e l : None.
n g c : None.
v d b 1 i s a l i t t l e - k n ow n r e f l e c - star catalogues covering the northern and

tion nebula only about 300 south-southeast southern celestial hemispheres, respect-
of Beta (b) Cassiopeiae (Caph). It is also a ively. Of the 100,000 or so stars investigated
dim reminder not only that little treasures to a declination of −33 , he identified
can hide in the glare of brighter com- reflection nebulosity associated with about
panions, but also that not all objects 500 of them.
accessible to small- to moderate-sized back- In his catalogue, van den Bergh also
yard telescopes have associated with them a included nebulae already found in similar
Messier, New General Catalogue (NGC), or surveys; vdB 1 was one such inclusion;
Index Catalogue (IC) designation. In fact, it appears in Beverly T. Lynds Catalogue
this first object in the Secret Deep catalogue of Bright Nebulae (University of Arizona),
is also the first object in Sidney van den first published in a 1965 Astrophysical
Bergh’s catalogue of reflection nebulae, Journal Supplement (vol. 12, p. 163). Like
which was originally published in a 1966 van den Bergh, Lynds encountered it in
Astronomical Journal (vol. 71, p. 990). her scans of Palomar Sky Survey prints
In his study, van den Bergh scanned and listed it as the 578th object in her
Palomar Sky Survey prints in an attempt catalogue. Thus, vdB 1 is also known as
to identify reflection nebulosity associated Lynds’ Bright Nebula 578 (LBN 578).1
with all Bonner Dürchmusterung (BD) and In his emulsions, van den Bergh noted
Cordoba Dürchmusterung (CD) stars – two that the nebula is both “very bright” and
of the most complete pre-photographic “very blue.” In modern color shots, it’s a
1
In their 2003 book Star Clusters (Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, VA), Brent Archinal and Stephen Hynes caution that this
nebula should not be mistaken for the open star cluster vdB 1, with which it has no connection; the latter being
apparently known as the “CV Monocerotis Cluster.”
18 Deep-Sky Companions
1
N
Cassiopeia
E Caph W
Region of
LDN 1265
vdB 1 nebula with stars of similar magnitude

nearby. I found that once I carefully per-
formed this exercise, vdB 1 appeared ever-
more prominent with time.
1˚
The nebula takes magnification surpris-
S ingly well. At 60, for instance, the glow
appears as a fuzzy wrap of uniform light
with a slight teardrop shape toward the
50 -long wash of cerulean light surrounding southwest, but this is an illusion, I’m sure,
bright illuminating stars; the hue rivals owing to the fact that that’s where the pair
the azure sheen of the Merope Nebula in of 9th-magnitude suns resides.
the Pleiades star cluster (M45) in Taurus, At 94, the nebula is most apparent
though vdB 1’s glow is set against a dusty around the solitary 9th-magnitude sun at
carpet of multicolored stellar jewels in the the northeast end of the triad. The triad also
Cassiopeia Milky Way. is joined by a roughly 11th-magnitude sun
Detecting vdB 1 is by no means difficult in a further to the northeast, making the aster-
5-inch refractor under a dark sky. The small, ism appear like a little Sagitta. To the north-
foggy glow is primarily illuminated by three west is an equally bright arc of three suns,
roughly 9th-magnitude stars, which burn the end stars of which are near equal double
through the nebula like lights seen through stars. The longer I look at this amazing little
a fog. I find the nebula about as challenging to path of light, the more extended it appears,
see as some of the small patches of nebulosity especially to the northwest and southeast of
in the Pleiades. The night must be very trans- the solitary northern star in the triad.
parent, because the slightest haze will cause Return to low power. If you can get a
all the stars in the region to appear nebulous. field of 2 , all the better. Now, let your eye
But that’s the key to identifying the relax and view the entire field from Beta
nebula. You simply have to use low power Cassiopeiae to vdB 1. Do you see anything
and averted vision to compare the triad curious? I can’t recall how many times
of 9th-magnitude stars embedded in the I have viewed this field at low power
The Secret Deep 19

1
without ever having noticed the fact that my 5-inch, faint tendrils of light could be
vdB 1 lies on an island of stars surrounded seen along the edges of the main nebulo-
by a large loop of dark nebulosity, LDN sity, giving the object the appearance of
1265, like the murky waters of a dark moat. a wind-tattered flag. Both Larry and Rick
I didn’t notice the dark nebula until agreed that this object would be perfect
December 11, 2009 – a night of unexpected for the Secret Deep catalogue, especially
clarity and transparency. That night, the since it’s not difficult and would otherwise
low-power, wide-field view of vdB 1 looked, remain a deep-sky obscurity.
in my mind’s eye, like an aerial view of city
lights on a mist-laden island at night. The AN IMAGING CHALLENGE
darkest part of LDN 1265 takes the shape If you look carefully at Mario Motta’s
of an upside down J; it begins near Beta beautiful image of vdB 1, you can see to
Cassiopeiae and curls around vdB 1 to the the northeast an interesting loop structure
southwest. It’s been a while since I’ve been associated with a nebulous star, as well as
taken by surprise. The dark J is very bleak. another nebulous star just 3700 to the north:
Even at 60 or 94, I could not detect any These stars (V633 Cassiopeiae (also known
starlight within it. It’s worth a visual sail as LkHa 198) and V376 Cassiopeiae, res-
along those “dark waters.” pectively) are Herbig Ae/Be stars associated
The field is even more amazing in wide- with extended reflection nebulosity. They
field images I’ve seen, which show the lie some 1,900 light-years distant, about
multifaceted nature of this nebulous region as close as the North America Nebula in
(both bright and dark) in remarkable detail. Cygnus; the distance to vdB 1 in the table
The large swath of LDN 1265 appears as a on page 18 assumes the Herbig–Haro object
fat dusty crescent that seems to caress and it belong to the same molecular cloud
Caph at its northeastern tip – interesting, complex, and thus have a similar distance.
since Caph is from Kaff-al-Khadib, mean- Herbig Ae/Be stars are intermediate-
ing “the stained hand.” Here’s another mass, pre-main sequence stars that share
interesting aside: this dark nebula is not numerous spectroscopic and photometric
shown on most popular atlases today. But properties with T Tauri stars – very young
I was happy to find it plotted (though not (<10 million years) stars found in reflec-
labeled) on Antonon Becvar’s 1950 Atlas of tion nebulae that are still undergoing
the Heavens (also known as the Atlas Coeli ). gravitational contraction and often have
In October 2009, I viewed vdB 1 from large vestige accretion disks. But the exact
a dark-sky site just beyond Edmonton, nature of the Herbig Ae/Be circumstellar
Alberta, Canada. Larry Wood, of Edmon- environment is quite complicated and
ton, and Rick Huziak, of Saskatoon, offered uncertain. Many such intermediate-mass
me glimpses of this beautiful nebula young stellar objects may be surrounded
through 12-inch f/6 and 10-inch f/5 by large quantities of circumstellar mater-
reflectors, respectively. In both scopes, ial in a circumstellar disk, which may be
the nebula was an unmistakable glaze of still accreting onto the central star.
white light surrounding the bright triad of In high-resolution imaging, V633 Cassio-
9th-magnitude stars. But unlike the view in peiae appears to be a single star with an
1
extended “loop-like” reflection nebula Cassiopeiae is seen close to edge-on with
oriented northwest–southeast. The “loop” a possible circumstellar disk.
traces the redshifted lobe of a CO outflow, Kester W. Smith (Max-Planck-Institute
the driving force of which may be an for Radio Astronomy, Bonn) and his col-
infrared source 600 to the north (V633 leagues support that claim. In a 2004
Cassiopeiae B (LkHa 198-B)). The loop also Astronomy & Astrophysics, the astron-
contains two Herbig–Haro objects: HH 161 omers report that speckle observations of
and HH 161-B. V376 Cassiopeiae partially reveal that the
These objects – named after George inner regions of the system are in fact
Herbig (University of California, Berkeley) obscured by a flaring circumstellar disk
and Mexican astronomer Guillermo Haro, or torus seen close to edge-on. A Hubble
who discovered the first three such objects Space Telescope image also lends support.
in 1946–7 in images of the nebula NGC However, it suggests a nearly edge-on disk
1999 in Orion (Hidden Treasure 33) – are at a position angle of about 140 ; the near-
small-scale shock regions intimately asso- side of a bipolar outflow lobe can also be
ciated with star-forming regions. They’re seen extending to the west. The observed
created when fast-moving jets of material light probably arises mostly from scatter-
ejected from very young stars collide with ing from the inner edge of the outflow
the interstellar medium. As the ejected cavity or from the surface of a flared disk
flow plows into the surrounding gas, it or circumstellar torus.
generates strong shock waves, which move In October of 2008, Mario Motta and
at speeds topping 100,000 miles per hour, I viewed vdB 1 visually through Mario’s
exciting atoms along the way and causing 32-inch reflector. The 9th-magnitude stars
the nebula to glow. All known Herbig– dominated the view and the nebula nearly
Haro objects have been found within the filled the field of view; it looked as if a
boundaries of dark clouds and are strong cirrus cloud had moved in and destroyed
sources of infrared. the night’s viewing. Unfortunately, we did
V 376 Cassiopeiae is equally intriguing. not know at the time about the two nearby
In a 1996 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 472, Herbig Ae/Be stars. It wasn’t until Mario
p. 349) Canadian astronomer Louis Asselin later imaged the field that he noted the
(Observatoire du Mont Megantic and Depart- mysterious loop of nebulosity nearby.
ment of Physique, Montreal) announced That sent me on a search of the literature.
that on the basis of seeing-limited images Now I wonder how large an aperture is
taken at the Canada–France–Hawaii Tele- required to see the loop visually. Go out
scope atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, V376 and give it a try!
The Secret Deep 21

2
Secret Deep 2
(NGC 134)
2
Cetus 1
Aquarius
E 2
Pisces W
Sculptor 1 Austrinus
s µ
NGC 134
2
1
Phoenix Grus
2
2
Giant Squid
NGC 134
Type: Mixed Spiral Galaxy (SABbc)
Con: Sculptor
RA: 00h 30.4m

Dec: −33 150
Mag: 10.4
SB: 13.3 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 8.50 1.90
Dist: ~62 million l.y.
Disc: John Herschel; James Dunlop
possibly included it as the 590th
object in his catalogue of 1828
j . h e r s c h e l : b r i g h t ; large; very
much elongated; pretty suddenly a
little bright in the middle; 400 long;
100 broad; position angle 227 ;
the following of two. (h 2327)
n g c : Very bright, large, very much

extended toward position angle 47 ,
pretty suddenly bright in the middle,
following of two, 10th-magnitude
star north preceding 4500 .
n g c 134 i s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y, Nevertheless, NGC 134 is a treasure that’s

nearly edge-on spiral galaxy in Sculptor, relatively easy to acquire. At a declination of
just 300 east-southeast of 5th-magnitude −33 150 , the object is only 1 farther south
Eta (Z) Sculptoris, or nearly 10 (about a than M7 in Scorpius. Of course, the galaxy’s
fist held at arm’s length) south-southwest faintness makes it a challenge to find from
of NGC 253 (Caldwell 65), the more popu- mid-northern latitudes. But it’s a stunning
lar Silver Coin galaxy. In fact, in a sweeping object when seen from the southern USA.
view of the region, NGC 134 just happens NGC 134’s discovery is often attributed
to be surrounded by, and somewhat to John Herschel, but Herschel did note
lost among, a cast of extragalactic prima that it may be the 590th object listed by
donnas – including NGC 253, NGC 300 James Dunlop in his 1828 catalogue, which
(Caldwell 70), and NGC 55 (Caldwell 72) – was published six years before Herschel
all of which are savagely beautiful when arrived at the Cape of Good Hope and
seen through small telescopes. began surveying the southern heavens
The Secret Deep 23

2
with his 18-inch f/13 speculum reflector. smooth disk. Its bright, very small nucleus
Of the new object Dunlop wrote: “A faint is partly hidden by a series of dark,
round nebula, about 20 diameter.” Of feathery dust lanes that delineate the
course, while his position places the object galaxy’s clumpy, spiral arms (rich in star-
near NGC 134, his description of it does forming HII regions) that loosely wrap
not sound at all like this elliptical wonder, around a bright, bar-shaped central region.
which is even apparent in the smallest of Dust-lane asymmetry between the near
telescopes. and far sides is particularly strong.
Herschel also sketched the galaxy, Deep exposures have also revealed
clearly showing its spindle-shape with plumes streaming off the galaxy’s major
tapering edges. He classified NGC 134 as axis in both directions – like the flagella
an elliptical nebula “normal” in its charac- of some extraterrestrial euglena. Indeed,
ter, meaning “as the condensation increases as Mario’s image on page 23 shows,
towards the middle, the ellipticity of the the galaxy’s disk appears warped, resem-
strata diminishes, or in which the interior bling a bent vinyl LP left out too long in
and denser portions are obviously more the burning sun. Such warps are not
nearly spherical than the exterior and unusual; our Milky Way, for instance, has
rarer.” Of its nature, Herschel suggested a small one, and they are found on many
that the “time is clearly arrived for other galaxies that have an interacting
attempting to form some conception at companion. It’s possible that a smaller
least of the possibility of such a system galaxy has gravitationally stretched matter
being either held in a state of permanent from NGC 134, forming the plumes (and
equilibrium, or of progressing through a the warp). One likely candidate would
series of regular and normal changes, seem to be 13th-magnitude NGC 131,
resulting either in periodical restorations which lies only 50 west of NGC 134, but
of a former state, or in some final this galaxy does not seem to be involved;
consummation.” a still fainter galaxy, ESO 350-G21,
Seen through small telescopes, wafer- may be the disturbing culprit. It’s also
thin NGC 134 appears to be a near twin possible that a smaller galaxy collided
of the spectacular edge-on galaxy NGC with NGC 134 in the past, causing the
4565 (Caldwell 38) in Coma Berenices. visible disruption. The answer still eludes
Photographs, however, reveal the two astronomers.
galaxies to be worlds apart in appearance. From our perspective, NGC 134 lies in
NGC 4565 is a classic example of a nearly a haystack of galaxies, centered on the
edge-on spiral galaxy with an oval hub sur- impressive Sculptor Group, which lies at a
rounded by a large symmetrical disk of distance of 10 million light-years, and is the
dust and starlight. Although NGC 134 is nearest gathering to our own Local Group.
similarly oriented (~14 from edge on), it But NGC 134 is not a true member of the
is a different class of spiral. The innermost Sculptor Group. R. Brent Tully (University
part of the disk is smooth out to about 5000 . of Hawaii) places it 62 million light-years
Multiple dust lanes that outline the arm from Earth in the Telescopium–Grus Cloud
fragments then begin at the rim of this of galaxies. NGC 134 is a massive system
2
N
Sculptor
E NGC 134
W
NGC 131
1˚
At 60, the galaxy is a fine sight and
S seems to awaken the senses. The trapezoid
is more of a square with a dim star within.
The arms appear to favor each side of the
with a diameter of about 150,000 light- nucleus along the major axis. The north side
years, making it as large as NGC 4565. also seems to have a break near the faint
To find this southern wonder, use the chart star on its western side. At 94, the galaxy
on page 22 to locate 4th-magnitude Alpha (a) looks more milky and feathery. The core is
Sculptoris, which is some 12 south- mottled, and the arms look like moist breath
southeast of Deneb Kaitos, or Beta (b) Ceti. on string. The southern half of the galaxy is
Next, use binoculars to locate 5th-magnitude definitely brighter than the northern half.
Eta (Z) Sculptoris about 7½ southwest of The southern arm is also knotted in a most
Alpha Sculptoris. Now center your telescope delicate manner.
on Eta Sculptoris and use the chart on this A 13th-magnitude star can be seen north-
page to locate NGC 134, which will look northwest of the galaxy’s nuclear region and
like a 10th-magnitude needle of pale light could easily be mistaken for a supernova.
300 to the east-southeast of that star. A supernova was discovered in the galaxy in
The galaxy is visible from Hawaiian skies 2009: Stuart Parker, who lives in the small
in 7 50 binoculars and in my antique village of Oxford in New Zealand’s South
telescope. At 33 the galaxy sits atop a trap- Island, discovered Supernova 2009gj on
ezoid of suns southeast of Eta. The galaxy is June 20, 2009, shining at magnitude 15.9
immediately noticeable as a white scratch in his images of the galaxy, which he had
between the trapezoid and other field stars taken through his Celestron 14 telescope.
that pen the galaxy in. Since the galaxy is Note that since NGC 134 is located about 60
nearly edge-on, its thin arms are less notice- million light-years away, the light we see from
able than the core, which requires averted its disk through our telescopes left the galaxy
vision to see at this magnification. With around the time of the Cretaceous–Tertiary
time, the galaxy’s bright core swells in layers. mass extinction of the dinosaurs on Earth.
The Secret Deep 25

3
Secret Deep 3
(NGC 488)
N
µ 1
2 Pisces
µ
NGC 488
95
89
Mira
Cetus
E W
Eridanus 2 1
3
3
Whirligig Galaxy
NGC 488
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SA(r)b)
Con: Pisces
RA: 01h 21.8m

Dec: þ05 150
Mag: 10.3
Dim: 5.50 4.00
Disc: William Herschel, 1784
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed
December 13, 1784] Very faint,
pretty large, irregularly round,
little brighter in the middle.
(H III-252)
n g c : Pretty bright, large, round,

suddenly very bright in the middle,
8th-magnitude star following 100 .
n g c 488 i s a s m a l l b u t b e au t i f u l I first encountered NGC 488 in Burn-

spiral galaxy in the mysterious cord of ham’s Celestial Handbook (Dover Publica-
Pisces – about 10 west-northwest of Alpha tions, New York, 1978), which spotlights
(a) Piscium, the knot in the line that joins the compact spiral simply in a photo.
the two Fishes. I say mysterious because no Still, the galaxy’s fine weave of spiral
one is quite sure why this cord exists, why arms, dappled with extragalactic filigree,
the fishes have been united in this way. It was enough to entice wonder. Not until
may refer to the Roman myth in which I moved to Hawaii in 1994, though, did
Venus and Cupid (the goddess of love and I try to hunt it down. When I did, the view
her boy) startled the monster-dragon didn’t disappoint me. But more on that
Typhon, who thrives in fire but fears water. later.
To escape the beast’s wrath, the pair tied For now, just look at Mario Motta’s
themselves together with a long cord (so marvelous image that opens this page.
they would not be separated), then dove The disk has nearly perfect spiral struc-
into the dark waters of the Euphrates, ture, which we see 46 from face-on.
where they turned themselves into fishes. Astronomers refer to NGC 488 as the
Today we see the successful escape com- prototype multiple-armed spiral galaxy
memorated in the sky as Pisces. (more-evolved galaxies have thicker,
The Secret Deep 27

3
more-open arms).1 NGC 488’s tightly Way at a speed that’s about 1.5 times
wound spiral pattern reminds me of a slower! NGC 488 has, in fact, the largest
Fourth-of-July whirligig, surrounded by rotational velocity known for any normal
bursts of foreground starlight and little spiral galaxy.
extragalactic sparklers. Despite its small These studies have also furthered the
apparent size (5.50 4.00 ) the galaxy is a contention that the spiral appearance
true astrophysical wonder, measuring of galaxies represents areas of enhanced
150,000 light-years across in true physical density (density waves). Compression
extent. It appears so small in the sky waves rotate more slowly than the galaxy’s
because we see its light 95 million light- stars and gas – like cars in a traffic jam. As
years distant in the Cetus–Aries Cloud of gas enters a density wave, it gets squeezed
galaxies. NGC 488’s form consists of a large and triggers star formation, which illumin-
and smooth central bulge surrounded by a ates the arms, creating the visible spiral
uniform arrangement of thin, stringy frag- structure.
ments. The tight spiral pattern can be NGC 488 is a good target for small tele-
traced across the entire face of the disk, scopes, even from suburban locations; I’ve
though no fragments can be followed for seen it in telescopes as small as a 4-inch
more than about half a revolution. Each refractor with direct vision under the light
filament appears clumpy, though without of a first-quarter Moon. To find it, use the
prominent star-forming knots. chart on page 26 to locate 3.5-magnitude
As German astronomer Burkhard Fuchs Alpha (a) Piscium, which is 10 due west of
(University of Heidelberg) discusses in a 4th-magnitude Gamma (g) Ceti. Now use
1997 Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 328, your unaided eyes or binoculars to find
p. 43), the young galaxy has a prominent Mu (m) Piscium about 8 further to the
central bulge and an inner counter-rotating northwest in the Fishes’ cord. Center Mu
disk, both of which suggest that the bulge Piscium in your telescope at low power,
formed – not during the collapse of the pro- then switch to the chart on page 29.
togalaxy or by secular evolution of the gal- From Mu Piscium, move 1 south-
actic disk – but by cannibalizing satellite southwest to 7th-magnitude 95 Piscium.
galaxies. NGC 488’s counter-rotating disk, Now move about 500 west to a wide pair
for instance, can be interpreted as the of 8.5-magnitude stars (a) oriented east-
debris of satellite galaxies that disintegrated northeast to west-southwest and separated
while they merged with NGC 488. by about 200 . Next move about 350 west-
Kinematic studies have been made of southwest to 7.5-magnitude Star b. NGC
the stars in NGC 488’s disk out to a radius 488 is only about 100 west of Star b.
of 65,000 light-years from the galaxy’s At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 488 can be
bulge, at which point the stars travel at a seen as a small but bright and highly con-
velocity of 363 km/second – an astonishing densed glow just northeast of a roughly
rate given that our Sun orbits the Milky 12th-magnitude star. At a glance the light
1
The Deep-Sky Companions series contains several other galaxies with similar structure: NGC 1398 in Fornax (Hidden
Treasure 19), NGC 2775 in Cancer (Caldwell 48), NGC 2841 in Ursa Major (Hidden Treasure 49), NGC 3521 in Leo (Hidden
Treasure 56), and NGC 7793 in Sculptor (Hidden Treasure 109).
3
to the overall view, the galaxy
N
suddenly shrinks in the mind’s
µ
eye. It’s a fabulous illusion.
Pisces
Because, the galaxy is so con-
densed, it takes magnification
E W well.
NGC 488 For this study, I immediately
a
95 went to 94 to start. At this
b
1˚ power, the galaxy is quite a
subtle beauty, displaying a
S
conspicuous starlike nucleus
in a soft nest of light 10 across,
surrounded by an even softer halo at least
twice that extent, which is best seen with
averted vision. The proximity of the ~12th-
magnitude star is somewhat of an irritant,
but it helps to keep the eye focused on
the target. The view at 165 is equally
enticing, though I cannot see any further
details. Those using larger telescopes should
be able to make out some of the thin spiral
patterns.
On October 21 and 23, 1976, a 15th-
magnitude Type I supernova was discov-
ered photographically 200 west and 11100
south of NGC 488’s nucleus. Designated
from the galaxy and star seem to meld, SN 1976G, it was discovered about 30 to
making the galaxy appear larger than it is. 40 days after maximum light. Keep watch
Once you realize that a star is contributing on this galaxy for future eruptions.
The Secret Deep 29

4
Secret Deep 4
(NGC 654)
N
Cassiopeia
NGC 654
44
E W
4
4
Fuzzy Butterfly
NGC 654
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cassiopeia
RA: 01h 44.0m

Dec: þ61 530
Mag: 6.5
Diam: 6.00
Dist: ~7,800 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed November 3,
1787] A small cluster of pretty [bright]
stars, considerably rich. (H VII-46)
n g c : Cluster, irregular figure, rich,

one magnitude 6.7 star, stars from
11 to 14 magnitude.
Ne x t t o t h e b i g d i p p e r , t h e w o f That’s where you’ll find five open clusters.

Cassiopeia is arguably the most sought They are, in order of brightness, NGC 654
after star pattern in the northern heavens. (6.5), NGC 663 (7.1), M103 (7.4), NGC 659
They’re both conspicuous and neither sets (7.9), and Trumpler 1 (8.1). Note that our
as seen from mid-northern latitudes. target, NGC 654, is the brightest of them
But unlike the Big Dipper (and its parent all. Yet it’s easy to overlook because the
constellation Ursa Major), which is rich in cluster “hides” in the glare of a yellowish
galaxies, Cassiopeia lies on the Galactic 7th-magnitude sun, which initially over-
equator and hosts a wealth of other deep- powers the view. But, as I will soon des-
sky spectacles, including include two cribe, this yellow star is actually a member
Messier objects (M52 and M103); six Cald- of the cluster.
well objects (NGC 147, NGC 185, NGC 457, Nevertheless, NGC 654 can be spied by
NGC 559, NGC 663, and NGC 7635); five a keen observer using 7 35 binoculars
Hidden Treasures (NGC 189, NGC 225, under dark skies. Telescopically, it’s a tiny
NGC 281, NGC 659, and NGC 7789), and and tight grouping of little gems. The clus-
four Secret Deep objects (NGC 654, NGC ter’s 80 measured members (7th-magnitude
7790, Stock 2, and vdB 1). and fainter) appear in little clumps scat-
One of the richest deep-sky regions in tered across a mere 60 of sky, or 14 light-
the celestial W lies only 2½ east-northeast years. G. Lynga classified it as Trumpler
of 3rd-magnitude Delta (d) Cassiopeiae. II2r – a rich, detached cluster with little
The Secret Deep 31

4
central concentration whose stars have a observations for 61 stars in the NGC 654
moderate range in brightness. It’s a young region. The data show evidence for the
cluster, with an age of about 14 million presence of at least two layers of dust
years, or about the same age as the Double along the line of sight to the cluster, which
Cluster in Perseus. lies at a distance of about 7,800 light-years.
Astronomers have taken keen interest They estimate the distances to the two
in NGC 654 because it displays nonuni- dust layers to be about 652 and 3,300
form extinction across its face, with stars light-years, placing the clouds much closer
reddened by about 1 magnitude on aver- to the Sun than the cluster. The dust forms
age. As early as 1975, W. B. Samson (Royal a ring with the central hole coinciding with
Observatory, Edinburgh, UK) proposed the center of the cluster. The foreground
that a dust shell of interstellar matter – dust grains, then, appear to be responsible
swaddling matter left over from the period for the nonuniform extinction towards
of cluster star formation – is responsible the cluster, whose least reddened stars lie
for the nonuniform extinction across the close to the cluster center.
cluster region. But Sidney W. McCuskey Photoelectric observations and proper
(Warner and Swasey Observatory, Cleve- motion studies of NGC 654 have helped
land, Ohio) and his colleagues countered astronomers determine which stars belong
that local dust clouds lying in the cluster to the cluster. These studies have identified
direction can explain the observed extinc- the 7th-magnitude yellow supergiant star
tion, which is very patchy. Besides, the HD 10494 as a likely member with a reces-
researchers failed to find evidence that sional velocity of about 31 km/sec.
the extinction varies with distance from To find this hidden treasure you can star
the cluster center as might be expected and cluster hop. Start by using the chart
with a dust-shell model. on page 30 to locate Delta Cassiopeiae,
Some of the cluster’s stars also display a then 5th-magnitude Chi (w) Cassiopeiae
large color excess – the difference between nearly 1½ to the southeast. The 6th-
the observed color of a star compared to its magnitude star 44 Cassiopeiae forms the
spectral type. Color excess indicates the northeast apex of a near-equilateral triangle
amount of interstellar reddening suffered with Delta and Chi. Center that star in your
by the light from the star when it passes telescope then see the chart on page 33.
through dust in space. In some clusters, Open cluster NGC 659 is only about 100
this extinction is caused by the presence north-northeast of Chi, and open cluster
of hot and ionized dust circumstellar NGC 663 is only 350 northeast of it. Our
envelopes around stars. target is only 400 north-northwest of NGC
But this does not appear to be so in the 663. It sits just north and slightly west of
case of NGC 654. In a 2008 Monthly Notices a 7th-magnitude sun (Star a) that shines
of the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 388, with a rich golden hue; this is the yellow
p. 105) Indian astronomer Biman J. Medhi supergiant HD 10494. Note that the mag-
(Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observa- nitude 9.5 star a few arcminutes to the
tional Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital) and west is not a cluster member, but it adds
colleagues published their polarimetric to the cluster’s apparent beauty.
4
N
654
a
Cassiopeia
663
E W
659
44
suns looks like two superimposed clusters:
1˚ one shaped like a tadpole (oriented roughly
east–west) and an inverted V of stars
S (oriented north–south).
The cluster is small enough, and bright
enough, to handle high magnifications.
Using direct vision through the 5-inch at In the 5-inch, the most comfortable power
33 the cluster appears as a breath of cir- is 180, which shows the shapes just
cular light hugging a bright topaz-yellow described burning against a fainter scrim
sun. This nebulous knot transforms into of dim suns. If you look closely at the
a beautiful fuzzy butterfly with averted 7th-magnitude sun, you will see an obvi-
vision; thus my nickname for the cluster. ous 11th-magnitude sun about 1.50 north
The butterfly’s upward-flapping wings open of it, and another 11th-magnitude sun
toward the 7th-magnitude star like a reverse about 10 north-northeast of it. That latter
letter “C”. With averted vision and 33, the star is another nonmember.
cluster resolves into little patches of stardust By the way, if you can get a 2 field of
with an obvious congregation at the north- view at low power, all three clusters – NGC
west end, making it appear quite irregular. 654, NGC 663, and NGC 659 – will fit com-
At 60, the cluster’s vast majority of fortably in the field with 44 Cassiopeiae.
11th- and 12th-magnitude suns form a In physical space, NGC 654 (~7,800 light-
60 -long ellipse of irregularly bright stars, years distant) lies between the other two:
oriented east–west and flanked to the NGC 663 (The Horseshoe Cluster) is a bit
south by milky starlight. At 94, the closer at ~7,200 light-years; NGC 659 is a
greatest congregation of some two-dozen tad farther away at ~8,200 light-years.
The Secret Deep 33

5
Secret Deep 5
(Collinder 463)
N
40
50
Cr 463
48
42
Cassiopeia
E W
5
5
Loch Ness Monster Cluster,
The Queen’s Reflection
Collinder 463
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cassiopeia
RA: 01h 45.7m

Dec: þ71 490
Mag: 5.7
Diam: 570
Dist: ~2,280 l.y.
Disc: Per Collinder, listed in his 1931
paper “On structural properties of
open galactic clusters and their
spatial distribution.”
n g c : None.
Most backyard astronomers are back, Gamma (g) and Kappa (k) as the seat,
aware of Collinder 399, the pretty Coathanger and Alpha (a) and Beta (b) as two legs.
asterism in Vulpecula (Hidden Treasure 97). I first saw the throne depicted this way in
In my Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Lou Williams’ 1950 book A Dipper of Stars
Treasures, I also spotlight two other Collin- (Follett Publishing Company, Chicago). As
der clusters: Collinder 69 (the Lambda a child, I found it easier to imagine the
Orionis Cluster (Hidden Treasure 29)) and Queen seated in this celestial throne than
Collinder 72 (the Lost Jewel of Orion the way she’s positioned in classical star
(Hidden Treasure 31)). Now I take you charts. If you adopt my nonclassical ver-
to the forgotten high northern reaches of sion of the Queen, look for her in profile:
Cassiopeia, to Collinder 463, a large and Iota (i) Cassiopeiae is the Queen’s head;
beautiful cluster “reflected” in the vain the mirror is being held in her bent arm
Queen’s mirror – a 2 -wide trapezoid of with Phi (c) Cassiopeiae at the elbow.
4th- and 5th-magnitude suns (50, 48, 40, You’ll find the Queen’s mirror roughly
and 42 Cassiopeiae). two-thirds of the way along an imaginary
This mirror is of my own invention. line between 3rd-magnitude Epsilon (ε)
I think it’s easier to see the Queen of Ethi- Cassiopeia, the easternmost star in the
opia sitting in her chair or throne, if you Celestial W, and the North Star (see the
envision the chair as depicted on page 36: chart on page 34). The mirror marks a little
with Epsilon (ε) and Delta (d) as the raised spur in the eastern reaches of the Milky
The Secret Deep 35

5
his career on the seas around Sweden and
in the Arctic. He devoted his life to the
history of astronomy in his retirement,
when he became historian of the develop-
ment of astronomy in his homeland.
His records are kept at the Uppsala Astro-
nomical Observatory in Sweden.1
Collinder 463 is a large and loose
Galactic cluster close to the Sun near the
edge of the Orion arm – the same one that
carries our Sun. At the cluster’s given dis-
tance, it spans 38 light-years of space.2 It’s
also relatively young, being only 150 mil-
lion years old. That makes Collinder 463
the same age as M35 in Gemini. But Col-
linder 463 is nearly two times larger than
M35 in true physical extent. Since Collin-
der 463 is only about 220 light-years closer,
we see it almost twice as large as M35 in
the night sky.
In apparent size and magnitude, Collinder
463 is more akin to NGC 752, a magnitude
5.7 open cluster in Andromeda that spans
a whopping 750 of sky. NGC 752, however,
Way that sweeps past 3.5-magnitude lies nearly twice as close. With an age of
Gamma (g) Cephei, just a little more than 2 billion years, NGC 752 is also one of the
10 from the North Celestial Pole. Collin- oldest open clusters known. Still, isn’t it
der 463 lies in the middle of the mirror, interesting that Collinder 463, which is vis-
midway between 40 and 48 Cassiopeiae. ible to the unaided eye under a dark sky
It is, in fact, the largest star cluster in the (just like NGC 752), went unnoticed by so
constellation. many great observers. NGC 752, on the
The Swedish astronomy graduate stu- other hand, which is just as bright and
dent Per Arne Collinder (1890–1975) dis- about 25 percent larger than Collinder
covered the cluster, which he listed in his 463, was at least nabbed by the keen gaze
1931 doctoral dissertation “On structural of Caroline Herschel in 1783. Perhaps Col-
properties of open galactic clusters and linder 463’s position so close to the north
their spatial distribution.” Collinder was a celestial pole caused it to be ignored for so
surveyor by profession, spending much of long. Collinder 463 stands just far enough
1
Collinder’s paper “Swedish astronomers 1477–1900” appears in the 1970 Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. His “Astronomical
works and papers printed in Sweden between 1881 and 1898” appears in the 1966 Arkiv for Astronomi (vol. iv).
2
“Proper motions of open clusters within 1 kpc based on the TYCHO 2 catalogue,” W. S. Dias., J. R. D. Lépine, B. S. Alessi,
2001, Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 376, p. 441).
5
away from the central madness of the Cas-
siopeia Milky Way to be easily overlooked.
To see Collinder 463 with the unaided
eye, you’ll need to be under a dark and
transparent sky. I find that if I orient my
head so that Collinder 463 appears to the
upper left of 50 Cassiopeiae, then stare at
50 Cas with direct vision, NGC 463 pops
into view with averted vision. It’s an
intriguing sight in 10 50 binoculars,
appearing as wide splash of about a dozen
suns 8.5-magnitude and fainter.
The cluster is an eye-grabber in rich-
field telescopes, which are best for show-
ing such a large celestial treasure. In the Of course, a loose cluster of this size is a
5-inch at 33, my eye was immediately virtual celestial Rorschach test; just turn
attracted to a pretty neck of stars in the your head and all manner of forms can be
southeast quadrant of the cluster that con- created. Although the cluster has only 40
nects to a roughly 100 -wide trapezoid of confirmed members (three of them con-
relatively bright stars at the cluster’s core. firmed giants), the field is surprisingly rich.
In fact, when the cluster’s central 300 of I counted at least 80 stars in a roughly 1
stars are seen with south up, they remind sphere without straining, and there’s prob-
me of a plesiosaurus – the large marine ably a hundred. And while the cluster loses
dinosaur that swam in the Jurassic seas; its luster at higher powers and smaller
or, better yet, how about “Nessie,” Scot- fields of view, I found lots of interesting
land’s legendary Loch Ness Monster? An stellar pairings and other attractive gather-
acute triangle of suns in the north forms ings of stars at 60. So go out and enjoy
the dinosaur’s head; lines of stars extending this “monster” of a cluster. The good news
to the north-northwest, southwest, and is that it’s circumpolar from mid-northern
northeast look like the beast’s flippers. latitudes. Even when lowest, it stands
And a “wagging” tail reaches to the east, about 20 above the horizon, so it’s always
before making a sharp jog southward. accessible.
The Secret Deep 37

6
Secret Deep 6
(Stock 2)
N
50
48
Cassiopeia
Camel.
E W
Stock 2
Double Cluster
Perseus
6
6
9 (Stitchpunks)
Stock 2
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cassiopeia
RA: 02h 14.7m

Dec: þ59 290
Mag: 4.4
Diam: 600
Dist: ~1,100 l.y.
Disc: Jürgen Stock, 1956
n g c : None.
S t o c k 2 i s a s u r p r i s i n g ly b r i g h t
and large open cluster about 2 north-
northwest of the great Double Cluster in
Perseus. Like the latter wonder, it lies near
the Galactic equator in the stellar tapestry
of the winter Milky Way. And while Stock 2
is just as bright as the Double Cluster, it
lacks a strong central condensation (the
Double Cluster has two!), which makes it
less obvious; imagine seeing two concen-
trated flashlight beams against a distant
background versus that of a single diffuse
beam. Indeed, the irregularly bright suns
of Stock 2 are coarsely scattered across two
Moon diameters of sky in a rich band of
Milky Way, causing it to almost blend with
the background. Yet, once detected, Stock
2 springs to life, becoming quite obvious,
especially in binoculars and wide-field
telescopes.
What’s visually intriguing is that while
the Double Cluster lies some 7,300 light- Milky Way (the one opposite the Galactic
years distant in the Perseus Arm of the center from the spiral arm containing our
The Secret Deep 39

6
Sun), Stock 2 is a foreground object 1,100 greater than, about 50 percent to a limiting
light-years distant (lying almost in front blue magnitude of about 20, correspon-
of the Double Cluster) in the Orion spiral ding to late-M dwarfs at the distance of
arm – the same spiral arm in which our Stock 2.
Sun and the stars of Orion reside. Stock 2 has long been classified as a
If the Double Cluster were at the dis- young cluster, with an age ranging any-
tance of Stock 2, each member would span where from 100 million to 170 million
three Moon diameters and shine more years. But these values are not consistent
than 100 times brighter than it does now with results obtained by Salvatore Sciortino
in the sky. Conversely, if Stock 2 were at (Astronomical Observatory of Palermo,
the distance of the Double Cluster, it Italy) and colleagues, who used the ROSAT
would appear as a roughly 10th-magnitude satellite data to assess the X-ray luminosity
cluster about 80 in apparent diameter. As level of 112 high-probability cluster mem-
it stands, despite Stock 2’s closeness to us, bers. As reported in a 2000 Astronomy &
we see it strongly obscured by dense and Astrophysics (vol. 357, pp. 460–470), their
patchy interstellar dust clouds along this measurements of the cluster’s X-ray emis-
line of sight. sion revealed that it more closely resembles
Jürgen Stock at Warner and Swasey Obser- that of a much older cluster, having an
vatory found Stock 2 while searching blue age intermediate between the Hyades
objective prism plates along the Galactic (~700 million years) and the Pleiades
equator. He found the new cluster based (~100 million years).
on the spectral class and approximate mag- Determining the lithium abundance of
nitudes of its stars. He catalogued it as a Stock 2’s members may help to refine the
cluster in 1956. cluster’s age. Lithium (the third element in
Interestingly, Stock 2 is a Trumpler class the periodic table) formed together with
I2m, meaning it’s a detached and moder- hydrogen and helium in the immediate
ately rich cluster with a strong central con- aftermath of the Big Bang. All stars contain
centration and a medium range in the lithium. But those massive enough to start
brightness of the stars (though the visual burning hydrogen into helium also destroy
appearance through a small telescope is of lithium in the process – in part through
a loose aggregation of suns hardly concen- slow mixing as the star rotates; in part
trated at all!). In their wonderful book Star through diffusion, whereby a star’s con-
Clusters, Archinal and Hynes list Stock 2 as stantly churning surface pulls lithium
having 166 members 8th-magnitude and from the surface and drags it into the star’s
fainter. But recent studies have increased hydrogen-burning core where it is destroyed.
that number dramatically. In a 2000 Astron- Our Sun, a middle-aged star, has only
omy & Astrophysics (vol. 143. p. 409), about 1 percent of its original lithium. In
D. C. Foster and his colleagues used the contrast, brown dwarfs – the dimmest and
cluster’s proper motion to separate least massive kind of star – never get hot
members from background and fore- enough to burn hydrogen, so they retain
ground stars. The team found 634 stars with most of their lithium. The highest-mass
a membership probability equal to, or brown dwarfs, however, will eventually
6
burn the element. Thus, determining the In binoculars, Stock 2 appears as 1 -wide
highest mass of brown dwarfs still contain- scintillating flurry of irregularly bright
ing lithium in the cluster can give astron- suns. It’s simply a low-power object. For
omers an idea of its age. Sciortino et al. me, 33 in the 5-inch is the ideal power
believe that future high-resolution lithium to appreciate this diffusion of stellar
observations will settle the age debate that gems. I spotted some 80 irregularly bright
their X-ray survey has opened. members arranged in a multitude of
To find Stock 2, use the chart on page 38 to patches across 1 of sky. The cluster’s west-
find the Double Cluster, which is about 7½ ern side is arranged in two overlapping
east-southeast of 2.7-magnitude Delta (d) loops, each 200 wide, and oriented north–
Cassiopeiae (Ruchbah). The Double Clus- south. A zipper of stars juts to the east,
ter appears to the unaided eye as a 4th- where it ends in “two little feet.” That’s
magnitude fuzzy knot in the gentle folds why I call the cluster “9” – because the
of the Milky Way. It is a beautiful and overall shape of its brightest stars reminds
unmistakable peppering of suns forming me of the lead character in Tim Burton and
two mounds of highly condensed starlight Timur Bekmambetov’s animated fantasy of
spread across 250 of sky. the same name. Known as “Stichpunks” to
Visible just north of the cluster’s west- fans of the film, 9 is a courageous little
ernmost member (NGC 869), you’ll find a mechanical humanoid (part soul of his cre-
1½ long ellipse of about a half-dozen 6th- ator) with huge binocular-like eyes and a
magnitude suns; the two most obvious of burlap body dominated by a zipper that
which are 7 and 8 Persei, just north of NGC runs up his torso.
869. The center of Stock 2 is 1 due north of I don’t recognize a cluster core, though
the northernmost star (a) in the ellipse. two tiny Y-shaped strings of stars, each
just a few arcminutes long with some
nice stellar pairings can be found here.
The cluster’s most prominent pair (8th-
and 10th-magnitude suns separated by
~20 ) lies on its southwest edge and is
oriented southeast–northwest. The brighter
of the two has an interesting ruddy
hue. Use powers between 60 and 100
to investigate the cluster’s multitude of
fainter pairs and interesting groupings,
which include stars arranged in letters,
such as “P,” “Y,” “L,” “O”, “J,” etc. Relax your
mind and have fun with the view.
The Secret Deep 41

7
Secret Deep 7
(NGC 936)
N
µ
1 Pisces
2
µ
75 NGC 936
Mira
Cetus
E W
Eridanus 2 1
7
7
Darth Vader’s Starfighter
NGC 936
Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy (SB0 (rs))
Con: Cetus
RA: 02h 27.6m

Dec: −01 090
Mag: 10.2
Dim: 5.70 4.60
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed January 6, 1785]

Considerably bright, a very bright nebula
with a chevelure of 3 or 40 diameter. (H IV-23)
n g c : Very bright, very large, round,

much brighter in the middle to
a nucleus, preceding of 2.
n g c 936 i s a s m a l l b u t b e au t i f u l its round shape. This classification may

barred-spiral galaxy in the middle of Cetus have caused the great nineteenth-century
the Whale’s neck, almost midway between observer Admiral William Henry Smyth
mid-4th magnitude Delta (d) Ceti1 and the (1788–1865) to see it not only as round,
celebrated “winking” variable star Mira. like a planetary, but also “bluish white,
It’s also about 1¼ west, and a tad south, and pale, but very distinct, and brightening
of 5.5-magnitude 75 Ceti. In a way the toward the centre.” The color he saw was
galaxy’s position places it just beyond probably the result of mental suggestion,
notice, given that most attention in the given that many bright planetary nebulae
area is either given to Mira or the bright shine with a green or aqua hue.
Seyfert galaxy M77, which lies only about But as modern images clearly show,
1 southeast of Delta. Interestingly, NGC NGC 936 is a prototypical barred spiral
936’s core is extremely condensed and galaxy, seen inclined 40 from face-on. It
bright, so it’s a great object for suburban belongs to the Cetus–Aries Cloud of galax-
observers. ies and is receding from us at 1,430 km/
Note that Herschel classified it as a plan- sec. The galaxy is quite large. If we accept
etary nebula (his Class IV object) owing to a mean distance estimate of 54 million
1
For those interested in astronomical trivia, owing to Earth’s 26,000-year precessional cycle (one complete top-like wobble
of Earth’s axis), Delta Ceti transitioned from being a Southern Hemisphere star to a northern late in the year 1923.
The Secret Deep 43

7
light-years, the galaxy measures more than the pattern seen in the early mixed spiral
90,000 light-years in linear extent. galaxy NGC 2655 (Hidden Treasure 48) in
Our target actually is joined by (though Camelopardalis.
not interacting with) the much fainter A 2010 European Southern Observatory
barred spiral galaxy NGC 941 (magnitude (ESO) press release noted that the appear-
12.4) 12.60 to the east, the edge-on spiral ance of the galaxy (as imaged by the
NGC 955 (magnitude 12.0) 440 to the east, 8.2-meter telescopes of ESO’s Very Large
and several other dimmer anonymous Telescope on top of Cerro Paranal, Chile;
companions. In true linear projection, see below) bears a striking resemblance to
NGC 941 lies nearly 400,000 light-years “the Twin Ion Engine (TIE) starfighters
from NGC 936, while NGC 955 is about used by the evil Dark Lord Darth Vader
1.3 million light-years distant from it. This and his crew in the epic motion picture
loose group is about half the size of the Star Wars. The galaxy’s shiny bulge and a
Local Group; so large telescope users bar-like structure crossing it bring to mind
should have fun trying to imagine this as the central engine and cockpit of the
they peer into this region of space. spacecraft; while a ring of stars surround-
Deep images of NGC 936 reveal it to be ing the galactic core completes the paral-
of the earliest barred spiral class, showing lel, corresponding to the wings of the TIE
a nearly smooth, extended disk with an fighters that are equipped with solar
abnormally prominent bar that ends well panels.” As with other early-stage barred
inside the edge of the disk (out to a dis- spirals, NGC 936 comprises exclusively
tance of 20,000 light-years), which has a old stars and shows no sign of any recent
luminosity of nearly 6 billion
Suns. A diffuse, massive, ill-
defined but definite spiral
pattern exists outside the end
points of the bar, where we see
a parallel pair of arcuate arms
with fainter extensions that
form a complete ring around
the nuclear region, which con-
sists of a very bright and dif-
fuse nucleus or inner lens
(0.60 0.40 ). This oblate bulge
also has a luminosity of nearly
6 billion Suns.
The spiral features that
thread through the disk of
NGC 936 are generally diffuse
and ill-defined. The arms,
though massive, are smooth,
and indefinite – similar to
7
N
Cetus
b
a
E 75 W
941
955
NGC 936
1˚
star formation. And, as with most other

galaxies, no one knows if it is dominated
by a large amount of dark matter. background). NGC 936’s outer halo defin-
To find this unusual treasure, use the chart itely needs averted vision; it vanishes with
on page 42 to locate 75 Ceti, which is about a direct gaze; even then, like NGC 941,
2¼ southwest of Delta (d) Ceti. Center that it is flirtatious, flitting in and out of view
star in your telescope at low power, then appearing slightly out of round, oriented
switch to the chart on this page. From 75 slightly northwest–southeast.
Ceti, move a little less than 300 northwest NGC 936’s nuclear region takes magnifi-
to 9th-magnitude Star a. Now move about cation well, so crank it up! I studied the
450 west-northwest to 7th-magnitude Star b, inner lens at 330 with little problem. At
which has a 9th-magnitude companion that magnification I could see its promin-
about 60 to the south-southeast. NGC 936 ent bar with weak concentrations on either
is about 250 south of that star pair. end of it. I could not justify seeing bright
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 936 is a arcs, just a ring of light around that lens,
bright, small (30 ), and highly condensed, though I’m certain larger telescopes can
round glow of mostly uniform brightness eek out such minute detail.
but with a definite central concentration; As reported on International Astronom-
the view begs for more power. At 60, the ical Union Circular number 8171, on July
galaxy’s nucleus burns with a fiery inten- 29, 2003 UT, the great Australian supernova
sity, like a hypnotizing eye. It truly does discoverer Robert Evans of Hazelbrook,
look like a bright planetary nebula with a New South Wales, discovered a magnitude
punchy central star. The intense nucleus 13.8 supernova in NGC 936 through his
lies in a soft nest of circular light, which 12-inch reflector. He found it about 2000
itself is surrounded by an equally soft and southeast of the nucleus, noting that he
circular collar of dim emission. detected nothing to magnitude 15 on July 3
Every now and then I saw with averted UT. Designated Supernova 2003gs, the
vision NGC 941 popping in and out of new object had a peculiar spectrum roughly
view, as if vying for attention (it appears consistent with a Type Ia supernova per-
as a large dim glow just above the sky haps one week after maximum light.
The Secret Deep 45

7
In one popular model, a Type Ia super- supernova. This occurs when the mass of
nova results from the violent explosion of a the white dwarf reaches 1.4 solar masses
white dwarf star that may be in a close (40 percent more mass than that of our
binary system with a red giant star from Sun); a runaway nuclear chain reaction
which it accretes matter. The white dwarf occurs, causing the white dwarf to destroy
feeds on its companion’s outer layers until itself by exploding. For white dwarfs in such
it essentially overdoses and erupts as a systems, gluttony can be sinfully bad news!
8
Secret Deep 8
(NGC 1084)
N
µ
1 Pisces
2
Mira
Cetus
E W
NGC 1084
77
80
Eridanus 2 1
The Secret Deep 47

8
8
NGC 1084
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SA (s)c)
Con: Eridanus
RA: 02h 46.0m

Dec: −07 350
Mag: 10.7
Dim: 3.20 1.90
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed January
10, 1785] Very bright, pretty large,
little extended, much brighter in
the middle. (H I–64)
n g c : Very bright, pretty large,

elongated, gradually pretty much
brighter in the middle.
D o n o t b e f o o l e d b y n g c 1084’s triangle about 1 to the southeast. All

magnitude. It is a small but obvious galaxy belong to the Cetus–Aries Cloud of galaxies
about 3 northwest of 4th-magnitude Eta and lie about 60 million light-years distant.
(Z) Eridani (Azha), just east of the Cetus Despite its somewhat ungainly appear-
border, or about 2½ east-northeast of the ance in some images (which tend to burn
close pair of 6th-magnitude suns 77 and 80 out the core), NGC 1084 is, at a glance,
Ceti. It’s very visible in a small telescope, a typical, late-type spiral galaxy, receding
being highly condensed, making it an from us at about 1,500 km/sec. Like other
excellent target for suburban observers. Sc galaxies, NGC 1084 has a small central
Its declination places it just a little lower nucleus compared to its main massive
than that of the southernmost portion of spiral arms, two of which form a regular
Orion’s Sword. grand-design S-shaped spiral pattern with
NGC 1084 is actually the brightest and much irregular structure, bright knots and
easternmost of a half-dozen galaxies near emission objects. But while NGC 1084’s
80 and 77 Ceti with the others being as northwestern arm is well defined (being
follows: NGC 991 (magnitude 11.7) about lined on its inside edge with a dust lane),
300 to the north; NGC 1022 (11.3) about the spiral pattern on the eastern side of the
1¼ to the northeast; and NGC 1035 galaxy (the one nearest to us) is not so easy
(12.2), NGC 1052 (10.5; see page 50), and to trace; here, two arms start as thin, lumi-
NGC 1042 (11.0) making a pretty 300 -wide nous threads that overlap after unwinding
8
by half a turn – beyond that the spiral In a 2007 Monthly Notices of the Royal
pattern is confused, being a mishmash of Astronomical Society (vol. 381, pp. 511–524),
dust lanes and feathery spiral segments. S. Ramya (Indian Institute of Astrophysics,
The galaxy’s disk is moderately sized, Bangalore) and colleagues discuss their
spanning some 56,000 light-years in its study of star formation in NGC 1084, which
longest extent, and mildly inclined at 63 supports Moiseev’s second theory. They
from face-on. It has a total mass of some found star-formation rates for a few of
50 billion Suns. The galaxy’s weak nuclear the complexes to be as high as 0.5 million
bulge is elongated along the disk’s major solar masses per year, with the complexes
axis and shows no sign of a bar. In a themselves lying in the age range 3 to 6.5
2000 Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 363, million years. “The star formation in NGC
pp. 843–850), Russian astronomer Alexei 1084 has taken place in a series of short
V. Moiseev (Special Astrophysical Observa- bursts over the last 40 million years or so,”
tory) found giant star-formation regions they say. “It is proposed that the likely trig-
in a 11,500 light-years-long “spur” in the ger for enhanced star formation is merger
northeast part of the galaxy that “avoids with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy.”
the bright HII regions.” Indeed, Moiseev says that in a 2010
The most intriguing feature, he says, University of Strasburg preprint (http://
was not the spur itself, but the strong cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/abs/2010arXiv1003.
unusual gas motions around it (up to 4860M) Martinez-Delgado and colleagues
150 km/sec!). To explain this curiosity, say they have obtained ultra-deep images
he suggests either (1) an infall of high- of this galaxy. “They detected several
latitude gas clouds (intergalactic clouds external plumes or tidal tails around
or clouds expelled from the disk earlier) NGC 1084,” Moiseev says. “Now the fact
onto the galactic disk, which could trigger of merging with one (or several) dwarf
star formation, or (2) an interaction with a companions is directly confirmed.”
gas-rich dwarf galaxy accompanied by To find this possible extragalactic can-
tidal disruptive merging. nibal, use the chart on page 47, to first
As for the latter theory, Moiseev notes locate 2nd-magnitude Alpha (a) Ceti
that a small “island” of H-alpha emission (Menkar). Now look for Eta (Z) Eridani a
does exist there, which may be associated little more than 10 (a fist held at arm’s
with a radio tail that begins there and length) to the south and ever so slightly
extends to another radio source 3.50 from west.
the galaxy. “As no HI map at 21 cm is avail- Now use your unaided eyes or binocu-
able for NGC 1084,” Moiseev says, “one lars to find 80 Ceti, which is 5 to the west-
cannot confirm whether this radio tail northwest. You’ll know when you have this
contains some expelled gas. But the con- star because similarly bright 77 Ceti lies
figuration resembles a tidal tail as usually only about 200 to its west. Center 80 Ceti
developing on the opposite side of a galaxy in your telescope at low power and switch
colliding with another one. Therefore, to the chart on page 50. From 80 Ceti, move
the gas flow twisted in the northern half 400 northeast to a pair of 8.5-magnitude
of NGC 1084 might be accretion.” stars (a), which are oriented northeast to
The Secret Deep 49

8
500 east to 7th-magnitude
N
Star d. NGC 1084 is about
Eridanus 1022
350 northeast of Star d.
Cetus
At 33 in the 5-inch,
b NGC 1084 is easily seen
with direct vision as a
NGC 1084
little bead of light. With
a averted vision it’s still a
E W small but very condensed
c
d 80 77 ellipse measuring about 20
1052
in diameter and oriented
1042 northeast to southwest.
At 60, the galaxy is a
1˚ very conspicuous egg of
largely uniform light with
S few other defining char-
acteristics. Increasing the
magnification to 94 brings out some
feathery details to the egg’s rim. The galaxy
started to reveal itself at 164, when I saw
two arcs: a long one at the position of the
bright northwestern arm (it starts at the
northeast side of the galaxy (the spur?)
and winds around to the west, where it
gradually fades); and a short and stubby
arm beginning at the southwestern end of
the egg. Averted vision at this power also
shows the core to be slightly brighter and
elongated.
CCD imagers take note: NGC 1084 is a
southwest and separated by about 50 . Now great galaxy to watch for supernovae, with
make a careful sweep about 450 southeast four known to date having occurred over
to 8.5-magnitude Star c, which has an the last half century. They are: SN 1963P,
11th-magnitude companion about 40 to SN 1996an, SN 1998dl, and SN 2009H.
the east-southeast. Finally, move about Happy hunting!
9
Secret Deep 9
(NGC 1245)
N
Camelopardalis
µ NGC 1245
14
M34
Perseus
E 16
W
40 17
42
Taurus
41
Pleiades Aries
The Secret Deep 51

9
9
Patrick Starfish Cluster
NGC 1245
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Perseus
RA: 03h 14.7m

Dec: þ47 140
Mag: 8.4
SB: 13.4 (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 100
Dist: ~9,100 l.y.
December 11, 1786] A beautiful,
compressed and rich cluster of [faint]
and [bright] stars 7 or 80 diameter, the
bright stars arranged in lines like
interwoven letters. (H VI-25)
n g c : Cluster, pretty large, rich,

compressed, irregularly round,
stars from magnitude 12 to 15.
n g c 1245 i s a r e l at i v e ly s m a l l , and age, they gradually “evaporate,” losing

dim, but rich open cluster a little more their less massive stars first. NGC 1245 is,
than 3 southwest of 2nd-magnitude Alpha in fact, one of the senior members of the
(a) Persei, roughly midway between Alpha open cluster family, being about 1 billion
and 4th-magnitude Kappa (k) Persei. It’s years old. It’s an irregular and loose aggre-
another one of those small and compressed gation spread across 27 light-years of space
wonders that’s greatly overshadowed by in the antigalactic direction. It lies close to
larger, brighter, and more visually accessible the Perseus arm, nearly 1,500 light-years
clusters, such as the Alpha Persei Moving below the plane of the Galaxy. While most
Cluster (Hidden Treasure 14) and M34, of the cluster’s brighter stars are slightly
about 7 to the southwest. But despite blue main-sequence (hydrogen burning)
NGC 1245’s seemingly diminutive nature, stars, the cluster also contains a large popu-
it is a surprisingly rich cluster and quite lation of evolved orange (hydrogen-shell
the spectacle under a dark sky. burning) stars, indicating that it might
In 1930, Trumpler classified NGC 1245 as belong to the Galaxy’s old disk population.
a rich, detached cluster with little concen- In a 2003 Bulletin of the Astronomical
tration. As open clusters orbit the Galaxy Society of India, Annapurni Subramaniam
9
(Indian Institute of Astrophysics) con- researchers lament, “the transit is unlikely
firmed the cluster’s age and the fact that to be a planetary transit, since the [light
it appears to have a small deficiency of curve] is indicative of a grazing binary
bright stars near the center of the cluster, eclipse. [Those of] planetary transits tend
which matches the visual impression to be boxier in shape with more rapid
through backyard telescopes; the brightest ingress and egress durations and flat-
stars form several looping hollows that bottom eclipses.”
take on a starfish pattern. Burke and Joshua Pepper (Ohio State
As I mentioned earlier, all star clusters University) also determined the variable-
experience the tidal force of the Galaxy, star content of the cluster. Out of 6,787 stars
which can result in the cluster losing low- observed to a visual magnitude of 22, they
mass stars to the Galactic field. And this found 14 stars with clear intrinsic variabil-
appears to be the case with NGC 1245 as ity that are also potential cluster members
we see it today. NGC 1245 is highly relaxed, and 29 clear variables that are not cluster
and its stellar population is strongly segre- members. None of these variables had been
gated by mass. Its outer periphery is previously identified. Four stars at the
indeed enriched with low-mass members main-sequence turnoff of the cluster have
while devoid of high-mass members out to light curves consistent with Gamma (g)
its tidal radius of 54 light-years. “The lost Doradus variability. If these Gamma Dora-
stars could be present in the corona of the dus candidates are confirmed, they repre-
cluster,” Subramaniam says, noting that sent the oldest and coolest members of this
as recently as 2002 it has been discovered class of variable discovered to date.
that clusters in general have large coronae, To find this fascinating cluster use the
which contain a large fraction of cluster chart on page 51 to locate Alpha Persei.
stars. Now look about 2½ west for 4th-magnitude
In a 2004 Astronomical Journal (vol. 127, Iota (i) Persei. Center Iota Persei in your tele-
pp. 2382–2397) Christopher J. Burke (Ohio scope at low power, then switch to the
State University) and his colleagues chart on page 54. From Iota, make a slow
derived a total cluster mass of about 1,300 sweep 500 southeast to 8th-magnitude
Suns, a distance of 9,100 light-years, and Star a. Now make another sweep 500 south
found it to have a slightly subsolar metal- to 6th-magnitude Star b, then slide about
licity. Burke et al. have also conducted 300 south-southwest to 6.5-magnitude Star
searches for transiting extrasolar planets c. NGC 1245 is about 350 southeast of Star c.
to assess the frequency of close-in extra- In the 5-inch at 33 under a dark sky,
solar planets around main-sequence stars NGC 1245 is quite impressive, being a tiny
in several open clusters. They began by packet of bright and faint suns in a starfish
surveying stars in NGC 1245 and expected pattern. This brighter form is sprinkled
to see two transits. Their preliminary over with dim suns that look like droplets
search of the data, published in 2003, of dew on a flower. The cluster’s core is
revealed a transit candidate with a depth exceptionally granular at low power. At
of 4 percent. They observed the transit on 60, some 40 to 50 prominent cluster
two separate nights. “Unfortunately,” the members are loosely scattered across
The Secret Deep 53

9
N
Perseus
E W
b
celestial “sea salt” (a granular texture

c composed of countless dim suns). For
this reason I call NGC 1245 the “Patrick Star-
fish” cluster. It’s a special imaginary creation
1245
for young Alison Nagler, daughter of Tele
Vue Optics’ president David Nagler, who’s a
fan of the animated kids’ TV show “Sponge-
1˚ Bob Squarepants”; Patrick, a pink starfish, is
S SpongeBob’s best friend and neighbor.
At higher powers, you may find the
100 of sky, forming a series of seemingly main concentration of the cluster’s most
overlapping ovals, especially in the east– prominent suns mixing with other stellar
west direction near the “core.” The core at gatherings to create more fanciful shapes.
first has a snaking river of about eight simi- I’ve found letters – such as A, Y, L, G, and
larly bright stars at its northern border U – floating in the darkness like letters
running west to northeast. The granular in an alphabet soup. (I must admit that
texture is between the two brightest stars I made this observation before I had
to the south and east of this river. learned from Larry Mitchell of Houston,
In photographs, the cluster looks like a lily Texas, that William Herschel observed a
to me, but I cannot fully appreciate this similar pattern, writing, “the bright stars
impression in the 5-inch. There really are arranged in lines like interwoven letters.”)
no spectacular double stars, though a care- Perhaps with the age of this cluster
ful survey will show the occasional odd in mind, I can see it as a cluster in the
pairing of a bright sun with a dimmer process of “falling apart,” especially where
companion. No, the simple beauty of this the arms appear “separated” from the
cluster lies in its elegant richness at low central framework, as if the cluster’s being
power. I just cannot escape seeing the star- dismantled. Have fun with your own
fish form of bright suns, sprinkled over with imaginings.
10
Secret Deep 10
(NGC 1300)
µ Taurus
Orion
1
2
E W
39
53
Lepus
µ 20
Eridanus h3565
NGC 1300
54
4
6 5
9
8
Fornax
Columba
The Secret Deep 55

10
10
NGC 1300
Type: Barred Spiral (SB (s)bc)
Con: Eridanus
RA: 03h 19.7m

Dec: −19 250
Mag: 10.4
SB: 13.3 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 5.50 2.90
Disc: John Herschel
(h 2522)
n g c : Considerably bright, very large,

very much elongated, pretty suddenly
very much brighter in the middle.
W e’ v e n ow c o m e t o o n e o f t h e Walter Scott Houston (1912–1993) of Con-

most perfect examples of a grand-design necticut observed it in a 3½-inch Questar.
barred spiral galaxy in the heavens: NGC If you see this wonder, you’re looking
1300, a cosmological wonder of elegance, at a giant extragalactic system more than
grace, and style. This southern galaxy is 150,000 light-years across and some 70
much sought after from northern locals, million light-years distant in the Fornax
though it may prove difficult from some Cluster and Eridanus Cloud of galaxies.
suburban locations with poor horizons. The light we see emanating from it today
It’s best to pursue it under a dark sky with first escaped that galaxy during Earth’s
few or no obstructions. Cenozoic period around the time of the
The galaxy is only 0.3 magnitude fainter extinction of the dinosaurs. We see the
than M98 and M91 in Coma Berenices, and galaxy’s disk inclined 43 from face-on,
it has about the same surface brightness as and it has a total mass of 150 billion suns.
them as well. The difficulty is not so much its In deep images, like the one on page 57
declination – which places it a little bit higher taken by the Hubble Space telescope, NGC
in the sky than M 41 in Canis Major – but its 1084 is a fantastic tapestry of starlight and
relative isolation in the weak star fields of glowing gas mixed with slithering wisps of
Eridanus. But many northern observers have dark obscuring interstellar dust.
spied it in 4-inch and smaller telescopes. For Most alluring is the way the galaxy’s
instance, the late, great deep-sky observer brilliant spiral arms fly off of the ends of
10
the galaxy’s bar and bulge, looking like stars, star clusters, and star-forming
water jetting from a reciprocating lawn regions are well resolved across the spiral’s
sprinkler. Most galaxies of this spiral-arm thin, knotty arms. Smooth dust lanes trace
subclass (s) have dominant, massive arms out fine structures in the disk and bar.
rather than a weak, filamentary pattern Numerous more distant galaxies are visible
where the arms fray like feathers from an in the background, and are seen even
almost-complete ring. There is a concen- through the densest regions of NGC 1300.
tration of HII regions where the arms join These features are not unique to NGC
the bar, and mainly so on the western 1300. Most barred spirals with “grand-
side. The western arm also contains sev- design” structure – meaning a small but dis-
eral very luminous HII regions, while the tinct nuclear spiral centered on the larger
eastern arm shows some less luminous spiral pattern formed by the galaxy’s arms
enhancements. (a spiral within a spiral) – share several dis-
In the HST image, note how the tinctive features: a large-scale prominent
bar blends with the smooth, and equally bar; two straight and symmetrical dust lanes,
majestic, elliptical bulge, which measures each on the outside of the otherwise smooth
some 150,000 light-years across. Two bar; and recent and robust star formation
straight dust lanes line the opposite sides in the arms near the ends of the bar, which
of the nucleus and can be traced to the occurs in a number of discrete clumps.
ends of the bar, where they turn sharply The core spiral of NGC 1300 spans about
and follow the insides of the spiral arms. 3,300 light-years, and the HST image
The tightly wound arms extend roughly resolves it into a series of tightly wound
180 degrees before fading. The far ends of armlets, outlined in dust and stellar popu-
the arms straighten out, rather than curv- lations. This core also is a site of consider-
ing back into a pseudo-ring. able star formation. Models suggest that
At HST’s resolution, a myriad of fine the gas in a bar can be funneled inwards,
details, some of which have never before and then spiral into the center through the
been observed, is seen throughout the grand-design disk, where it can potentially
galaxy’s arms, disk, bulge, and the very small fuel a massive central black hole. But,
and extremely bright nucleus. Supergiant unlike other spiral galaxies, including our
own Milky Way, NGC 1300
doesn’t appear to harbor
one. NGC 1300 is not
known to have an active
nucleus, indicating, again,
either that there is no black
hole, or that it is not accret-
ing matter.
To find this “perfect”
barred spiral, use the chart
on page 55 to locate
3rd-magnitude Gamma (g)
The Secret Deep 57

10
N
Eridanus
h3565
NGC 1301
a
NGC 1297
E W
NGC 134
1˚
S nucleus surrounded itself by a small oval

glow with fuzzy edges.
At 60, I immediately suspected seeing
Eridani, which is nearly 20 west-southwest the galaxy’s barred spiral structure. The
of brilliant Beta (b) Orionis (Rigel). Now look outer arms appeared very tattered. These
about 12 (a little more than a fist held at twin arms on opposite sides of the galaxy
arm’s length) for 4th-magnitude T4 Eridani. mirror one another as they sweep away
About 3 north of it is the 6th-magnitude from the bar.
double star h3565 (magnitudes 5.9 and 8.2 The galaxy comes to life at powers
separated by 800 ). Now use the chart on this between 94 and 165. But, to see the
page to find NGC 1300 only 550 south- most detail, you might have to battle
southeast of h3565, or about 350 south- between low-power views (which con-
southeast of 7th-magnitude Star a. dense the light, making faint structures
Through the 5-inch at 33, NGC 1300 easier to see) and high-power views
appears as a large diffuse oval patch that (which help to resolve these faint struc-
I feel may be difficult to detect for those tures, though they are not as immediately
under conditions with moderate amounts visible).
of light pollution. It’s a low-surface- With time and concentration, I could
brightness glow. Still, under a dark sky make out a tiny starlike nucleus embedded
and with my modest-sized telescope, in the central lens from which juts the bar.
I can definitely see it well with averted One arm shoots off from the west end of
vision, trapped in a delicate line of three the bar to the north. The other arm curves
moderately bright stars. With time, the from the east to the south. A dim star is
glow transforms into a diffuse elliptical trapped between the northwestern arm
lens of light with a small and diffuse and the inner lens. Can you see it?
11
Secret Deep 11
(NGC 1342)
N
Camelopardalis
14
M34
Perseus
E NGC 1342
16
W
a
40 17
42
Taurus
41
Pleiades Aries
The Secret Deep 59

11
11
Stingray, Sea Robin
NGC 1342
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Perseus
RA: 03h 31.7m

Dec: þ37 22.50
Mag: 6.7
Diam: 170
Dist: ~1,700 l.y.
December 28,1799] A cluster of
coarsely scattered [bright] stars
about 150 diameter. (H VIII-88)
n g c : Cluster, very large, about

60 stars.
Li k e n g c 1245 ( s e c r e t d e e p 9) , was to pass near a target of interest in

open cluster NGC 1342 is another over- the constellation. And it worked.
looked deep-sky object in Perseus. It lies Many observers got to see Comet
in a fist-sized celestial chasm, almost Holmes soon after its magnificent outburst
midway between the eastern foot of the on October 23–24, 2007. The comet
Hero (3rd-magnitude Zeta (z) Persei) and erupted like a nova, emerging from tele-
the head of the snake-haired gorgon scopic obscurity (16th-magnitude) to
Medusa (the 2nd-magnitude eclipsing naked-eye prominence (3rd-magnitude)
binary star Beta (b) Persei (Algol)), or about in just two days, flaring nearly half a mil-
about 5½ west-southwest of 3.5-magnitude lion times in brightness (the largest known
Epsilon (ε) Persei. outburst of a comet in that period of time).
Many observers were first introduced The excitement surrounding the sudden
to NGC 1342 in December 2007, when flaring of Comet Holmes was tangible.
Comet 17P/Holmes (see next page) passed By the time Comet 17P/Holmes neared
near the cluster. It was just the latest in a NGC 1342, however, it was a telescopic
long string of close encounters the comet object. Still, seeing these two objects in
had with other interesting objects in Per- the same field of view was dramatic – an
seus. In fact, amateur astronomers used opportunity to appreciate the three-
the comet as a sort of celestial tour guide, dimensional aspect of the sky, with the
alerting the public whenever the comet comet being a Solar-System object
11
In 1930, Trumpler classed it as IImr,
a moderately rich and detached cluster
whose moderately bright members are
more-or-less uniformly scattered with
little concentration. In a 1994 Journal
of Mexican Astronomy and Astrophysics
(vol. 28, pp. 7–16), J. H. Peña (Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México) and col-
leagues report how their photometric stud-
ies of NGC 1342 confirm that the cluster
seems to have a relatively large number
of young stars. Temperatures determined
of the hottest stars along with their lumi-
nosities have yielded an age estimate of
400 million years – about as old as the
Coma Berenices Star Cluster (about the
time when the first winged insects
appeared on Earth), and about four times
older than M34, which is about as far away
northwest of Algol as NGC 1342 is to the
southeast in apparent angular distance.
To find this pretty object, locate Epsilon (ε)
millions of miles distant and the cluster Persei and Xi (x) Per 4 to the south. NGC
being 1,700 light-years distant. 1342 marks the western apex of an equilat-
That a comet could draw attention to an eral triangle with those stars. Just raise your
obscure deep-sky object is not new. Consider binoculars to that location and look for
the first object in Charles Messier’s catalogue what appears to be a diffuse, 7th-magnitude
(M1, the Crab Nebula), which the great “comet” immediately south-southwest of
French astronomer independently dis- an 8.5-magnitude star. Otherwise, from Xi
covered in 1758 while observing the Comet Per, look 5 west for 6th-magnitude Star a,
of 1758. Likewise, French astronomer which in binoculars should be a nice triple.
Jean-Dominique Maraldi (1709–1788) dis- Center Star a in your telescope at low
covered the globular clusters M2 and M15 power, then switch to the chart on page 62.
in 1746 while following the movements From Star a, hop about 100 north to 7.5-
of De Cheseaux’s Comet of 1746. magnitude Star b. Next, move about 550
Yet, and I find this surprising, NGC 1342, northwest to a wide pair of 8th-magnitude
a magnitude 6.7 open cluster 170 across, stars (c), oriented west-northwest to east-
went unnoticed until William Herschel southeast and separated by about 200 . NGC
detected it on December 28, 1799. Today, 1342 is 500 due north of the southeastern
you can spy it under dark skies in binoculars. 8th-magnitude star in Pair c.
How did something so bright and obvious Although it is just below naked-eye
avoid detection? I don’t have the answer. visibility, the cluster is visible in 10 50
The Secret Deep 61

11
N
1342
Perseus
c
E W
b When I relax my gaze at 60, I can

envision a sea robin swimming south. Its
a
wing-like fins extend to the east and west
from the southern part of the cluster, and
1˚
its tail reaches to the north where it ends at a
S pretty double star. In their 1998 Observing
Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky
Objects (Cambridge University Press), Chris-
binoculars. At 33 in the 5-inch I can tian Luginbuhl and Brian Skiff see a stingray
immediately see about a dozen stars, swimming to the west in these stars.
including a jagged, 100 -long flat ellipse of With averted vision, the cluster’s
some half-dozen suns of mixed magni- brightest stars lie against a gauzy backdrop
tudes (oriented east-northeast to west- of fainter suns. The cluster contains nearly
southwest). The ellipse glitters with tiny 100 members 8th magnitude and fainter,
flecks of dim stars that seem to scintillate though only about 50 or so are prominent
with averted vision. in the 5-inch.
12 & 13
Secret Deep 12 & 13
(NGC 1400 & 1407)
N
µ Taurus
Orion
1
2
E W
39
NGC 1535
53
Lepus
µ
20
Eridanus
NGC 1407
NGC 1400
54
5
6
9
8
Fornax
Columba
The Secret Deep 63

12 & 13
12
NGC 1400
Type: Lenticular Galaxy (SA0)
Con: Eridanus
RA: 03h 39.5m

Dec: −18 410
Mag: 11.0
SB: 13.0 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 2.80 2.50
September 20, 1786] Pretty bright,
pretty small, round, resembling
[NGC 1407] but is smaller. (H II-593)
n g c : Considerably bright, pretty

small, round, pretty suddenly much
13
NGC 1407
Type: Elliptical Galaxy (E0)
Con: Eridanus
RA: 03h 40.2m

Dec: −18 350
Mag: 9.7
Dim: 6.00 5.80
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed October
6, 1785] Very bright, round, bright
nucleus in the middle. 10 ½
diameter. (H I-107)
n g c : very bright, large, round,

suddenly very bright in the middle
to a nucleus.
12 & 13
n g c 1400 a n d n g c 1407 a r e t h e t w o affects what’s known as the group’s mass-
brightest, and most central, galaxies in the to-light ratio, which determines how much
Eridanus A group of galaxies – the largest dark matter the cluster harbors.
clump of island universes in the very Using five different methods to deter-
patchy Eridanus Cluster of galaxies. Lying mine galaxy distance – including whether
about 53 million light-years distant, the it appears coarse and grainy (indicative of
Eridanus A subcluster includes roughly a nearby galaxy) or smooth (indicative of a
50 galaxies (mostly dwarf ellipticals and distant galaxy)1 – researchers found that
dwarf lenticulars) within a 1½ circle of not only is NGC 1400 at the same distance
sky centered at 3h 40m, −19 . And while of NGC 1407 (~53 million light-years),
Eridanus can easily conjure up visions of but also that these two galaxies supply
deep southern splendors, our two targets, two-thirds of the cluster’s light.
when culminating, are about 2 higher in Based on available data, NGC 1400’s
the sky than open cluster M41 in Canis high velocity is not indicative of a rogue
Major. galaxy passing through the subcluster but
The pairing of NGC 1400 and NGC 1407 of the subcluster’s enormous mass, namely
in the sky presents an astrophysical puzzle. 90 times that of the Milky Way. But the
Although these two early-type galaxies lie total light output of the Eridanus A group
only 120 in apparent distance apart, they is only twice that of the Milky Way. Thus,
are not interacting. In fact, their reces- the researchers say, the subcluster is awash
sional velocities differ dramatically. NGC in dark matter; indeed, Eridanus A is the
1407 is receding from us at a velocity of darkest galaxy group known. Its mass-to-
1,776 km/sec (typical of other galaxies in light (mass–luminosity) ratio could be as
the group), while NGC 1400 is moving at a high as 2,500, though conservative esti-
relative snail’s pace: only 549 km/sec – mates place it around 600. By comparison,
about one-third the velocity of NGC 1407. the dark-matter rich Coma Cluster of gal-
Thus, in some early studies of the galaxies, axies has a mass–luminosity ratio of only
some astronomers suspected that NGC about 200!
1400 is a foreground object. If the mass–luminosity of the Eridanus
The answer to the puzzle is important. subcluster holds true, and if dark galaxy
As Andrew Gould (Institute for Advanced groups such as Eridanus A are common,
Study, Princeton, New Jersey) and his col- they could account for much of the uni-
leagues explain in a 1993 Astrophysical verse’s mass and perhaps halt its expan-
Journal (vol. 403, pp. 37–44), since the sion; but if the universe’s critical mass–
Eridanus A group contains only two bright luminosity ratio is less than 1,600, it will
galaxies (NGC 1400 and NGC 1407), its continue to expand forever.
mass depends on whether NGC 1400 is a NGC 1407 is 1.3 magnitudes brighter
member. NGC 1400’s membership also than NGC 1400. It is also much larger.
1
If you look at an impressionist painting up close, you can see the multitude of minute brush strokes of unmixed colors
that the artist used to create the overall image, which appears smooth and seamless when viewed at a distance. It’s
argued that the same principle applies to the images of galaxies seen in space.
The Secret Deep 65

12 & 13
NGC 1407 measures 87,000 light-years
N
across in true physical extent, while NGC
Eridanus
1400 is about seven times smaller. In phys-
ical appearance, both of these early-type
20
galaxies are quite simple. Both have a
small, bright, and diffuse nucleus with
what appears to be a dust ring. In the case a
of NGC 1400, that inner ring is seen nearly E W
pole on; the galaxy is also surrounded by
an extended outer envelope. It’s possible 1402
1407
that both NGC 1400 and 1407 formed more 1400
than half of their mass in a single short-

lived burst of star formation (>100 solar
masses/year). 1˚
As reported in a 2008 Monthly Notices of S
the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 385,
pp. 667–674), Max Spolaor (Swinburne
University, Hawthorn, Australia) and his
colleagues used spectroscopic and other locate 5.5-magnitude 20 Eridani. Start with
data from the ESO 3.6-meter, Subaru Brilliant Beta (b) Orionis (Rigel). Nearly 20
8-meter, and Hubble Space telescopes to (two fists held at arm’s length) to the west-
determine that the burst most likely southwest is 3rd-magnitude star Gamma
involved supernova-driven galactic winds, (g) Eridani (Zaurak), the brightest star in
supporting a monolithic collapse model the region; it’s also the same guide star you
for galaxy formation and evolution: As use to find the famous planetary nebula
a large gas cloud collapses, it triggers a NGC 1535 (Hidden Treasure 24), Cleopa-
massive burst of star formation; the newly tra’s Eye. But you’re going to now use your
formed stars orbit the core with eccentric unaided eyes or binoculars to look 6 to
orbits, creating what we see as an elliptical the southwest to find 20 Eridani. Center
galaxy; disk stars form later. that star in your telescope at low power,
The researchers also speculate that, then switch to the chart on this page. From
since their formation, the galaxies have 20 Eridani, move a little less than 300
evolved quiescently, and that we are south-southeast to 8th-magnitude Star a.
witnessing the first infall of NGC 1400 NGC 1407 is 1 to the southeast.
in the group. They also confirmed that As seen at all powers through the 5-inch,
NGC 1400 and NGC 1407 are not interact- the galaxy is a fine, yet simple, ellipse of
ing, and that NGC 1407 harbors a 1 billion light, oriented north-north-east to south-
solar mass supermassive black hole at southwest, about 10 in extent. Its core is
its core. bright and starlike. The surrounding disk
To find these fascinating extragalactic is magnificently uniform and swells to
simpletons, use the chart on page 63 to nearly 20 with averted vision. Under a dark
12 & 13
luminous vapor rising from the depths of
space.
Being so near to NGC 1407, and mysteri-
ous, NGC 1400 has the capability of stealing
one’s attention. When I investigate it at
moderate to high powers, I can’t help but
notice that NGC 1400’s core is smaller than
NGC 1400’s; it’s a starlike bead surrounded
by a little elliptical lens of light that suddenly
turns into a larger and more diffuse halo.
When I use 33 and relax my gaze, I find
the area to have other hidden treasures.
Most noticeable is 12th-magnitude NGC
1393 about 200 northwest of NGC 1407.
sky, I find that whenever I use averted With moderate to high powers, I can also
vision to view NGC 1400, fainter NGC see 12.6-magnitude NGC 1402 about 100
1407 suddenly wafts into view like some west-northwest of NGC 1407.
The Secret Deep 67

14
Secret Deep 14
(NGC 1491)
N
Camelopardalis
NGC 1491
1
14
M34
Perseus
E 16
W
40
17
42
Taurus
41
Pleiades Aries
14
14
Fossil Footprint Nebula
NGC 1491
Type: Emission Nebula
Con: Perseus
RA: 04h 03.4m

Dec: þ51 190
Mag: –(Rating: 3)
Dim: 250 350 (red light); ~40 (blue light)
Dist: ~12,000 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed December
28, 1790] Very bright, irregularly faint,
resolvable (mottled, not resolved),
brighter in the middle, 50 long, 40 wide, a
pretty [bright] star in it towards the
following side, but unconnected.
(H I-258)
n g c : Very bright, small, irregular figure,

bright in the middle, round, star involved.
n g c 1491 i s a v i s ua l ly s m a l l , a n d includes the stars Mu (m), and Lambda (l)

photographically large, emission nebula Persei. So the overall shape of the Segment
just a little more than 1 north-northwest is a J or fishhook.
of 4.5-magnitude Lambda (l) Persei, the Many of the stars in the Segment lie at
last star in the curved Segment of Perseus. distances ranging from about 530 light-
The Segment is a prominent spine of years in the Alpha Persei Association to
bright stars between the W of Cassiopeia 900 light-years for Mu Persei. At a distance
the Queen and the Pentagram of Auriga of 1,200 light-years, NGC 1491 lies a little
the Charioteer. It’s a graceful arc of moder- bit further away in this section of the Per-
ately bright suns projected against a seus arm of the Milky Way – between open
dynamic section of Milky Way including cluster M34 (1,400 light-years) and the
the Alpha Persei Moving Cluster (Hidden little reflection nebula NGC 1333 (Hidden
Treasure 14). The Segment’s brightest Treasure 15; 1,100 light-years).
section measures about 10 in length (a fist Again, in wide-field images, NGC 1491 is
held at arm’s length) and consists of the an evolved HII region (a complex expanse
stars Eta (Z), Gamma (g), Alpha (a), Sigma of ionized interstellar hydrogen) that
(s), Phi (p), and Delta (d) Persei. The extends at least to 350 in red light, with
Segment then curves to the northeast and weak diffuse emission out to at least 1 .
The Secret Deep 69

14
If we accept the nebula’s distance as 1,200 half-ring is a shock front reminiscent
light-years, this glowing cloud spans an of the one in NGC 7635, the Bubble
impressive 21 light-years of space, about Nebula in Cassiopeia (Caldwell 11). This
half the linear extent of the Great Orion rim, then, would mark the edge of a rapidly
Nebula. In the widest images I’ve seen, expanding shock wave that’s washing
the nebula complex has a bright 30 -wide onto the nebula’s shore like a tidal wave
“pad” of intensely glowing nebulosity with intercepting a coastal plain. In a private
at least three dimmer “toes” of gas reach- 2010 communication, Deharveng notes
ing out to the east. Overall, the nebula that this structure probably shows a shock
complex looks like the fossil footprint of between two flows of material in opposite
one of those flesh-eating Jurassic terrors, directions, one of material ejected by the
such as T-Rex, Allosaurus, or Velociraptor – central star (present and not past activity),
thus my moniker for the nebula. the other of material receding from the
In both radio and optical wavelengths, high density ionization front.
NGC 1491’s structure is very inhomogen- In the researchers’ model of NGC 1491,
ous. Indeed, the nebula’s 11th-magnitude the nebula is open (mass limited) to the
type O5 exciting star (BDþ50 886) is east where we see a vast expanse of diffuse
located about 10 east of the the brightest emission. At present, they see the exciting
region – with rippling “curtain folds” star outside the boundaries of the neutral
oriented roughly north-northeast–south- cloud and suggest that the star may have
southwest. Two parallel folds appear in come into existence at the edge of the
this region northwest of the exciting star. cloud. Currently, the exciting star is ioniz-
The western and southern extensions, ing the nearest part of the neutral cloud
however, are more sinuous. All these folds ahead of the elephant trunk and in the
have the appearance of an ionization front northwest extension.
with steep edges. A dark “elephant trunk” The ionization front is advancing in a
in the western fold (the sideways finger of direction roughly perpendicular to the line
darkness outlined by bright emission) of sight, where it is “slowly eating its way”
points very clearly towards the exciting star. into the dense neutral medium with a
The exciting star also lies at the center of velocity on the order of 0.03 km/sec. From
a “half-ring” of nebulosity, which can be the ionization front, ionizing matter is
seen faintly immediately to the star’s west streaming away with a velocity on the
(no emission has been detected along the order of a few tenths of a kilometer per
ring’s eastern half). In a 1976 Astronomy & second, becoming slower the farther it is
Astrophysics (vol. 48, pp. 63–73), Lise away from the front. At present the star
Deharveng (Marseille Observatory) and does not appear to be loosing mass at a
colleagues note that while the nebula’s high rate, but the shock front may indicate
most outstanding feature (the wrinkled a stronger activity in the past. Deharveng
bright emission described above) is very now thinks that the star must be presently
probably from an ionization front, the ejecting material if we want to see the
half-ring of nebulosity immediately west shock. But observations are needed to
of the exciting star is not; more likely, the be certain.
14
The absence of any strong infrared I could see the 11th-magnitude exciting
sources (which would indicate star forma- star and its brightest emission to the west
tion in opaque dust clouds) and other data immediately at 33 in the 5-inch under a
suggest that stars are not being born in or dark sky. The bright horns northwest of the
near NGC 1491. But Deharveng cautions exciting star appear as a highly condensed
that there are no recent infrared observa- elliptical patch, while the western and
tions of this region, telling us things about southern extensions appeared less definite
star formation. “A look at the 2MASS (though still obvious), looking like a wider
images (JHK nearIR bands),” she says, and less-condensed skirt of light; so it
“shows several red stars in the direction looked like an uneven mustache.
of the nebula, but it is difficult to say if it These two bright patches (~30 in length)
is due to extinction or to an infrared excess are surrounded by a very faint and highly
(link to an envelope or a disk). Mid IR elusive haze that extended to about 60 on
observations are needed to say more about a side. I couldn’t detect any of the much
star formation.” fainter nebulosity sweeping far away to the
To find this little wonder, use the chart east as some photos show. Still, seeing
on page 68 to find Lambda (l) Persei, then this fainter 60 -wide envelope in the 5-inch
switch to the chart on this page. From gave me hope that larger instruments with
Lambda, move your telescope 400 north- wider fields of view might be able to take
northeast to roughly 7th-magnitude Star a, in more of this very expansive nebula.
then 300 north-northwest to 7.5-magnitude Yet when I looked at NGC 1491 through
Star b. NGC 1491 is only 400 west-southwest Larry Wood’s 12-inch reflector at the
of Star b and 200 northwest of a pair of George Moore Astronomy Workshop near
9.5-magnitude stars (c). Edmonton, Alberta, I was surprised to see
more or less the same detail that I picked up
in my 5-inch – only much more pronounced.
N Also, the shape of the nebulosity was more
clearly defined, with the northwestern horns
Perseus
b
NGC 1491
a c
E W
1˚
The Secret Deep 71

14
being more enhanced, while the southern magnification. The views at 60 and 94
extension seemed separated from the north- did not bring out any finer features in the
western emission by a dark lane. This rift of nebula (just enhanced the view) but the
darkness was in the place of the “elephant increase in magnification did bring out
trunk,” though I couldn’t see any bright rim. some fainter stars in and around the
Through the 5-inch, the nebula takes nebula. So take your time with this celes-
power moderately well, and I found that tial cloudscape, and see if you can visually
94 was near the maximum useful dig up some of its more intricate details.
15
Secret Deep 15
(NGC 1514)
N
Camelopardalis
µ
14
Perseus M34
E W
16
40
17
42
NGC 1514
41
41
44
Pleiades Aries
Taurus
The Secret Deep 73

15
15
Crystal Ball Nebula
NGC 1514
Type: Planetary Nebula
Con: Taurus
RA: 04h 09.6m

Dec: þ30 46.50
Mag: 10.9 (nebula) (Rating: 3.5)
Mag: 9.4 (star)
Diam: 2.30 2.00
Dist: ~2,000 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed November
13, 1790] A most singular
phenomenon; a star of 8th magnitude
with a faint luminous atmosphere of a
circular form, about 30 in diameter.
The star is perfectly in the centre, and
the atmosphere is so diluted, faint,
and equal throughout, that there
can be no surmise of its consisting of
stars, nor can there be a doubt of the
evident connection between the
atmosphere and the star. Another star
not much less in brightness, and in
the same field with the above, was
perfectly free from any such
appearance. (H IV-69)
n g c : Star of 9th-magnitude in
a nebula 30 in diameter.
ngc 1514 i s a s u b t l e b u t f a s c i n at- that some observers considered it a difficult

ing planetary nebula in the northernmost object for an 8-inch.
reaches of Taurus the Bull, about 3½ east- While the planetary’s central star can
southeast of 3rd-magnitude Zeta (z) Persei be spied with a 2-inch telescope, seeing
in the Hero’s eastern foot. This 9th- the 20 -wide nebulosity is a different story.
magnitude star surrounded by a dim halo I know I’ve had my problems with it. I don’t
of nebulosity has long been considered a recall ever having successfully seen it
visually troublesome object. The late deep- through the 9-inch f/12 Alvan Clark refrac-
sky expert Walter Scott Houston once noted tor at Harvard College Observatory in
15
light-polluted Cambridge, Massachusetts. connected, Herschel reasoned, the nebu-
And I’ve had some unconvincing views losity could not consist of very remote and
through my 4-inch Tele Vue refractor unresolvable suns because the central star
under dark Hawaiian skies: I thought is visible. In other words, Herschel found it
I could see a dim collar of light around inconceivable that the central star would
the central star, but I couldn’t convince burn so brightly as to outshine all the other
myself it wasn’t starlight shining through suns comprising the nebula. Herschel sur-
moisture in Earth’s atmosphere. My first mized that either the luminous central
definite views of NGC 1514’s nebulosity object is not a star, or that the nebula is
came in November 2009, when I decided not of a “starry nature.”
to try once again, this time with the 5-inch. He accepted the latter sentiment, postulat-
I was amazed at what a difference 1 inch of ing that the nebula consists of a “shining fluid
aperture made in bringing out the nebula of a nature totally unknown to us . . . since the
with distinct clarity. probability is certain not for the existence
Not surprisingly, NGC 1514 went of so enormous a body as would be required
unnoticed until November 30, 1790, when to shine like a star of the 8th magnitude at
the great German-born English astron- a distance sufficiently great to cause a vast
omer William Herschel encountered it system of stars to put on the appearance
during one of his slow and meticulous of a very diluted milky nebulosity.”
sweeps of the heavens with his speculum In 1864, English amateur astronomer
reflector. One can only imagine the great William Huggins (1824–1910) found the
surprise Herschel received when he saw first clue to the true nature of planetary
this mysterious object: a bright star “with nebulae in the spectrum of NGC 6543
a faint luminous atmosphere of circular (Caldwell 6), which was that of a luminous
form, about 30 in diameter.” Herschel had gas and not that of a haze of unresolved
never seen anything like it before. suns. So when we look at NGC 1514 we are
Prior to this discovery, Herschel and his seeing the object that led our astronomical
contemporaries believed nebulae were ancestors down a new path of thinking –
simply clouds of unresolved suns, like the one that began in the late eighteenth cen-
naked-eye appearance of the Milky Way. tury with William Herschel.
But Herschel saw NGC 1514 as a “most Today we know much more about the
singular phenomenon! . . . The star is per- physical nature of planetary nebulae, and
fectly in the centre, and the atmosphere is NGC 1514. In a 2003 Astronomical Journal
so diluted, faint, and equal throughout, (vol. 126, pp. 2963–2970), C. Muthu and
that there can be no surmise of its consist- B. G. Anandaro (Physical Research Labora-
ing of stars; nor can there be a doubt of the tory, Ahmedabad, India) discuss the results
evident connection between the atmos- of their spectroscopic studies, which helped
phere and the star.” them to determine a three-dimensional
NGC 1514 convinced Herschel that the model of NGC 1514. The nebula has three
nebulous matter surrounding stars in his basic structures: a faint outer shell, an
planetary class (IV) were not unresolved inner ellipsoidal shell titled with respect
clusters. If the cloud and the star are to the observer, and nearly symmetric
The Secret Deep 75

15
bright blobs embedded inside along the an expanding shell of gas or a powerful
polar axis (in the northwest and southeast stellar wind.
directions), which is nearly on the sky plane. A rotating central binary system would
The authors note, however, that the also help to explain the mirrored sym-
blobs do not conform to bipolar morph- metry of the planetary’s two tilted shells.
ology. “The large velocity dispersion across Interestingly, in a 2010 Monthly Notices of
each blob shows that the blobs are not the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 402,
collimated,” the authors say. In order to pp. 1307–1312), Binil Aryal (Tribhuvan
form a bipolar planetary nebula, an equa- University, Nepal, and Innsbruck University,
torial disk is essential to collimate the Austria) and colleagues report their discov-
subsequent ejections toward the polar dir- ery in Infrared Astronomical Satellite
ections, and NGC 1514 lacks one. Instead, (IRAS) data of a huge (8.5 light-year) dust
the researchers argue that the nebula is a emission region around NGC 1514 as well
descendant of a common envelope binary as two giant (7 and 3 light-year) bipolar
system. In such a system, it’s possible that dust emissions structures centered on the
polar blobs or jets can form by the com- visible nebula and star. The researchers
panion’s mass transfer to the progenitor at suspect that each of these regions is phys-
the end of the common envelope phase. ically connected to the planetary nebula,
“These blobs can be poorly collimated as noting that the bipolar structures are
a result of the possible large size or even slightly tilted with respect to each other,
the absence of an equatorial disk” the possibly due to precession.
researchers say, adding that NGC 1514’s polar These structures could be associated
blobs could have formed in a similar way. with the proto-planetary nebula – the tran-
NGC 1514’s central star has long been an sition phase between a spherically sym-
object of intense study. It differs greatly metric asymptotic giant branch star and
from other planetary nebulae nuclei in an aspherical planetary nebula. The total
that it is very bright (9.3 magnitude) and, mass (dust and gas) of all the newly found
as mentioned, is suspected of being a structures is about 2.2 Suns. “We argue
binary system with an orbital period of that NGC 1514 and its dusty surroundings
about 10 days, and a progenitor mass of represent one of the very few known cases
4.5 Suns. In a 1997 Publications of the where the preserved history of all main
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Walter mass-loss phases of a star of intermediate
Feibelman (NASA-Goddard Space Flight initial mass can be seen,” they say.
Center) shared that International Ultra- To find this intriguing nebula and bright
violet Explorer satellite spectra of the star central star – one of the few that can be
reveal that it consists of a bright type A star seen in a decent pair of 10 50 or larger
(BDþ30 623) and a very hot O subdwarf binoculars under a dark sky – use the chart
companion. The system is enigmatic, on page 73 to find Zeta (z) Persei, then
having unexplained variations in bright- 5.5-magnitude Psi (c) Tauri, 4 to the south-
ness and a weak P Cygni profile – a com- east. Depending on your sky and eyesight,
bination of spectral features that indicates you may need binoculars to confirm this
an outflow of material in the form of either latter star; note how it is the northernmost
15
N
NGC 1514
Perseus
E W
vision, especially if you compare NGC

1˚ 1514’s appearance to those of the two
S flanking 8th-magnitude suns, which don’t
show any glow. The nebula intensifies at
60, showing a well-defined circular form
member of a roughly 3 curve of three out to at least 20 all around, and perhaps
similarly bright stars oriented north–south. even a bit further out. The nebula is bright
Once you confirm Psi Tauri, center it in enough to be viewed at 180 but I find
your telescope and switch to the chart on the best and most comfortable view in
this page. From Psi Tauri make a slow 1¼ the 5-inch at 94.
sweep due north to the solitary 8th- At this power, the inner shell is most
magnitude Star a. Now look 400 to the prominent, appearing obviously mottled.
northeast for a roughly 200 -wide right tri- With time and averted vision, I can clearly
angle of 8.5-magnitude suns. The western see two prominent arcs of light along
side of that triangle should have a 9.4- the outer edge of the inner shell ~10 out to
magnitude sun between the northern and the northwest and southeast; the south-
southern points. This is NGC 1514. In other eastern arc is the brighter of the two.
words, NGC 1514 lies midway between two Perpendicular to these arcs are fainter
8.5-magnitude stars, about 200 apart and elliptical lobes. These features are sur-
oriented north-northwest–south-southeast. rounded by a circular collar of dim light.
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 1514 appears By the way, an OIII filter really helps to
as a subtle amorphous haze tightly wrapped bring out the arcs and other subtle details
around an easily seen central star. The in the inner shell.
nebula is quite discernible with averted Enjoy!
The Secret Deep 77

16
Secret Deep 16
(NGC 1579)
Camelopardalis
14
Perseus M34
E W
16
NGC 1579
54
56 40 17
42
41
41
44
Pleiades Aries
Taurus
16
16
Northern Trifid
NGC 1579
Type: Emission/Reflection Nebula
Con: Perseus
RA: 04h 30.2m

Dec: þ35 160
Mag: – (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 120 80
Dist: ~2,000 l.y.
December 27, 1788] Considerably
bright, considerably large, much
brighter in the middle. Stands nearly
in the centre of a trapezium. (H I-217)
n g c : Pretty bright, very large,

irregularly round, much brighter
in the middle, 8th-magnitude star
at position angle 350 20 .
Perseus is home to several bright the two nebulae are “miles apart”: NGC
and delightful open star clusters: M34, 1333 lies about 1,100 light-years away,
NGC 869 and 884 (the Double Cluster), while NGC 1579 is nearly twice as distant.
and Melotte 20 (the Alpha Persei Moving In 1917, Francis G. Pease used the
Group). Its boundaries also harbor some 60-inch f/5 reflector atop Mount Wilson
fainter, though equally marvelous deep- in Southern California to image this little
sky wonders, such as planetary nebula visual dynamo, which was one of several
M76, lenticular galaxy NGC 1023, and the objects he selected whose “real nature was
tiny reflection nebula NGC 1333 (Hidden unknown or those which possessed curi-
Treasure 15). ous or questionable characteristics.” His
Like NGC 1333, our target NGC 1579 photographs of the bright central region
is an irregularly mottled reflection nebula of NGC 1579 revealed the nebula’s curious
lying in a dark lane relatively near 3rd- dark lanes which, he said, “call to mind the
magnitude Zeta (z) Persei (Atik) in the Trifid nebula” – thus the object’s modern
eastern foot of the Hero. NGC 1333 lies moniker, the Northern Trifid. The nebula’s
about 5¼ east-southeast of that star, more expansive and dimmer outer regions,
while NGC 1579 is about 8 to the east- though, reminded Pease of the Orion
northeast of it. In physical space, however, Nebula, namely it being a large bulbous
The Secret Deep 79

16
swath of mottled light marred by dark Today we know the nebula to be a dusty
webs of dust. star-forming region. In a 2004 Astronom-
Interestingly, direct photographs do not ical Journal (vol. 128, p. 1233), Herbig and
show any nearby bright stars that could his colleagues note that infrared and radio
be the illuminating source of the nebula. observations of LkHa 101 suggest that it is
Pease did note that directly south of a a hot star about 8,000 times more lumi-
broad and prominent arrowhead of dark nous and 15 times more massive than the
material – one adjoining the principal dark Sun surrounded by a small HII region,
lane on the north and pointing due east – both inside an optically thick dust shell.
is a very faint star. In 1956, George Herbig, The star appears to be in an interesting
using a spectrograph on the 36-inch Cross- phase of its early evolution, being a transi-
ley reflector at Lick Observatory, found tion object – one between an optically
Pease’s star (magnitude 16) to be very red, inaccessible massive star forming deep
having a remarkably high hydrogen-alpha within its dark and dusty natal cloud and
emission and an unusual emission-line a zero-age, main-sequence star (one that
spectrum. Subsequent observations showed just evolved onto the main sequence)
that the spectra of the star (designated whose radiation and winds have cleared
LkHa 101) and the nebula are identical; out the dusty neighborhood making it
thus LkHa 101 is responsible for the illu- dimly accessible at optical wavelengths.
mination of NGC 1579. Although LkHa 101 is heavily obscured
Although Sharpless (1959) catalogued by dust (by about 10 magnitudes), it’s
the nebula as an HII region (S-222), it has still the brightest member of a young
no characteristic HII emission lines in its cluster of stars that contains 35 much
spectrum. Sharpless was obviously misled fainter hydrogen-alpha emitters (all still
by the fact that the nebula’s image appears embedded in the dusty cloud) with a
so much brighter on the red Palomar median age of about 0.5 million years.
plates than it does in the blue. A visual The cluster also contains at least five
inspection of modern wide-field color bright B-type stars, presumably of about
images of NGC 1579 can be equally deceiv- the same age.
ing. They show the nebula as a colorful To find this intriguing object, first use
menagerie of beautiful shades of gun- the chart on page 78 to locate Zeta (z)
smoke blue, peach, melon, orange, and rust. Persei, then look about 6 northeast for
But these warmer hues are not due to the 5th-magnitude 54 Persei and center it in
excitation of hydrogen gas by ultraviolet your telescope at low power. Now, using
radiation streaming from nearby hot stars, the chart on page 81 as a guide, move
but owe their redness to interstellar extinc- 1 northeast to a pair of roughly 7.5-
tion and to the nature of its illuminating magnitude stars (a), then make another
source. The extinction is caused by a vast 1 sweep due east to a solitary 7.5-
cloud of dust (L1482) belonging to the magnitude sun (b). NGC 1579 is a little
Taurus–Auriga Cloud complex – a line of more than 100 due east of Star b.
sight that also passes through the more In the 5-inch at 33 the object is a dim
distant Perseus OB2 Association. sight – a milky smudge barely visible with
16
N higher powers, so I found
60 the best view in my small
Perseus
scope. With time and averted
vision, the core can be seen
as a bright nebulous concen-
NGC 1579 b tration, though the dark lane
a
disappears at this power. Inter-
54 estingly, I did not see much
E W
more detail when I viewed the
nebula through Larry Wood’s
12-inch reflector at the George
55 Moore Astronomy Workshop
56
near Edmonton, Alberta. The
1˚ glow was much brighter, and
very obvious, but it had a
S
round and distinct cometary
form, with a strong central
concentration surrounded by
averted vision, spanning about 60 in its a circular diffuse halo.
longest extent to the north. (But don’t des- Indeed, in a 1974 Publications of the
pair, Christen Luginbuhl and Brian Skiff Astronomical Society of the Pacific (vol.
say that they saw NGC 1579 “easily at 86, p. 813), Martin Cohen (University of
low power” through a 6-inch telescope!) California, Berkeley) notes that NGC 1579
Indeed, I found that with time and averted and LkHa 101 may represent a more-
vision, the nebula becomes more and massive and more-luminous example of a
more apparent, especially since a nearby typically smaller cometary nebula (see
magnitude-12 star to the north helps to Secret Deep 32 (NGC 2316)).
focus attention. The nebula has a some-
what delta-wing shape with three irregular
extensions to the south (with the middle
one being the longest). I also spied what
might be the central dark rift, the one
that contains LkHa 101 (though it is too
dim to see).
At 60, I saw a roughly 13th-magnitude
star pop into view east-southeast of the
12th-magnitude star. The central mass of
nebulosity becomes almost rigidly round
with a dim snowy beard of fainter nebulos-
ity extending to the southeast toward a
roughly 12.5-magnitude star. The nebula
did not appear any more dramatic at
The Secret Deep 81

17 & 18
Secret Deep 17 & 18
(NGC 1750 & 1758)
N
103 Taurus
1758
99
1750
E 1647 W
97
1
Hyades
Orion
2˚
17 & 18
17
NGC 1750 = NGC 1746
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Taurus
RA: 05h 04.3m

Dec: þ23 440
Mag: ~6 (O’Meara)
SB: – (Rating: 4)
Diam: 300
Mean Dist: ~2,050 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed December
26, 1785] A cluster of very coarsely
scattered [bright] stars that join to
[NGC 1758]. (H VIII-43)
n g c : Cluster, stars large, very

considerably scattered.
18
NGC 1758
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Taurus
RA: 05h 04.7m

Dec: þ23 480
Mag: ~7.5 (O’Meara)
SB: – (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 100
Mean Dist: ~2,480 l.y.
December 26, 1785] A cluster of
pretty compressed stars with many
extremely [faint] stars mixed with
them. (H VII-21)
n g c : Cluster, pretty compressed,

stars [bright] and [faint].
The Secret Deep 83

17 & 18
If you sweep your binocu- N
lars across the length of Taurus the
Bull under a clear dark sky, you’ll
encounter a number of star clus-
103
ters: the famous Pleiades (M45),
Hyades (Caldwell 41), NGC 1647
(Hidden Treasure 27), and NGC
E 1758
1746 99 W
1807 and 1817 (Secret Deep 15 1750
and 16). Let’s, for the moment, also
include the large 450 -wide NGC
1746, a highly neglected object
about 10 northeast of Alpha (a)
1˚
Tauri (Aldebaran) and 1 south-
west of 6th-magnitude 103 Tauri. S
All these young objects lie very
close to the point directly opposite the Gal- which William Herschel had discovered on
actic center, in the direction of the Taurus December 26, 1785. After d’Arrest observed
dark clouds – a 4-million-year-young com- this “poor cluster,” he determined its posi-
plex with a mass of some 6,500 Suns. It is a tion, placing it about 100 north of Herschel’s,
beautiful region of solar-mass star formation but he still referred to it as H VIII-43.
riddled with stunning dark nebulae, Herbig– In his 1888 General Catalogue, however,
Haro objects, and other enigmatic young John Louis Emil Dreyer mistook d’Arrest’s
stars. At a distance of some 570 light-years, new position for a new object, listing it
the Taurus dark cloud complex is one of the as GC 5349 (NGC 1746). Interestingly, on
nearest to the Sun, placing the Hyades in the the same night Herschel discovered
foreground and the Pleiades partially H VIII-43, he swept up another new cluster
immersed into the cloud’s front edge. in the same region, H VII-21, which Dreyer
The other clusters mentioned are all listed as GC 977 ¼ NGC 1758. As plotted
highly reddened background objects, with above, you can see how the three open
the amount of dimming dependent on the clusters overlap, with NGC 1758 abutting
density of the obscuring clouds. Of them, NGC 1750 immediately to the northeast,
NGC 1746 is especially intriguing, since while both NGC 1750 and NGC 1758 are
it is not only an historical curiosity (as well superimposed on larger (450 ) NGC 1746.
as a highly neglected visual target), but In time, the reality of some of these
also an object that is fast attracting the clusters was questioned. Indeed, Harvard
attention of modern astrophysicists. But astronomer James Cuffey had mentioned
let’s first look at NGC 1746’s history. only NGC 1746 in a 1937 Harvard College
On the evening of November 9, 1863, Observatory tercentenary paper on Galactic
German astronomer Heinrich Louis d’Arrest clusters (Annals of Harvard College Obser-
(1822–1875) was using the 11-inch f/17.5 vatory, vol. 105, no. 21). Since then, and
Merz refractor at Copenhagen Observatory until recently, NGC 1750 and NGC 1758
to observe H VIII-43 (GC 970 ¼ NGC 1750), have remained largely historical footnotes;
17 & 18
in fact, I am not aware of any modern star most (or all) modern star charts. In fact,
chart showing these two clusters. in a private 2010 communication, Galadı́-
But the tides have turned. In a 2003 Enrı́quez said, “I think that the research by
Baltic Astronomy (vol. 12, pp. 323–351), Straizys et al. and by our group definitively
Vitautus Straizys (Vilnius University, Vil- clarify the structure of this area in Taurus,
nius, Lithuania) and colleagues explain and NGC 1746 should be taken out from the
how their photometry, on 420 stars down list of galactic open clusters.”
to visual magnitude 16 in the region, found The modern resolution to the NGC 1746
NGC 1750 and NGC 1758 to be two separ- field mystery also solves another age-old
ate and real clusters at the same mean conundrum that the late deep-sky expert
distance of about 2,500 light-years. These Walter Scott Houston loved to ask: What
findings support their earlier study in 1992 is the apparent diameter of NGC 1746?
that had similar results. Houston noted that estimates ranged from
Furthermore, Spanish astronomer David 250 to 1 . Now we know the answer.
Galadı́-Enrı́quez (University of Barcelona) The fact is, a true cluster exists at
and his colleagues concur. In a 1998 Astron- Herschel’s positions for both H VIII-43
omy & Astrophysics (vol. 337, p. 125), the (NGC 1750) and H VII-21 (NGC 1758).
researchers conclude that the mutual sep- Thus, of the three objects – NGC 1746,
aration, relative velocity (they found the NGC 1750, and NGC 1758 – only NGC
presence of two stellar populations in the 1746 has been erroneously assigned (mean-
region with somewhat different directions ing, it doesn’t correspond to a true cluster)!
of motion), and age difference of NGC The modern portrait of the region (see the
1750 (200 million years) and NGC 1758 illustration below based on Straizys et al.’s
(400 million years) led them to agree that 1992 work), then, shows the presence of
these are two physically independent clus- two overlapping open star clusters, possibly
ters. The distances to the clusters, they seen in the act of penetrating one another.
found, are 2,050 light-years for NGC 1750 NGC 1750 is the more massive of the two,
and 2,480 light-years for NGC 1758. The equaling some 10,000 Suns.
researchers also provided the more accurate To find these twin delights, I suggest first
cluster coordinates given in the table above. hunting down the region with binoculars.
As for NGC 1746 – a small clump of stars
that d’Arrest positioned 100 north of NGC N
1750, none of the modern research supports
the existence of a real object in the area. One
103
can only imagine that d’Arrest either made
an error in his declination measurement, or
that he mistook this rogue clump of milky E 1758
99 W
1750
starlight for Herschel’s VIII-43. Remember, it
was Cuffy in 1937 who abolished NGC 1750
and NGC 1758 from the records and re-
assigned NGC 1746 to an erroneously large
cluster in the area: the one that exists on S
The Secret Deep 85

17 & 18
Look about 10 northeast of Aldebaran, with a major axis oriented roughly north-
in a line with Beta (b) Tauri (Alnath), east–southwest. The stars seem to bloom out
the tip of the Bull’s southeastern horn. of the Y-shaped asterism like two polyps of
In 10 50 binoculars under a dark sky, starlight; these are a mixture of true cluster
the region including NGC 1750 and NGC members and field stars, but don’t worry
1758 appears as a 500 -wide patch of milky about that, just enjoy the view. Look for a
starlight, like an isolated star cloud with prominent gathering of about a dozen
bright and faint stars that shines around stars in NGC 1750, which form a roughly
5th magnitude. (It can also be seen with 80 irregular circle of starlight, whose center
averted vision and the unaided eyes.) lies about 60 northwest of the Y’s stem.
This region hugs a 200 -long Y-shaped Two wide pairs of roughly 10th-
asterism of roughly 8th-magnitude suns magnitude suns jut beyond this stellar ring:
(oriented northeast–southwest) about one pair to the west-northwest (oriented
1 southwest of 6th-magnitude 103 Tauri. west-northwest to east-southeast), and the
With averted vision, NGC 1750 becomes other pair to the west-southwest (oriented
apparent as a smaller, isolated patch of northeast to southwest); these pairs define
starlight, 300 -wide, just west of the Y’s the true western boundary of NGC 1750.
stem. It has a more delicate luster than The stars in the direction of NGC 1758
its brighter neighbor NGC 1647 some appear more congested and compact and
6 closer to Aldebaran. NGC 1758 on the congregate just southwest of the two stars
other hand appears only as a small sugges- at the open end of the Y. Most apparent is a
tion of hazy light tucked into the open fine pair of suns toward the northeast end
end of the Y; you need extremely dark skies of the cluster.
to “sense” it in handheld binoculars. Long spidery filaments of field stars
In the 5-inch at 33 and a nearly 2 field extend the true cluster boundaries in all dir-
of view, the two clusters appear as a ections in this rich Milky Way region. The
warped peanut of irregularly bright suns, clusters truly do, however, look best at low
power. But they will also stand scrutiny at
higher magnifications. I especially enjoyed
looking at NGC 1758 at 94, which brought
out some fanciful arrangement of dim suns
that seemed to loop and curl in haphazard
directions, depending on how I mentally
“attached” the suns. The clusters also have
a fair share of tight pairs and tiny triangular
arrangements of stars.
With time, these loose clusters become
quite distinct, and it’s not hard to imagine
one interacting with the other. So take your
time and enjoy this view of two clusters
literally passing through one another.
19
Secret Deep 19
(NGC 1788)
15
11
73
2
74
c
1
µ 1
2
E Orion 5 W
3
NGC 1788
68
Monoceros
Eridanus
The Secret Deep 87

19
19
Cosmic Bat, Foxface Nebula
NGC 1788
Con: Orion
RA: 05h 06.9m

Dec: −03 210
Dim: 50 30
Dist: ~1,600 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed February
1, 1786] Considerably bright, very
large, much diffused and vanishing,
near and south following a bright
star. (H V-32)
n g c : Bright, considerably large,

round, bright in the middle with
three stars of 15 magnitude, star
of 10th magnitude, 1½ away at
position angle 318 , involved in
the nebulosity.
Orion is chock-full of deep-sky and dust lies nearly 7 west-northwest of

wonders. Every veteran observer has M42 and the young, hot stars that make up
tackled the constellation’s “big three” the heart of the Orion OB1 Association.
nebulae: M42 (the Great Orion Nebula You’ll find it just above the northeastern
with its famous Trapezium of stars), M43, border of Eridanus, only about 1½ north-
and M78. My Hidden Treasures list added northwest of 3rd-magnitude Beta (b)
eight more visual delights in Orion: open Eridani.
star clusters Collinder 69 and 72 and NGC In the standard scenario of triggered,
2169; the nebulae NGC 1977, 1981, 1999, or induced, star formation, ultraviolet radi-
2024, and 2163, and several other “celestial ation streaming out from hot, young OB
hors d’oeuvres” near the Belt star Zeta (z) stars, or shock waves expanding out from
Orionis. supernovae explosions, compress the cold
Although the small but obvious reflec- material in giant molecular clouds. Conse-
tion nebula NGC 1788 didn’t make it to quently, dense cores form and collapse in the
the final Hidden Treasures list, I did con- cloud due to self-gravity, forming embryonic
sider it. This isolated patch of glowing gas protostars in the process. As each new
19
core accretes more and more
material, internal pressure
builds until it ignites a core
reaction that starts burning
hydrogen into helium.
As Juan Alcalá (Osservatorio
Astronomico di Capodimonte,
Naples, Italy) et al. explain in a
2004 Astronomy & Astrophysics
(vol. 516, p. 677), this model
successfully describes the
onset of star formation in large
conglomerations of stars such
as those in the Orion Nebula.
But the spatial distribution of
stars in the universe cannot be fully A 2010 ESO press release notes that all of
explained if stars only form in large clus- the stars in the NGC 1788 region have an
ters. “Thus,” they say, “effective star forma- average age of only a million years. These
tion in isolated molecular clouds, far from “preschool” stars fall naturally into three
the massive complexes but most likely still well-separated classes: (1) the more senior
induced by them, offers an explanation for stars lie east of the long wing; (2) moder-
the observed distribution of stars.” The ately young ones make up the small cluster
region around NGC 1788 is one such isol- enclosed in the main nebula which they
ated cloud. “Although this ghostly cloud is illuminate; and (3) the youngest suns, still
rather isolated from Orion’s bright stars,” embedded in their natal, dusty cocoons
they explain, “the latter’s powerful winds (those visible only at infrared and milli-
and light have had a strong impact on the meter wavelengths), lie further to the west.
nebula, forging its shape and making it The segregation of stellar groups suggests
home to a multitude of infant suns.” that a wave of star formation, generated
Energy streaming from the bright, mas- around the hot and massive stars in
sive stars belonging to the vast stellar group- Orion, propagated throughout NGC 1788
ings in Orion has also caused hydrogen gas and beyond.
in the region to glow, creating a long wing of Telescopically, NGC 1788 is a small but
matter east of the main reflection nebula – pleasing reflection nebula that appears
the part we see most prominently through more extensive at lower power than at
our telescopes, which is mottled with “furry- high power. To find it use the chart on
looking” dust (Lynds 1616). Seen together page 87 to locate 0-magnitude Beta (b)
with a short vertical segment of reflection Orionis (Rigel), the left knee of Orion, then
nebulosity northwest of the main nebula, 3rd-magnitude Beta Eridani 3½ further to
NGC 1788 looks like a fantastic bat in flight, the northwest. Beta Eridani marks the
darting on the feed (see the European southern apex of a 400 -wide isosceles
Southern Observatory image above). triangle with the 5th-magnitude stars 66
The Secret Deep 89

19
object that swells with averted
N
vision. The brightest parts
Orion actually form an ellipse of light
c
oriented northwest–southeast
b
– with the 10th-magnitude star
1788
at the northwestern focus and
the fuzzy knot of light at the
southeastern focus. At times I
suspected two dimmer stars
a
E W between them. The averted
Eridanus view showed the brightest part
68 of the nebula soft and elegant,
66 like sheer silk. The more I
gazed, and tapped the tube
gently with a forefinger, the
more I convinced myself
of seeing a much larger halo
1˚
of light stretching toward
S another 10th-magnitude star
50 northwest of HD 293815, so
and 68 Eridani. Center 68 Eridani in your the outer halo looks off-center.
telescope at low power, then switch to the At 60, dark dust (Lynds 1616) near HD
chart on this page. Now follow the roughly 293815, which streams through the south-
1 -long line of 7th- to 9th-magnitude stars western part of the nebula, caused my eye
that flows northward from 68 Eridani. to see variations in the reflection nebula’s
Begin the search along this line by moving brightness, but I couldn’t perceive any def-
200 north-northwest to 9th-magnitude inite structures – just ghostly shadows that
Star a and stop when you get to 8th- wafted in and out of view. Small nebulous
magnitude Star b. NGC 1788 lies only
about 250 to the west-southwest of Star b.
The brightest part of the nebula lies
southeast of a 10th-magnitude star (HD
293815) that marks the southwest corner
of a 100 -wide Trapezoid of similarly bright
suns (c). HD 293815 is actually the
brightest member of a dim cluster of suns
in NGC 1788; the cluster aspect, however,
is lost to the eye when seen through small
backyard telescopes, though it is often
revealed glamorously in images.
With direct vision at 33 in the 5-inch,
NGC 1788 appears as a fuzzy stellar-like
19
knots of dim stars also appeared super- scope at 94, though it does show HD
imposed on the cloud, though these too 293815 as a clear, blazing star, and a dim
were difficult to define. The nebula is 11.5-magnitude sun embedded in the
much more difficult to see in my modest southeastern nebulous knot.
The Secret Deep 91

20 & 21
Secret Deep 20 & 21
(NGC 1807 & 1817)
N
2 Taurus
Gem. 68
71 64
72 69
NGC 1817 NGC 1807
a
15 11
73
2
74
1
µ 1
2 2
3
E 8 63 W
66 4
Orion 5
3
68
Monoceros
Eridanus
20 & 21
20
Poor Man’s Double Cluster
NGC 1807
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Taurus
RA: 05h 10.8m

Dec: þ16 310
Mag: 7.0 (Rating: 4)
Diam: 120
Dist: ~5,900 l.y.
Disc: John Herschel
(h 348)
n g c : Cluster, pretty rich, stars

[bright] and [faint].
21
Poor Man’s Double Cluster
NGC 1817
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Taurus
RA: 05h 12.4m

Dec: þ16 410
Diam: 200
Dist: ~5,900 l.y.
February 19, 1784] A cluster
of pretty [bright] and pretty
compressed stars, considerably
rich, 20 or 250 in diameter,
irregularly round. (H VII-4)
n g c : Cluster, large, rich, little

compressed, stars of magnitude
11 to 14.
The Secret Deep 93

20 & 21
n g c 1807 a n d 1817 a r e t w o i n t r i - But at an estimated distance of 5,900
guing patches of starlight in Taurus that light-years, NGC 1807/1817 is 1,400 light-
form a visual double cluster at the north- years closer, giving it a true physical extent
ern tip of Orion’s Shield. William Herschel of about 100 light-years, or about 30
discovered the larger and fainter cluster light-years smaller than the Double Clus-
(NGC 1817) in February 1784. What he ter in Perseus. NGC 1807/1817 is an
apparently did not notice is the brighter intermediate-aged cluster and probably
and slightly smaller gathering of suns formed between 0.5 and 1 billion years
(NGC 1807) 250 to the southwest; his son ago from the same cloud of dust and gas
John catalogued that object. Interestingly, in the Galaxy’s outer Perseus arm, directly
while, NGC 1807 is 0.7 magnitude brighter opposite the Galactic bulge. NGC 1807/
than NGC 1817, it is the less visually obtru- 1817 then is in the same age group as the
sive, containing only 37 members in an neighboring Hyades (650 million years):
area 120 across. NGC 1817, on the other The Perseus Double Cluster, by compari-
hand, contains more than 280 members son, is a mere 13 million years young.
(most being fainter than 12th magnitude) In a 2009 Astronomical Journal (vol. 137,
spread across 200 of sky. pp. 4753–4765), Heather R. Jacobson and
Then again, the “double” aspect of the her colleagues found NGC 1817 to have
cluster may just be an illusion. In a 2004 about the same amount of iron (per unit
Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 426, p. 819), of hydrogen) as does the Sun. But she says
Spanish astronomer L. Balaguer-Núñez that follow-up spectroscopy of 30 con-
(Barcelona University) and colleagues firmed cluster members has revealed a
calculated proper motions for, and re- lower metal abundance: about two-thirds
evaluated the membership probabilities the amount found in the Sun. Other studies
of, 810 stars in the area of NGC 1817 and found that its color–magnitude diagram
NGC 1807. Of those, the researchers found also shows a well-defined main-sequence
169 probable members in what appears to turnoff region, and a populous red-giant
be only one very extended physical cluster: clump (one about 0.15 magnitude bluer
NGC 1817. Thus, John Herschel’s paltry than the Hyades giants, suggesting that
NGC 1807 may just be part of a larger and NGC 1817 may have a slightly lower
very extended cluster. heavy-element abundance).
Indeed, in a 2003 Astronomy & Astrophys- The cluster also has a lot of variable stars
ics (vol. 399, pp. 105–112) J.-C. Mermilliod (27). Most interesting are the 17-odd d
and colleagues confirmed members out to Scuti stars, which Danish astronomers
a distance of 270 from NGC 1817’s core, M. F. Anderson and T. Arentoft (Aarhus
doubling its previous radius. NGC 1807/ University) and their colleagues say makes
1817, then, can be viewed as a single cluster NGC 1817 the most abundant cluster in
nearly 1 across in the sky, perhaps with this type of stars. Delta Scuti stars are of
dual cores. Seen this way, NGC 1807/1817 spectral type A to F and have masses
has the same apparent diameter (and ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 Suns. They lie at
separation between the two cores) as the the bottom of the classical Cepheid
Double Cluster in Perseus. instability strip (narrow, vertical region in
20 & 21
the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, between distinct fuzzy glow 400 northeast of Star a.
the high end of the main sequence occupied NGC 1807 pops into view with a bit more
by stars more massive than the Sun and the concentration.
giant branch). Delta Scuti Stars, then, are Together, the clusters will be difficult
pulsating stars in a post-main-sequence to appreciate in small telescopes under
stage of stellar evolution. They show multi- bright skies. Admiral William Henry Smyth
periodic signals with periods on the order of called NGC 1817 “A very delicate double
0.25 to 5 hours, and display light variations star preceding a tolerably condensed clus-
of less than 1 magnitude. For NGC 1817 the ter.” He saw a yellow primary and a blue
turnoff from the main sequence, due to secondary. The pair, he said, is an “outlier
exhaustion of hydrogen in the core of stars, of a rich gathering of [faint] stars, which
is located inside the instability strip. more than fills the field, under an estima-
To “fish” up this interesting solo/duet, tion of 200 or 250 of diameter, but he did not
John Herschel suggested “carrying a line notice the pair here measured. However,
from the foremost star in Orion’s belt, Sir John Herschel thus describes it, No.
Mintaka, though Bellatrix, and there inter- 349: “large rich cluster; stars 12 to 15
secting it by another from Aldebaran, due magnitude; fills field. Place that of a
east towards gamma Geminorum.” Other- double star. The most compressed part is
wise, use the chart on page 92 to follow 42.5 seconds following the double star, and
Orion’s Shield northward to the 5th- 30 south of it.”
magnitude stars 11 and 15 Orionis; you’ll At a glance at 33 in the 5-inch, NGC
also find them about 7½ east and a bit 1817 and 1807 appear as two separate lines
south of Alpha (a) Tauri (Aldebaran) in of stars. But in averted vision, NGC 1817
the Hyades. Now use the chart on this page suddenly swells as a wide wash of stars
to locate 5th-magnitude Star a, about 400 that flows off that line to the northeast.
northeast of 15 Ori. Under dark skies, I can With time, fainter stars also pop into view
see NGC 1817 in 10 50 binoculars as a to the west-southwest of NGC 1807. Both
clusters have long tails of starlight that
N seem to attach the clusters to Star a, like
strings to balloons. If you slightly defocus
the view, the region separating the two
1817
Taurus
clusters looks like a 200 -wide V-shaped
1807
black lagoon – as if some divine power
had driven a wedge into the cluster in an
E W attempt to rip it apart.
a At 60 and 94, NGC 1807 is a sparse
aggregation of more than two-dozen suns
15 that make up a doll-like stick figure:
11
a prominent line of stars oriented north-
Orion
west-southeast forms the doll’s spine, a
1˚ wide pair of stars at the southeast end
S form the legs, and a solitary star at the
The Secret Deep 95

20 & 21
spread across 200 of sky. It contains four
bright stars that shine between 9th-
and 10th-magnitude and form a short
lightning-bolt pattern oriented north-
west–southeast. With averted vision, the
east-northeast side of NGC 1817’s light-
ning bolt swells into a ball of noisy star-
light. Some two-dozen suns cram into a
roughly 100 -wide ellipse of fuzzy starlight.
Now return to low power and relax your
mind. Do you see the long and looping arms
that seem to stream away from each cluster
fragment, visually extending their boundar-
ies across nearly 1 of sky? Remember, many
north end marks the head. The arms cross of the stars you see here in this region actu-
the spine from the northeast to the south- ally belong a single cluster; the double
west. Note too the pretty triad of stars at aspect is most likely only an illusion. Still,
the midpoint of the doll’s spine. expert deep-sky observer Steve Coe of Ari-
At these same powers, NGC 1817 is a more zona likes to call the two cluster fragments
dynamic grouping of irregularly bright suns the Poor Man’s Double Cluster.
22 & 23
Secret Deep 22 & 23
(NGC IC 417 & NGC 1931)
Camelopardalis
Lynx
Auriga Perseus
36
4
5
2
7
E W
IC 417
M38
M36
Gemini
14
NGC 1931
Taurus
The Secret Deep 97

22 & 23
22
The Spider
IC 417/Stock 8
Type: Emission Nebula and Cluster
Con: Auriga
RA: 05h 28.1m

Dec: þ34 260
Mag: ~8 (cluster)
SB: –9.0 (Rating: 4)
Diam (Cluster): 150
Dim (Nebula): 130 100
Dist: ~8,150 l.y.
Disc (Cluster): Jurgen Stock, 1954
Disc (Nebula): Max Wolf, 1892
i c : Very large, diffuse, magnitude

6 star involved.
23
The Fly
NGC 1931
Type: Emission/Reflection Nebula and
Cluster
Con: Auriga
RA: 05h 31.4m

Dec: þ34 150
Mag (Cluster): 10.1
Dim (Nebula): 40 40
Diam (Cluster): 60
Dist (Cluster): ~7,000 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed February 4,
1793] Very bright, irregularly round, very
gradually brighter in the middle, 50 in
diameter. Seems to have 1 or 2 stars in the
middle, or an irregular nebula; the chevelure
diminishes very gradually. (H I-261)
n g c : Very bright, large, round,

bright triple star in the middle.
22 & 23
T a k e t h e t i m e t o s t u dy a w i d e - fainter, in a 50 -wide region just hugging
field photograph of, or turn your binoculars Phi to the southeast, surrounding three
to, the rich Milky Way region around the roughly 9th-magnitude suns in a small
bright open star clusters M36 and M38 in arc. With averted vision, the region looks
Auriga the Charioteer. Two curious threads like a patch of Milky Way shaped like an
of starlight seem to connect M36 to M38, inverted V (seen with north up). Unlike
and M38 to 5th-magnitude Phi (f) Aurigae, other nearby swaths of Milky Way, the
an orange K-class giant flanked some 100 on region just southeast of Phi also has an
a side by two 6th-magnitude attendants. As added glaze, a frosting of nebulosity that
a whole, this star-and-cluster stream forms made it appear as if I had accidentally
an open V, like the fleshy flower of a calla breathed on the eyepiece (but I didn’t).
lily. I knew that light from the emission
As seen through binoculars, New York City nebula IC 417 washed through this region;
skywatcher Ben Cacace refers to the latter I also I knew that it appeared most intense
star stream as the Cheshire Cat asterism – in the region where I suspected seeing it.
referring to the lingering smile that belongs But I wasn’t prepared to spy that small
to the fictitious cat in Lewis Carroll’s aggregation of suns sparkling between it
1923 children’s classic Alice’s Adventures and Phi Aurigae. None of my star charts
in Wonderland. The smile begins just showed a cluster in this position, though
300 south-southeast of M38, at the 7th- the Millennium Star Atlas did have one
magnitude variable star LY Aurigae, object (Stock 8) plotted about 50 to the west.
then arcs 1 south-southwest to Phi Aurigae, Since I didn’t see any cluster in that latter
and ends 300 further to the south-
west at another 7th-magnitude
N
sun with an 8.5-magnitude com-
panion. The cat’s eyes are two Auriga
6.5-magnitude stars: one 300 M38
southwest of M38, and the other
about 420 south-southwest of it.
More impressive is the same
2 region seen at low power in 1907
a rich-field telescope. When
I first observed it through E W
the 5-inch at 33, Phi Aurigae IC 417
immediately captured my
attention. That crisp golden
star has numerous fainter stars 1931
Stock 8
sprinkled across it linearly from
the northeast to the southwest.
Equally appealing, however, 1˚
is a small collection of crisp
jewels, 9th-magnitude and
S
The Secret Deep 99

22 & 23
position, I suspected that Stock 8 must “Great Nebula in Auriga” after scanning
have been misplotted in the Millennium, a five-hour-long exposure he made of
and it was. the field surrounding Nova Aurigae. The
These observations later caused me to photo, he said, supported the theory that
reflect on a mysterious historical discov- nearly all these stars, clusters, and nebu-
ery: one made by Caroline Herschel losity are at the same order of distance
(William Herschel’s sister and observing from our Earth as in similar cases in
assistant) on the evening of October 13, Cygnus and Orion.
1782. That night, Caroline spied a “nebula As for Stock 8, it is indeed embedded in
below Phi Aurigae.” It has been proposed its nascent nebula IC 417. But it’s not the
that Caroline must have observed one of youngest object in the region. In a 2008
the bright Messier objects in the region. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
But M38 is nearly 1½ to the north- Society (vol. 384, pp. 1675–1700), Indian
northeast. M36 is nearly 2 to the east- astronomer Jessy Jose (Aryabhatta Research
southeast. And M37 is even further away, Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital)
some 5 to the east-southeast. The fact is, a and colleagues found that Stock 8 is a
nebula and cluster do exist south of Phi youthful cluster about 8,150 light-years dis-
Aurigae. Even if Caroline did not see the tant. It spans some 23 light-years across
nebulosity, she could have easily seen Stock 8 and intervening dust dims it by at least
as an unresolved glow. Given Caroline’s great 0.5 magnitude. But Two Micron All Sky
eye for dim nebulae and comets, why Survey near-infrared and spectroscopic
wouldn’t she have noticed such a bright data have also identified a population of
and obvious hazy collection of suns? young stellar objects – stars that have
No matter, Jürgen Stock at Warner and evolved past the protostar stage but have
Swasey Observatory found the cluster not yet reached the main sequence – in
while searching blue objective prism plates the area with ages between 1 and 5 million
along the Galactic equator and catalogued years; the other cluster stars are around
it in 1954; it was the eighth of 21 possible 2 million years.
new clusters he found based on the spec- Many of the young stellar objects lie
tral class and approximate magnitudes of along a nebulous stream belonging to IC
their stars. He then published the list in a 417 towards the east side of Stock 8.
1954 Astronomical Journal (vol. 59, p. 332). A small cluster was also found embedded
The nebula around the cluster was dis- in that feature. Both the young stellar
covered by Max Wolf in 1892. Wolf’s plates objects in the nebulous stream and in the
show the immediate region of Phi Aurigae embedded cluster, the researchers explain,
and Stock 8 covered with the glow. On the are younger than the stars in Stock 8. Thus,
evening of March 6, 1902, Wolf also dis- it appears that star formation activity in
covered the “Great V” – a larger swath of the nebulous stream and embedded
nebulosity that seems to connect the cluster may be independent from that of
nebulae IC 417, IC 410, and IC 405, the star Stock 8. Apparently shocks created by the
clusters M38 and NGC 1907, and the stars ionizing sources in (and west of ) Stock 8
16, 19, and 36 Aurigae. He discovered this have not yet reached the nebulous stream.

22 & 23
middle, or an irregular nucleus,” while his
son John saw a triple star within the nebula
which surrounds them like an atmosphere.
“With these premonitions,” Smyth con-
tinues, “I attacked it under most favorable
circumstances. The nebula is situated in
a rich field of minute stars, with five
of the 10th-magnitude, disposed in an
equatorial line above, or to the south, of
it, and preceded by a bright yellow 7½
magnitude star in the same direction. After
intently gazing, under moderate power,
the triangle rises distinctly from the star-
dust, and presents a singular subject for
Note that the dimensions of IC 417 given speculation.”
in the table on page 98 reflect only its NGC 1931 is a young and low-mass open
brightest section southeast of Phi Aurigae. star cluster in an extension of the Milky
In long-exposure photographs, however, IC Way’s Perseus Arm. The cluster appears
417 is a vast cloud of glowing hydrogen gas surrounded by emission and reflection
with long spindly legs that stretch across 1½ nebulosity (Sharpless 2-237 ¼ NGC 1931),
of sky. This larger form of IC 417 was glamor- though in a 1986 study of interstellar
ized by Boston amateur astronomer Steve reddening across the region, astronomers
Cannistra, who, after looking over one of his at Uttar Pradesh State Observatory in
marvelous wide-field photos of the region, Naini Tal, India, found that the nebula
nicknamed IC 417 “The Spider” and our is a background object on which the
next target – the tiny (40 ) emission/reflection cluster is superimposed. NGC 1931 is
nebula NGC 1931 (about 500 to the east- 7,000 light-years distant and about 10 mil-
southeast) – “The Fly.” lion years young, placing it in an age group
NGC 1931 is a beautiful little nebula with NGC 2362 (Caldwell 64), the Tau
harboring a tiny cluster that’s easily seen Canis Majoris Cluster.
in small telescopes. William Herschel In a 2009 Monthly Notices of the Royal
discovered this gem in 1793, cataloguing Astronomical Society (vol. 397, p. 1915B),
it as a bright nebula (H I-261). In his Cycle Brazilian astronomer C. Bonatto (Univer-
of Celestial Objects, Admiral William Henry sidade Federal do Rio Grande) used
Smyth calls it a “resolvable nebula” – no Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry
doubt in deference to William’s Herschel’s data to confirm the age estimate for
belief that most nebulae, under sufficient NGC 1931, adding that the cluster doesn’t
magnification, will resolve into a multitude appear to be in dynamical equilibrium,
of suns, just as the naked-eye Milky Way and either may be evolving into an OB
does under even the lowest of powers. association or is doomed to dissolve into
Indeed, Smyth says that William the Milky Way in a few tens of millions
Herschel resolved “one or two stars in the of years.
The Secret Deep 101

22 & 23
In the 5-inch at 33, NGC 1931 is the
easternmost “star” in a 200 -long, upward
curving arc of three 7.5-magnitude suns,
oriented east to west. It appears stellar
with a direct glance, but swells into a dis-
tinct nebulous knot with averted vision.
Doubling the power doesn’t change much;
the nebula continues to appear small (~20 )
and round but with a starlike object at the
core. A row of five conspicuous stars
(oriented north–south) lies a few arcmi-
nutes west-northwest of NGC 1931, which
is bracketed by two roughly 10th-magnitude
suns oriented in the same direction, so
there appear to be two parallel (but offset)
rows of stars here, side by side. Increasing magnitude central star becomes a stun-
the power to 94, I could see thin rays of ning triad of suns attended by three other
nebulosity, but they might also have been fainter jewels that swim in and out of view
faint star streams. as I move my eye around using averted
The glow is extremely condensed and vision. Seen together, these stars form a
takes magnification well. I especially marquee diamond. The southern end of
enjoyed viewing the nebula and cluster the nebula is more condensed than the
at powers ranging from 165 to 330. northern end. I also suspected a graceful
At 165, the nebula is most intense and sweep of reflection nebulosity stretching
obvious and has a smooth milky sheen that southward from the main nebula, but this
gradually, then rapidly, fades as I look out- may be an illusion owing to a nearby star
ward from the bright core. At the higher that tends to pull the light in that direction.
end of the power scale, the roughly 12th- See what you think.

24
Secret Deep 24
(Collnder 70 –– Orion’s Belt)
15
11
73
2
74
1
µ 1
2
4
E W
Orion 5
Cr 70 3
68
Monoceros
Eridanus
The Secret Deep 103

24
24
Orion’s Belt, Serpentine
Column
Collinder 70
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Orion
RA: 05h 35.6m

Dec: −01 050
Mag: 0.6
Diam: 1400
Dist: ~1,260 l.y. (Tycho)
Disc: Per Collinder, listed in
his 1931 paper “On structural
properties of open galactic
clusters and their spatial
distribution.”
n g c : None.
Like those three stars of the airy Giants’ zone, Hunter flashing in and out of view as we
That glitter burnished by the frosty dark; walked. Orion followed us, its giant form
And as the fiery Sirius alters hue, stomping across the neighborhood roof-
And bickers into red and emerald, shone tops keeping pace. Suddenly, the Hunter’s
The Princess, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1847
hourglass body stood boldly before us in a
clearing, his narrow waist adorned by three
W h e n i wa s a c h i l d g r ow i n g u p i n sparkling gems in a row, and we paused.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, it was custom- The Belt had captured my friends’ atten-
ary to attend midnight mass on Christmas tion. Although it was just a moment as
Eve. On one of those memorable evenings, fleeting as a shooting star, we each in our
my friends and I walked the quarter mile own way paid homage to these stars
or so to Sacred Heart Church in Watertown in silent wonder before continuing on.
under a star-filled sky – boots crunching in There isn’t a time-honored stargazer
the snow, cold nipping our cheeks, comets who hasn’t looked up on crisp winter even-
flying from our mouths into the crisp ings and marveled at Orion’s Belt. This
winter air. Naked oaks lined the streets, splendid row of three 2nd-magnitude
and their long and skeletal branches stars, stretching 3 across the velvet night
formed a complex web through which like a string of pearls, culminates in late
I could see the brilliant stars of Orion the January (meaning it stands highest above

24
the southern horizon after sunset) and (Alpha, Gamma, and Lambda Orionis),
forms the most significant asterism in the the father of beautiful Rohini (Aldebaran).
winter night sky next to the Big Dipper. Prajapati had lusted after his own daugh-
Actually, the Arabic name for the Belt’s ter, who cavorted around disguised as an
middle star, Alnilam (1.7-magnitude antelope. To win her, Prajapati changed
Epsilon (ε) Orionis), means “the String of himself into a deer. Realizing this trick,
Pearls.” The Belt’s western star, Mintaka Lubddhaka shot Prajapati with an arrow
(2.2-magnitude Delta (d) Orionis) is Arabic (the Belt), riveting him to the sky between
for “the Belt” and the first to rise above him and Rohini. To this day, amateurs still
the eastern horizon; early astrologers saw find Aldebaran and Sirius by extending
Mintaka’s arrival as important, for it por- Orion’s Belt equidistant to the northwest
tended good fortune. The Belt’s eastern- and southeast, respectively.
most star, Alnitak (1.8-magnitude Zeta (z) In Hawaii, the Belt stars were Na kao,
Orionis), is Arabic for “the Girdle.” meaning “the darts,” (these darts were long
Orion’s Belt is a celestial magnet, one poles thrown with both hands); their
that draws attention to itself and inspires station on the celestial equator made them
the imagination. Different cultures through- a crucial navigation tool during their great
out time have pondered these three celes- Pacific voyages. Hawaiians also believed
tial wonders and attributed significance to that when these stars ascended, stormy
them. Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert winds would blow:
gave great cosmic importance to the Belt
Pierced by the three stars of Orion
stars in their 1995 book The Orion Mystery
Are the clouds,
(Three Rivers Press, New York), claiming
of rain as they drift on
that the Pyramids of Giza are an earthly
The Rain!
representation of the three stars as they
appeared in the sky around 10,400 BCE. In the April 2001 issue of Natural History,
Alas, as Griffith Observatory director renowned archaeoastronomer Anthony
Edwin C. Krupp wrote in the February F. Aveni (Colgate University) tells us the
1997 issue of Sky & Telescope, the orienta- significance of Orion’s Belt to the Aztecs,
tion of the Belt stars and those of the pyra- who saw in the heavens the sustainers of
mids simply do not match. Still, it’s agreed life – “the gods they sought to repay, with
that the stars of Orion were important to the blood of sacrifice, for bringing favor-
the ancient Egyptians who saw in them able rains, for keeping the earth from
their great god Osiris, who not only pre- quaking, for spurring them on in battle.”
sided over the life and death of his people, Among the gods was Black Tezcatlipoca
but also the fertile flooding of the Nile. (“smoking mirror”), god of the night,
This fact also explains the proximity of which he ruled from the north. We see
Orion (Osiris) to Eridanus (the Nile). him in the sky – in the stars of what we
To the Chinese of old, the Belt was a call the Great Bear – hopping around
weighing beam. Early Hindus saw its stars the North Star on his one foot.
as the three-jointed arrow that the hunter On Earth, Tezcatlipoca was a sorcerer
Lubddhaka (Sirius) shot into Prajapati and liked to prowl the roads after sunset
The Secret Deep 105

24
to surprise tardy travelers. He could appear The Belt of Orion even appears in the
as a shrouded corpse or a headless man Bible (Job 38:31): After a lengthy debate
with his chest and stomach slit open; with Job and his friends, God emphasizes
anyone brave enough to rip out his heart his sovereignty in creating and maintain-
could demand a reward for returning it. ing the world, asking Job if he has ever had
But Tezcatlipoca wasn’t always bad. He God’s experience or authority:
later used fire sticks (Orion’s Belt) to bring
Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or
warmth to the central hearth, whose fire
loose the bands of Orion?
ensured the continuation of life. The light-
ing of the sticks may also be a metaphor In a different vein, to the Chimu Indians
for the sexual energy needed to procreate, of Peru, Epsilon, the central Belt star, was a
thus sustaining life on Earth. criminal being held by the arms by two
Interestingly, in Mayan mythology, celestial guards (Delta and Zeta Orionis).
Orion’s Belt is the center of creation. It’s There they await the Moon goddess to
where the paddler gods transported the punish the criminal by tossing his body to
maize gods in a huge canoe that corres- the four vultures (Alpha, Beta, Gamma,
ponded to the Milky Way until they arrived and Kappa Orionis) who will devour him:
at Orion’s Belt, which they envisioned as a these stars served as a perpetual reminder
huge cosmic turtle. Using a lightning to all of the penalty awaiting anyone who
stone, the god Chak cracked open the back follows a life of crime.
of the cosmic turtle, from which the maize Imagine all this attention to the Belt
gods grew. We can see the cracked turtle stars, yet no one realized that they belong
shell in the ballcourts of the Yucatan, to an open star cluster until Swedish
which are long lines like Orion’s Belt. In graduate student Per Arne Collinder listed
Pre-Columbian times, the ballcourts sub- it as the 70th such object in his 1931
stituted for observatories that the Maya doctoral dissertation “On structural prop-
used to watch the passage of time. Indeed, erties of open galactic clusters and their
when Orion’s Belt appeared through a spatial distribution.” Collinder 70 contains
designated hole, or the Sun shone directly
on a specific spot, it meant spring (the
moment of creation/life) was near.
Australian aborigines also, in a way,
envisioned the Belt stars as stars of fertility.
They saw the three stars as young men
dancing to attract the attention of the
maidens (the Pleiades). In South Africa
they were the three kings or sisters. While
in Upper Germany they were seen, among
other things, as the Magi – the three wise
men who followed the Star of Bethlehem
to Christ’s birthplace (another fertility
symbol).

24
100 members that thread across, or loop In 1904, German astronomer Johannes
around, the three Belt star like a giant Hartmann (1855–1936) at Potsdam Obser-
serpent. The view is most pronounced in vatory found stationary calcium absorption
binoculars, which shows some 70 stars at lines in the star’s spectrum. Since these
a glance. lines did not share in the periodic displace-
I liken the binocular view to the historic ments of other spectral lines caused by
Serpentine Column – an ancient bronze Mintaka’s orbital motion, Hartmann
column at the Hippodrome of Constantin- deduced that the calcium line belonged to
ople (now Istanbul, Turkey). In his History an intervening absorbing cloud. This dis-
of the Decline and Fall of the Roman covery helped prove the existence of inter-
Empire, Edward Gibbon describes the stellar matter – the thin but pervasive veil of
column as “the bodies of three serpents interstellar gas and dust out of which new
twisted into one pillar of brass. Their triple stars are born; when stars die, they recycle
heads had once supported the golden some of their material back into the inter-
tripod which, after the defeat of Xerxes, stellar medium. What I find most fitting
was consecrated in the temple of Apollo in Hartmann’s discovery is that it involves
at Delphi, by the victorious Greeks.” a star central to the Mayan creation myth.
In true physical extent, this stellar Alnilam (1,374 light-years) is a B-type
column spans 50 light-years of space. Now supergiant 40 times more massive than
lower your binoculars and look at Rigel. All our Sun. The star produces mighty winds
the cluster members lie in the same region that flow at speeds up to 2,000 km/sec,
of space as this blue supergiant (860 light- while radiating prodigious amounts of
years distant). In fact, the three bright Belt ultraviolet light (375,000 solar luminos-
stars are all hot giant stars. All are destined ities) from its 25,000 kelvin surface. The
to die in a fiery supernova explosion at circumstellar environment is so hot that
some unknown date in the future. Let’s look it illuminates a dim and diffuse swath of
at the three Belt stars now in more detail. interstellar gas (reflection nebula NGC
Mintaka (915 light-years) is a B-type 1990, discovered by William Herschel in
giant 90,000 times more luminous than 1786). This gas is but an enhancement of
the Sun and 20 times more massive; a much larger cloud of gas and dust that
it’s also a spectroscopic double, having an surrounds the entire constellation.
O-type companion of similar luminosity You can spend some time looking for
and mass. The stars orbit one another NGC 1990, but beware, while some images
every 5.73 days and share a common show the nebula, many skilled observers
center of gravity. As the stars orbit, they using sizable telescopes have been frus-
slightly eclipse each other, causing the trated in their attempts to nab it. Thus,
“single” star we see with our eyes to vary some have doubts as to whether the
in brightness by a mere 0.2 magnitude. nebula can be seen at all. Some have
But if you look at the star with even the argued that Herschel and others (like his
smallest of telescopes, you’ll see the pale son John who even measured it, suggesting
white primary has a bluish 7th-magnitude that it extends at least 12 arcminutes north
visual companion only about 10 due north. and south of Epsilon Orionis) must have
The Secret Deep 107

24
been fooled into believing they had seen Alnitak travels through space with a hot,
something there (even though, coinciden- B-type 5th-magnitude companion 2.600 to
tally, it exists). The problem is that the the southeast; few seem to agree on
nebula lies within the “glare” of the star, the companion’s color. William Henry
which can be enhanced with the slightest Smyth saw it as “light purple.” William
amount of moisture or dew on the tele- Tyler Olcott said it is “blue.” But in 1836,
scope objective (a moist breath on the F. G. Willhelm Struve invented a lovely
eyepiece), or dust or other pollutants name for it: olivacea subrubicunda, mean-
in the atmosphere. I’ve tried with the ing “slightly reddish olive.” Another “com-
5-inch without success, but that’s just me. panion,” though most likely not a true
Others have claimed success. Perhaps it physical member, is a 9.5-magnitude star
comes down to what Hal Corwin, director 5700 to the northeast.
of the NGC/IC Project (www.ngcic.org) The region around Alnitak is remarkable
wrote in November 2006: “I think that as well, containing several dusty clouds
we need to get out with big reflectors of interstellar gas, including the famed
similar to the Herschels’ telescopes and “Horsehead Nebula” to the south, and
really examine these stars in dark skies. NGC 2024 (Hidden Treasure 34) just 150 to
I’d be interested in seeing what the the northeast. If you are under a dark sky,
extended star images look like under these look at Alnitak with keen averted vision
conditions, and especially why some stars (cover the star with the edge of a distant
misled the 19th century guys while most object, like a roof or tree limb, if neces-
did not.” sary). Can you see the nebula without
Alnitak (800 light-years) is another optical aid? In binoculars? In 10 50 bino-
hot O-type blue supergiant – the brightest culars, it’s a pale, sepulchral glow (the
O-type star in the sky. To the eye, Alnitak is ghost of Alnitak) that could easily be mis-
20 times more massive, and 10,000 times taken for an optical reflection. NGC 2024
more luminous, than the Sun; to a bee, is an HII region some 1,300 light-years
who can see in the ultraviolet region of distant. It is part of one of the closest sites
the spectrum, the star’s light would appear of recent and massive star formation.
100,000 times solar. As University of Energetic photons from young stars strip
Illinois astronomer James Kaler touts, the surrounding hydrogen atoms of their
“A planet like the Earth would have to be electrons, causing the gas in the visible
300 times farther from Alnitak than Earth nebula to glow. And though you cannot
is from the Sun (8 times Pluto’s distance) see it, NGC 2024 contains an embedded
for life like ours to survive.” And though cluster of stars 300,000 years young.
Alnitak may be about about 6 million years By the way, the low-power field sur-
“young” (as opposed to the Sun’s 4.6 billion rounding Alnitak has several other smaller
year age), it has already begun to die. reflection and emission nebulosities:
Its fate will be to swell into a red giant IC 432, IC 431, NGC 2023, IC 435, and
like Betelgeuse in the shoulder of Orion, IC 434 (which includes the dark Horse-
and suffer a cataclysmic explosion as a head Nebula). They are plotted on page 109,
supernova. but described in detail in my Deep-Sky

24
All are part of the Orion
N
OB1 Association, which
includes many of the stars
IC 432
in Orion.
IC 431 Finally, how can I not at
NGC 2024 least mention the fact that
Orion
Alnitak from Collinder 70 hangs
2023
the illustrious Sword of
E IC 435 IC 434 W
Orion, which contains a
B33
Horsehead wealth of deep-sky treas-
Nebula ures, including M42, the
Great Orion Nebula – an
enormous cloud of fluor-
1˚ escent gas 40 light-years
S in diameter and some
1,500 light-years distant.
Companions: Hidden Treasures book (Cam- As I write in my Observing the Night Sky
bridge University Press, 2007). Also, what with Binoculars (Cambridge University
0 Press, 2008): “Few sights in the night sky
about Sigma Orionis about 50 southwest
of Alnitak. It’s a stunning multiple star excite beginners more than being able to
system even in a small telescope, but it’s detect this, the most glorious of all nebu-
not a part of Collinder 70. In fact, it’s a star lae, without optical aid. Its beauty and
cluster of its own – the Sigma Orionis glory is justly magnified in binoculars and
cluster, 1,150 light-years distant. It’s com- telescopes, which also reveal its little com-
posed of four members (a tight quartet), panion nebula, M43, kissing it to the north
which are responsible for illuminating and the famous Trapezium star cluster at
the nebula surrounding the Horsehead. its core.” Enjoy!
The Secret Deep 109

25
Secret Deep 25
(NGC 2022)
15
11
73
2
74
NGC 2022
1
µ 1
2 2
4
E W
Orion
5
3
68
Monoceros
Eridanus

25
25
Kissing Crescents Nebula
NGC 2022
Con: Orion
RA: 05h 42.1m

Dec: þ9 050
Mag: 11.9 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 2200 1700
Dist: ~7,600 l.y.
bright, nearly round, like a star with
a large diameter, like an ill-defined
planetary nebula. (H IV-34)
n g c : Planetary, pretty bright,

very small, very little extended.
S ometime in the mid to l ate 1970s , NGC 2022’s true shape is a prolate
the famous visual nova hunter Peter spheroid (like an American football) sur-
Collins introduced me to NGC 2022. rounded by an almost spherical, fainter
Although I can’t recall the exact date, I do shell of matter. Like NGC 1535 (Hidden
recall that winter experience. We were Treasure 24) in Eridanus, NGC 2022 is a
using the 9-inch f/12 Clark refractor at Har- planetary nebula in a rather early evolu-
vard College Observatory in Cambridge, tionary phase, so it has a high surface
Massachusetts. At the time, I had been con- brightness. We see two main structures:
centrating most of my time to studying the The most obvious is an inner annulus
planets, though I had a keen interest in many tilted about 45 to our line of sight toward
aspects of visual astronomy, including the positional angle 30 in the sky; the other is
deep-sky. a fainter, almost spherical shell of matter
On this night, Peter had come to the dome expanding at a lower rate than the inner
excited to show me this planetary nebula, ring. The nebula’s mean ionized mass
which shone dimly in the nape of Orion’s (whose emission lines are dominated by
neck. Sometimes seeing planetary nebulae neutral hydrogen) equals 0.2 Sun, and its
from a city can present a challenge to obser- magnitude 14.8 pre-white-dwarf central
vers. But NGC 2022 was, to my surprise, star has a surface temperature of 100,000 K.
quite obvious. Its tiny annulus shined forth The nebula formed from an asymptotic
like a moist and narrow loop of light. giant branch star that loses mass at quite
The Secret Deep 111

25
a strong rate (10–5 to 10–6 solar masses per it sweeps up the cooler gas like a
year) and at a low velocity (5–10 km/sec). snowplow.
When the star begins its fast evolution Planetary nebula expert Sun Kwok
toward the left of the HR diagram, it ejects (then at the University of Calgary) says that
a mass of gas of 0.1 to 0.5 Sun with a range these “‘interacting-winds’ have become
of velocity from zero up to 50 km/sec. The the standard model of planetary nebulae
outer parts of this gas interact with the formation, and have led to a new under-
former ejected wind. The gas glows as standing of the dynamical evolution of
ultraviolet light from the hot central star planetary nebulae as well as the origin of
excites it. their different morphologies.” Bond adds
In the early evolutionary phases, the that the HST image of NGC 2022 shows
nebula has a high surface brightness and that the snowplowed sheets are rather
the interaction region is external to the thick and have easily resolved rims with
ionized part of the nebula, and this is a sharp leading edge.
the stage in which we see NGC 2022. In To find NGC 2022, use the chart on
time, NGC 2022’s density will decrease page 110 to locate 3rd-magnitude Lambda
and the radius of its ionized region will (l) Orionis and its two 4th-magnitude
extend outward toward the dusty shell attendants – Phi1 (f1) and Phi2 (f2)
surrounding it, causing the nebula to shine Orionis. Center Phi2 in your telescope,
with a lower surface brightness. then switch to the chart on page 113. From
NGC 2002’s inner annulus,
the one most obvious in
backyard telescopes, measures
2200 1700 ; at an approximate
distance of 7,600 light-years;
the ring’s true physical extent,
then, is 0.8 0.6 light-year.
The dim outer shell measures
about 2800 across or 1 light-
year. If you look carefully at
the HST image at right, you’ll
see that the inner ring’s
brightest sections appear at
the ansae of the major axis.
HST principle investigator
Howard Bond (Space Tele-
scope Science Institute) notes
that such bright rims have the
expected sheet-like attributes
of a bubble-driven snowplow,
meaning that as fast wind
from the central star expands,

25
N against the sky background.
The nebula displays a bright
Orion
disk that remains highly
condensed. With concentra-
1 tion, I believe I can start to
b
detect definition – namely
E c 2 W a brighter core with fuzzy
2022
edges. I find that all powers
a
just tease the eye until I get
to about 282, when the
1˚
annulus pops clearly into
view with averted vision.
S
I see two crescents with
sharp inner edges joining to
Phi2, move 200 south-southeast to 6th- create the ring, thus my nickname for the
magnitude Star a. Now, head northeast planetary: the Kissing Crescents Nebula.
and follow the roughly 500 -long chain of Just as HST and other images show, the
8th- to 9th-magnitude stars that ends at nebula certainly is brighter around the ansae
Star b. Just 100 southeast of Star b you’ll of the major axis (oriented northeast–
find a nice pair of stars: 7.5-magnitude southwest). This causes the minor axis,
Star c and a 9th-magnitude companion to oriented northwest–southeast, to appear
the southeast. NGC 2022 lies about 100 fur- dimmer. The southwestern end is particu-
ther to the southeast. larly brighter than the northeastern end
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 2022 is virtu- and has a beaded appearance. John
ally stellar, even with averted vision. It Herschel (1792–1871) also noted a beaded
shines as a solitary 12th-magnitude sun texture, describing the nebula as “rather
in a line of 12th- and 13th-magnitude oval, and perhaps a mottled light.” On that
stars; it blends in with its surroundings note, Admiral William Henry Smyth said
well and can easily be passed over. So don’t
be fooled. Use the chart here to pinpoint
its exact location. Once you’re certain of its
position, see if you can’t see it swell just
ever so slightly. Remember to use averted
vision, and give it time. I really enjoy trying
to detect planetaries at low power; it’s like
trying to coax your eyes to see a white
rabbit in the snow. At 60, the nebula is a
very small, pale gray, and highly noticeable
disk, nicely condensed; it truly looks like a
distant gas-giant planet.
Increasing the magnification to 94
causes the nebula to stand out boldly
The Secret Deep 113

25
that John’s “power of vision [was] beyond by Rev. Thomas W. Webb in his Celestial
what my means afforded.” Smyth Objects for Common Telescopes (Dover
employed a 6-inch refractor to observe the Publications, Inc., New York, 1962). Planet-
nebula, which he found “small and pale, ary nebulae often appear greenish (some-
but very distinct.” Perhaps he wasn’t using times bluish) because of an abundance
enough magnification. of ionized oxygen [OIII], which radiates in
Smyth did, however, see NGC 2022’s disk the green part of the visible spectrum.
tinted bluish white – a color also noted What do you see?

26
Secret Deep 26a
(Herschel’s Region 27)
2 Taurus
Gem. 68
71 64
72 69
a
15
11
73
2
74
1
µ 1
2 2
3
8 Herschel’s
4
E Region 27 W
56 5
59 25 3
51 Orion
60
Barnard’s Loop
(Sh2-276)
a
68
Monoceros
55
49
1 Eridanus
NGC 2149 2
3
Lepus
The Secret Deep 115

26
26
Part of Barnard’s Loop
Sh2-276 (brightest segment) =
Herschel’s Region 27
Type: Supernova Remnant
Con: Orion
RA: 05h 52.5m

Dec: þ00 450
Mag: –
Dim: 900 300
Dist: ~1,600 l.y.
22, 1786]. I am pretty sure the
following space is affected with
milky nebulosity.
n g c : None.
W h e n i b e g a n ta k i n g c o l o r is also being driven by strong stellar

photographs of the constellations in the winds from the Orion I OB Association, of
1970s, a weakly glowing stream of red light, which the famous Orion Nebula (M42) is
arcing nearly 15 along the eastern side a major part; M42 also lies at the heart of
of Orion’s Belt and Sword, caught my eye. the Loop.
At first I thought it was caused by a film In a 1992 Journal of Soviet Astronomy
defect or a light leak in my camera. Later (vol. 36, p. 246A), E. A. Abramenkov and
I learned its identity: the emission nebula V. V. Krymkin (Radio Astronomy Institute,
Sharpless 2-276, more commonly known Ukrainian Academy of Sciences) explain
as Barnard’s Loop. that various opinions have been advanced
In wide-field photographs, especially about the mechanism that excites the emis-
in long exposures taken in red light, the sion of Sharpless 2-276. In early papers, the
Loop looks like the wing of a celestial snow Loop’s ionization was explained by either
angel made with Orion’s right arm and leg. the collision with interstellar gas or cosmic
Actually, it’s a giant (6000 3000 ) swath of and X-ray bombardment. But modern
ionized gas with a mass of about 100,000 observations disagree. It’s now believed
Suns. It was probably produced by the that excitation by hot stars in the OB asso-
explosion(s) of one or more supernovae ciation causes Sh2-276’s thermal emission,
some 5 to 6 million years ago – the only whose radiation is scattered by the dust
such remnant visible to the unaided eye. component and emitted intensely by
The nebula’s expansion (10 to 25 km/sec) the nebula in the ultraviolet. The nebula’s

26
non-thermal component, on the other astronomer William Henry Pickering had
hand, is typical of those from supernova already imaged it five years earlier from
remnants, which may be due to a com- nearby Mount Wilson, using a Voigtlander
pression of the region’s interstellar mag- portrait lens of 2.6 inches aperture and
netic field induced by the explosion’s 8.6 inches focus.
shock wave. Barnard acknowledges this in a 1903
The Loop’s visibility to the unaided eye Astrophysical Journal article (vol. 17, p. 77)
was, for a long time, a matter of interesting titled “Diffused nebulosities in the heavens.”
debate, and I will discuss this later. But He also reveals that on one of his photo-
the Secret Deep object you’re after is the graphs, “Most of the great curved nebula
brightest telescopic region of the Loop, is clearly shown, especially [region 27]
known as Herschel Region 27. described by Herschel.”
Despite the Loop’s popular name (Bar- “Region 27” is one of several areas of the
nard’s Loop), the legendary visual observer sky that the great visual astronomer Wil-
and photographic genius Edward Emerson liam Herschel listed as being “affected with
Barnard (1857–1923) was not the first to milky nebulosity.” The table on page 116
discover it. The nebula’s history is, in fact, gives the region’s central position, which
shrouded in “ignorance” – not in a deroga- lies about 300 south of the midpoint
tory sense, but in the sense of “not know- between the 5th-magnitude stars 56 and
ing.” The story is one best told backwards, 51 Orionis. So while the Loop may be
beginning with Barnard. rightly called either Pickering’s or Bar-
In his 1995 book, The Immortal Fire nard’s Loop, Herschel definitely was the
Within: The Life and Work of Edward first human known to spy a segment of it
Emerson Barnard (Cambridge
University Press), William N
Sheehan describes how, in
Orion
October 1894, Barnard used a 59
very small magic lantern lens
(1.5 inches in diameter and 56
3.5 inches focus) attached
to the Crocker Telescope
mounting at Lick Observatory
in Southern California to E W
Herschel’s
make wide-field exposures Region 27
that took in nearly the entire
60 2071
constellation of Orion. On
those images, he noticed a
“great nebula extending in a NGC 2112 M78
curved form over the entire
body of Orion.” 1˚
At the time, Barnard was
S
unaware that Harvard
The Secret Deep 117

26
visually. Barnard extolled the wonder of This debate mirrored many similar argu-
Herschel’s region 27 as seen in his photo- ments in the coming years as to what any
graphs, touting it as “really the brightest given observer could, or could not, see
portion of one of the most extraordinary through a telescope, using photography
nebulae in the sky.” as the sole judge and jury. Some astron-
But not all astronomers were convinced. omers apparently had so much faith in
The renowned English photographer Isaac photography (especially during its infancy)
Roberts, for instance, tried to image that they were blinded by its imperfec-
Herschel’s milky nebulosity in region 27 (as tions, putting absolute trust in what we
well as 51 other nebulous regions described now know was an inherently fallible
by Herschel) with a 20-inch reflector and medium – one limited by the technology
5-inch Cooke Portrait lens. His 90-minute of the day, especially the insensitivity
exposures failed to show any trace of these of old photographic emulsions to faint,
supposed glows in all but four regions – diffuse light.
region 27 not being among them. Curiously, Barnard, the greatest visual
In his 1903 paper, Barnard immediately observer of his day, someone who had
addressed this issue: “Dr. Roberts’ negative discovered the large and dim California
results are so sweeping in character that it Nebula in Perseus, among other awesome
is highly important that anything tending visual feats, did not try to detect visually
to prove the existence of any of these ques- the nebula in Herschel’s region 27. Had
tioned regions of nebulosity should be the great observer sold his soul to the
brought forward at once.” new promise of astrophotography, while
Barnard went on to argue that Roberts’ retaining a healthy respect for the power
exposures were too short (imagine that, of the eye?
considering how modern-day astronomers In The Immortal Fire Within, Sheehan
can achieve success with CCD cameras in argues that Barnard largely gave up his
a matter of seconds), adding, “It is a little visual observations of nebulae after he
unreasonable to suppose that Herschel, started making wide-angle photographs
who made so few blunders compared with the Willard lens at Lick Observatory
with the wonderful and varied work that in 1889. The lens gave a 20 field of view
he accomplished, should be so palpably and had tremendous potential for celestial
mistaken in forty-eight out of fifty-two photography. “I think he realized,” Sheehan
observations of this kind.” explains, “that photography was so much
Indeed, Barnard notes that his images more discerning as a medium for making
show the nebula in region 27, exactly out these objects. I suppose that the dry-
where Herschel had recorded it. In a final plate photography had about the same
verbal thrust, Barnard notes, “Dr. Roberts impact on nebular studies as CCD imaging
failed to get any traces of the exterior neb- has had on planetary studies today – to the
ulosities of the Pleiades, which have been point where very few observers bother to
shown by four observers with four differ- make visual observations any longer.”
ent instruments not only to exist, but to be Today, sighting the nebula in Herschel’s
not at all difficult objects.” region 27 is not tremendously difficult – if

26
I know of many successful attempts to
see the brightest section of the nebula in
Herschel’s region 27. I was most impressed
with its appearance in my Tele Vue 4-inch
f/5 Genesis refractor at 23, the view of
which was more enhanced than that
through my 5-inch at 33. That increase
of 10 in the 5-inch was enough to spread
the nebula’s dim light across a greater area,
making it a bit more difficult to detect.
It’s a subtle glow that is best seen with a
slow and generous sweep – much in the
way that Herschel discovered it. As Robert
L. Gregory informs us in his 1966 book
you have access to a dark sky, and espe- Eye and Brain: The Psychology of Seeing
cially if you employ an ultra-high-contrast (McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, Toronto),
filter. Again, I’m asking you to see the part of the function of eye movement is
brightest part of this Great Curved Nebula to sweep the image over the receptors,
(the name that Barnard bestowed upon “to signal to the brain the presence of the
it), which was discovered visually, not image.” Herschel, like other observers of
photographically. It runs from a point his day, employed this technique. “I used
about 1¼ due east of 5th-magnitude 60 every means of ascertaining [these nebu-
Orionis, near the 9th-magnitude open star lae],” Herschel says, “by motion of the
cluster NGC 2112, to a point about 13=4 telescope.”
southwest of 56 Orionis. So its long axis Start your search by sweeping slowly
is oriented northwest to southeast, with a from 60 Orionis toward M78. As you move
midpoint about 300 northwest of open the tube toward the nebulosity, align your
cluster NGC 2112, which is 180 in greatest eye so that the incoming light sweeps
extent and has about 50 stars 10th- across the long axis of the eye. As you
magnitude and fainter. approach the nebula, the background sky
The nebula’s glow is quite substantial, should become a little bit brighter (the
measuring 1½ in length and about 300 presence of the nebula), then fade again
wide (the exact dimensions of what you as you move away from it. It’s a sensation
see will vary on the night, your instument’s very similar to crossing a highway lit by
aperture, and the magnification used). The starlight surrounded by dark grasslands.
greater the aperture and the lower the In fact, the method you use to see
power, the more you will see, again, espe- Herschel’s nebula through a telescope is
cially with a UHC filter. The dimensions very similar to the method experienced
are larger than those of the Veil supernovae observers use to detect the dim zodiacal
remnants in Cygnus and a bit smaller than band with the unaided eye, namely by
those of the California Nebula in Perseus, sweeping the head back and forth across
all of which are large visual wonders. the target region, all the while looking for
The Secret Deep 119

26
a dim band of light. You can also try gently it’s one of the advantages of living in a
tapping the telescope tube; which sets the world filled with technological wonders.
field in a rocking motion, thus sweeping Dave Riddle of northern Florida explains
the nebula back and forth across the how the north part of the Loop is a
retina. (Remember to align your eye with well-known naked-eye H-beta object. “My
the axis of motion.) previous attempts to follow the nebula
Seeing this large and ghostly veil against southward with an H-beta filter revealed
stars on the outskirts of the galactic plane nothing and I had pretty much written off
is an acquired skill. It takes time and the object as ‘photographic only,’” he says.
patience, and repeated efforts on dark “When I spotted a large bright glow
nights of varying transparencies. Once without the filter in the position of the
you see the glow, though, its form becomes Southern Loop, I initially was puzzled by
more and more apparent with time as your what I was seeing and thought it must be
eye–brain system becomes more and more one of the weakly illuminated dark nebulae
familiar with the view. You’re looking for that mottle this area of Orion.” But a follow-
something large and diffuse – a ghostly up observation revealed to him that he had
corridor of elusive vapors some four times indeed sighted the Loop’s southern exten-
as long as, and just as wide as, the appar- sion. “I could trace the entire nebula that
ent diameter of the full Moon. curves westward near 53 Orionis (Kappa),”
With the passage of time, I thought he says, “and ends just eastward of Rigel.”
I could see actual ribbons of nebulosity. He also found the “curve” west of Kappa
In other words, the view was not that of a particularly well defined in his Tele Vue
large and dim glow but of a frayed fabric. Pronto telescope at 16 with a UHC filter.
See if you can justify seeing these details I’ve found the eastern and southern
in your own eye and mind. I could also segments of the Loop not that difficult to
detect faint traces of nebulosity in the see without optical aid under dark skies,
more northwestern regions of Herschel’s especially at altitudes 4,000 feet and
region 27, but the number of bright stars higher. Beware, however, of Orion’s False
in this region is greater, and tracing out the Loop – a 10 -wide semicircle of light that
glow is more difficult because of the stellar follows a coincidental curve of nine 4.5- to
distractions. It is still substantial, however, 5th-magnitude suns. Its northern segment
in photographs and CCD images. begins at Psi (c) Orionis, which is about 4
north of Delta (d) Orionis (Mintaka), the
THE NAKED-EYE LOOP westernmost star in Orion’s Belt. It then
Although it’s not part of the Secret Deep arcs northeastward through Omega (o)
list, seeing the entire Barnard’s Loop with- Orionis, then southeastward through 56
out optical aid has long been a fun and and 60 Orionis, before dipping almost
exciting challenge, testing the visual mettle 3½ south to Star a. The far southern
of even the most skilled observers. Admit- extension travels through 49 and Upsilon
tedly, sightings of it (or at least parts of it) (u) Orionis just south of the Sword.
through UHC and H-beta filters have With averted vision, these stars appear
become commonplace to downright simple; as a fuzzy beaded necklace owing to the

26
“etcetera principle”: Under low light level Kappa (k) Orionis (Saiph) and 0-magnitude
situations such as stargazing, our eye–brain Beta (b) Orionis (Rigel). Seeing this thin
system not only likes to play “connect the wisp of light requires not only patience
dots” (in an attempt to create familiar pat- and rhythmic breathing, but also perhaps
terns), but also fill in the blanks; in this the advantage of altitude; it also helps to
case, causing us to see a fuzzy loop. extend your fingers to block these two
To see the true nebulosity, try tackling bright stars.
it bit by bit. Start with Herschel’s region As Riddle said, the northern segment
27 (about 1 south of 56 Orionis) and its of the arc is an H-beta object. I have never
south-southeastern extension (which ends convinced myself that I’ve seen the glow
about ½ west of Star a). If you have between Omega and Psi Orionis without
trouble seeing it, try this averted vision a filter. The biggest problem is that the
trick: Look at Omega Orionis but focus nebula unfortunately follows a string
your attention on the region of sky of dim suns between them, and it’s hard
between 56 and 51 Orionis. You can also to tell if the etcetera principle is not
try directing your attention at the point at work.
halfway between Psi and 56 Orionis, or, By the way, amateurs have spied sections
better yet, alternate between the two of the western part of the supernova
views. If you suspect something, sweep remnant, more formerly known as the
your direct gaze from 51 Orionis to 2nd- Eridanus Bubble – a 25 area of interlock-
magnitude Zeta (z) Orionis (Alnitak), while ing arcs of H-alpha-emitting filaments,
using your averted vision to seek out the driven by stellar winds and supernovae.
region of the Loop extending toward Star a. The brightest segment is NGC 1909. Once
Now focus on a point above Orion’s Sword believed to be a nonexistent object, it is is
but concentrate on the region between now known to be coincident with IC 2118,
Star a and 55 Orionis. the Witch Head Nebula in Eridanus. Riddle
The Loop’s most difficult region in the has spied it through apertures as small as
south lies midway between 2nd-magnitude 70-mm.
The Secret Deep 121

27
Secret Deep 27
(IC 2149)
Camelopardalis
Lynx
Auriga Perseus
36 IC 2149
4
5
E 7
2 W
M38
M36
Gemini
14
Taurus
S

27
27
IC 2149
Con: Auriga
RA: 05h 56.4m

Dec: þ46 060
Dim: 8.500
Dist: ~3,600 l.y.
Disc: Williamina Paton Fleming,
1906
h e r s c h e l : [None]
i c : Planetary, stellar.
i c 2149 i s a p e c u l i a r l i t t l e g e m i n have been revolutionized by the application

northeastern Auriga, near 2nd-magnitude of photographic methods,” touts Pickering
Beta (b) Aurigae (Menkalinan) – the shoul- in a 1908 Annals of the Harvard College
der of the Rein-holder. This important plan- Observatory, “Among them may be included
etary nebula was discovered in 1906 by the discovery of nebulae by means of their
Williamina Paton Fleming (1857–1911) – spectra.”
one of Harvard College Observatory’s best- Indeed, Fleming’s discovery of IC 2149
known woman astronomers in the world. came as she inspected plates taken with
Fleming permanently joined the observa- Harvard College Observatory’s 8-inch
tory staff in 1881 and observatory director f/5.5 Bache refractor, which was equipped
Edward C. Pickering soon entrusted her with an objective prism to record spectra.
(and other stellar women assistants) with It was during one of these scans that
the monumental and fatiguing task of she noted a star in Auriga whose spectrum
examining, indexing, and caring for the displayed peculiar bright lines; this object –
photographic plates in Harvard’s growing one of 43 objects she ultimately added
collection. to the Index Catalogue – she listed as a
While visually scanning the plates, “gaseous nebula,” a phrase commonly used
Fleming and her coworkers not only meas- back then to describe planetary nebulae.
ured the positions of thousands of stars At the time of Fleming’s discovery,
(and compared their results against those the Bache refractor was no longer at Cam-
in known catalogues), but also searched bridge, but at Harvard’s southern station in
eagerly for new objects by means of their Arequipa, Peru. Interestingly, had not circum-
spectra. “Many departments of astronomy stances changed there by 1898, the discovery
The Secret Deep 123

27
of IC 2149 (and many others) might not have in December 1897 and headed back to
gone to Fleming. In 1897, the hunt for variable America; though in a letter to Clymer, Pick-
stars and other new objects had become ering made a preemptive strike: “Evidently
increasingly competitive. it is for the mutual interest to avoid dupli-
As Bessie Zaban Jones and Lyle Gifford cation [in the efforts of all] and there surely
Boyd explain in their 1971 book, The should be some way by which justice
Harvard College Observatory: The First should be done to all.” For instance,
Four Directorships, 1839–1919 (Belknap Pickering suggested to recognize in print
Press, Cambridge, MA), Harvard astron- “the assistant by whom each photograph
omer Solon Bailey, who took charge of the is taken.” If anyone had a problem with
Arequipa station in 1893, began to encour- this, Pickering said, they could take it up
age his Peruvian assistants to scan the with him.
photographic plates before boxing and In 1899 Pickering made Fleming Curator
shipping them off to Cambridge. If they of Astronomical Photographs – the first
found a new variable or other interesting such corporation appointment of a woman
object, Bailey told them to mark it. at Harvard. And in 1906, the year she dis-
This practice displeased Fleming, who covered IC 2149, the Royal Astronomical
felt she was being deprived not only of Society elected her as an honorary member.
the joy of discovery but of original discov- IC 2149 has long been an enigma among
ery credit. In a letter to Bailey, Pickering planetary nebulae, eluding clear classifi-
raised Fleming’s concern, noting that her cation until 2002. In optical images, the
work was now being duplicated by Bailey’s compact (8.500 ) nebula displays a bright
assistants. “She feels that in these cases the elongated central structure surrounded by
credit goes to the Peruvian observers,” a faint envelope. It is dominated, however,
Pickering said, “while a large amount of by the light of its 11.3-magnitude central
work falls upon her.” But Bailey defended star. Of spectral type O7.5, this low-mass
the practice, saying that the person who star (~0.5 Sun) has an effective tempera-
took the plate (and inspected the result) ture of about 30,000 kelvin and a stellar
shouldn’t be forbidden to note the appear- wind (~1,000 km/sec) indicating a mass-
ance of new objects. loss rate of around 10–8 solar masses per
Pickering was sympathetic: “Personally, year. The metal-poor central star (whose
I think that the ability to make first class progenitor was about the mass of our
plates is greater than that required in the Sun) appears to be slowly evolving and is
mere picking up of new objects by the only about 7,000 years young; this would
assistants there. . . But the latter has been also explain the small, highly ionized
publicly recognized and the former seldom nebula around it.
or never, it is perhaps not strange that an Hubble Space Telescope images, as well
ambitious assistant should desire to try as Earth-based imaging and spectra, have
also the latter . . . Mrs Fleming is not the revealed important structures within the
only one who has felt vexed at times.” low-mass nebula (~0.03 Sun). As Mexican
The matter seemed to end when Bailey astronomer Roberto Vázquez (Instituto de
turned his post over to William F. Clymer Astronomı́a, UNAM, Ensenada) and his

27
In a 2008 Astronomy & Astro-
physics (vol. 481, p. 107), Vázquez
and his colleagues note similarities
between IC 2149 and NGC 6309
(see Secret Deep 77) in Ophiuchus,
and also NGC 4361 (Hidden Treas-
ure 61) in Corvus.
As for NGC 4361, both it and IC
2149 are compact and deficient
in heavy elements. They also have
an inner ring and bipolar lobes,
though IC 2149’s ring is more
prominent than its lobes, while
the opposite is true for NGC 4361.
The central star of NGC 4361 is also
considerably hotter than the cen-
tral star of IC 2149. Thus these
two planetaries apparently show
colleagues describe in a 2002 Astronomical us different stages in the final evolution
Journal (vol. 576, pp. 860–869), the nebula’s of low-mass central stars, with NGC 4361
bright inner ellipse is an inhomogeneous being the more evolved.
ring seen almost edge-on. Assuming that To find this tiny wonder, simply use the
the ring is circular, it would be inclined 86 chart on page 123 to locate Beta (b) Aur-
with respect to the line of sight (with the igae and 4th-magnitude Pi (p) Aurigae, just
southeast half of the ring angled toward 1 to the north. Center Pi in your telescope
us). At an assumed distance of ~3,600 at low power and use the chart on page 126
light-years, the ring’s width spans some 0.2 to find IC 2149 only about 400 to the west-
light-year and is expanding at 24 km/sec. northwest. Pi marks the eastern end of a
Earth-based observations indicate that roughly 250 arc of three stars; you want to
an elliptical (oblate ellipsoidal) shell sur- center the westernmost star (labeled a).
rounds the ring. In addition, arclike struc- Now look about 120 further west for a dim
tures at the ring’s ansae suggest the possible pair of stars (b), whose components shine
presence of faint bipolar lobes. Thus, the between magnitudes 10 and 11. About
authors conclude, IC 2149 can be suitably 60 northwest is a solitary 10th-magnitude
classified as a bipolar planetary nebula star (c). IC 2149 is almost 100 to the north-
(diabolo or hourglass type) with the main east, about midway between Star c and
(bipolar) axis at position angle −23 . another 10th-magnitude star (d ).
The presence of an ellipsoidal shell At low power, you probably won’t see
suggests that the nebula may still be in the nebula hugging the star . . . just the star.
the process of forming and that com- So center that star, and get ready to use
plete bipolar lobes could develop in the high powers. Once you’re sure you’ve
future. located the star, though, try to see if you
The Secret Deep 125

27
N
Auriga
d
IC 2149
c
a b
E W
1˚
S compare the current appearance of IC 2149

with that of the expected final stage in the
can’t make the star “swell” with averted life of our Sun.
vision. I convinced myself I could at 33. While our Sun will become a 0.3 solar
Again, since the nebula is so small (8.500 ), mass red giant 7.6 billion years from now,
you’ll want to crank up the power. Use as the authors say, its luminosity will come
much as you, and the night, can handle. short of driving a final, dust-driven super-
The nebula is of high surface brightness, wind. No regular solar planetary nebula
so go to the highest extreme. I found will form, they argue. Instead, a last ther-
the view of the nebula (just as a glow) mal pulse may produce a circumstellar
“comfortable” at magnifications between shell similar to, but rather smaller than,
165 and 180. Double those powers and that of IC 2149. At that point, the Earth
you may start to see tiny structures. will be engulfed by the Sun’s cool giant
By alternating between averted and direct photosphere!
vision, the nebula expands and contracts Does the thought of that event annoy
(albeit minutely), respectively. An OIII filter you? How lame and insignificant do you
creates a bizarre effect. think that moment in our Sun’s life will
As you peer at this seemingly insignifi- appear to future backyard astronomers –
cant 11th-magnitude star surrounded by those living on an Earth-like planet
an annoyingly small and trivial bit of fuzz orbiting a type G2 star some 3,600 light-
(perhaps even wondering why I would years distant? Would they think it a waste
include such a visually lame object), con- of time to search for such a visual trifle?
sider this: In a 2008 Monthly Notices of the In the grand scheme of things, just how
Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 386, p. 155), significant are we? The answer may lie in
Klaus-Peter Schröder and Robert C. Smith your perception of IC 2149.

28 & 29
Secret Deep 28 & 29a
(NGC 2149 & 2170)
2 Taurus
Gem. 68
71 64
72 69
a
15
11
73
2
74
1
µ 1
2 2
3
8 63
66 4
E W
Orion 5
3
68
NGC 2170
Monoceros
1 Eridanus
NGC 2149 2
3
Lepus
The Secret Deep 127

28 & 29
28
NGC 2149
Con: Monoceros
RA: 6h 03.5m
Dec: 09 440
Mag: –
(Rating: 3)
Diam: 30 20
Dist: ~1,300 l.y.
Disc: Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan, 1877
herschel: none.
n g c : Faint, 12th-magnitude star

involved.
29
NGC 2170
Con: Monoceros
RA: 6h 07.5m
Dec: 06 240
Mag: – (Rating: 3)
Diam: 20 20
Dist: ~2,600 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed October 16,

1784]. A star of the 9th magnitude, with
much chevelure, irregularly elliptical.
(H IV-19)
n g c : Magnitude 9 star in a very faint,

pretty large nebula, extended 170 .

28 & 29
m 42, t h e g r e at n e b u l a i n o r i o n , i s toward the outer Galaxy. It serves as an
the most stunning nebula visible from excellent laboratory for studying the inter-
mid-Northern latitudes and the most action between massive stars and the
popular Messier attraction. Peering into interstellar medium. Over the course of
this vast and brilliant cloudscape of dust the last 12 million years the molecular
and gas, a fanciful tapestry of delicate clouds in the region have been shaped,
loops and folds draped across 20 light- compressed, and disrupted by the power-
years of space, is a favorite pastime of ful ionizing radiation, stellar winds, and
many amateur astronomers on cold winter supernova explosions of the young mas-
nights. But what is sometimes overlooked sive stars in the Orion OB association.
is that M42 lies at the heart of the The complex contains three giant
much larger Orion–Monoceros complex (100,000 solar masses) molecular clouds
of molecular clouds – one of the most (Orion A, Orion B, and Mon R2 (to which
important and best studied regions of star NGC 2170 belongs)), two long filaments,
formation. Our next two Secret Deep which extend approximately 10 from the
targets, NGC 2149 and NGC 2170 in Mono- cloud complex to the Galactic plane, and
ceros, are tiny parts of that enormous numerous smaller molecular clouds
structure, but have special features that (of which NGC 2149 is an example).
may share in M42’s history. In a 2009 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 694,
William Herschel discovered NGC 2170 p. 1423), Hsu-Tai Lee and W. P. Chen
in 1784, but equally bright (and I would (National Central University, Taiwan) say
argue more obvious) NGC 2149 somehow that most of the molecular clouds in the
escaped his gaze and that of his son complex are located on the border of the
John. The renowned French astronomer Orion–Eridanus Superbubble. This large
Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan (1837– cavity in the interstellar medium was
1923) first detected NGC 2149 through created by at least six or seven supernova
the 31.5-inch silvered glass reflector at explosions that have occurred in the past 5
Marseille Observatory, where he was to 10 million years, the combined energy
director. The discovery was part of a proof which has blown the bubble out to a
gram to seek out new nebulae, which diameter of about 1,000 light-years. The
began in vigor in 1869 and lasted until Superbubble is still expanding at about 20
1884 (see Secret Deep 102 (NGC 7048) km/sec (13 miles per second), comparable
for more information about Stephan’s to the speed of an expanding shock wave
search). NGC 2149 was one of 420 nebu- from a powerful nuclear blast.
lae he catalogued and sent to John Louis The supernovae responsible belong to
Emile Dreyer, who was collecting data for the same OB association – in this case the
the 1888 New General Catalogue (NGC). Orion OB1 association, which includes
Before we look more closely at NGC 2149 young, hot stars in several famous objects:
and NGC 2170, it’s important to “break M42, M43, M78, NGC 2024 (Hidden Treas-
down” the Orion–Monoceros complex into its ure 34), and Barnard’s Loop, to name a few.
smaller components. The Orion–Monoceros The researchers note that star formation in
complex lies 15 below the Galactic plane the Orion OB1 association progresses from
The Secret Deep 129

28 & 29
the oldest subgroup, Orion OB1a (the area It’s also located at the same distance below
around the Belt (see Secret Deep 24)), to 1b the Galactic plane and has a similar
(which lies northwest of the Belt stars), to velocity gradient. “[W]hen confronted by
1c (the region containing Orion’s Sword), the numerous similarities between Orion
and 1d (a special class that separates out A and Mon R2,” the researchers conclude,
M42 and M43; the youngest stars of the “it is difficult to avoid speculating that
Orion OB1 Association). these clouds, and by extension all the
But the Superbubble, they say, also com- clouds in the region, share a common
presses and initiates starbirth in clouds origin.”
such as NGC 2149 in the deep southwes- Indeed Carl Heiles (University of Califor-
tern recesses of Monoceros, which is nia, Berkeley) proposed that the formation
located more than 330 light-years away of Orion–Monoceros was associated with
from the center of the Superbubble. the expansion of the Vela Supershell,
“A superbubble appears to have potentially which may have originated from the open
a long-range influence in triggering next- cluster Collinder 121 in Canis Major and at
generation star formation in an OB associ- a distance of about 1,800 light-years. The
ation,” they say, adding that they traced its Vela Supershell encloses an enormous
effects out to 650 light-years from its core. irregular bubble in the region where it has
Reflection nebula NGC 2149 itself blown out of the Galactic plane. John Bally
appears to be a giant expanding ring (University of Colorado) proposed that the
between the high longitude end of the Vela Supershell first collided with a fossil
Orion A Cloud and the Mon R2 Cloud. remnant of the Lindblad Ring – a 30- to
In most projections, these clouds appear 60-million-year-old fossil supershell
to be unconnected. However, in a 2008 driven into the local interstellar medium
Astronomy & Astrophysics, B. A. Wilson by a massive OB association whose
(University of Bristol), Thomas M. Dame remnants are recognized as the Cas–Tau
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astro- group – which then may have played a role
physics), and colleagues say that their in triggering the formation of the proto
three-dimensional display (with velocity Orion–Monoceros complex.
as the third dimension) indicates that the NGC 2170 is the brightest and western-
clouds in this region may be connected to most of several reflection and emission
form a ring. If NGC 2149’s distance is 1,300 nebulae in the Mon R2 region about 3½
light-years, they note, the diameter of the northeast of NGC 2149. In photographs,
ring is about 260 light-years, which corres- the NGC 2170 region is a visual
ponds to an expansion age of about 9 mil- playground – a 1 -long ghostly corridor
lion years and may be the result of a (oriented east-northeast–west-southwest)
supernova. lined with cobweb-like blue (reflection)
NGC 2170 on the other hand is part of and red (emission) glows and dark dusty
the Mon R2 giant molecular cloud. threads illuminated by burning blue suns.
Although this region is about 1,000 light- The photo-ionizing energy and rushing
years more distant than the Orion OB1 winds from massive stars formed in
Association, it’s of similar size and mass. this stellar nursery are believed to have

28 & 29
N
Monoceros
NGC 2149
a
E W
3
1˚
S
scoured and shaped the surrounding natal magnitude 12.5) in a 40 -wide glow. The star
clouds, creating a tapestry of light and is surrounded by a patchy inner shell that’s
color that, though on a smaller scale, rivals brightest to the east. This eastern side also
the beauty of Orion Nebula. has a fainter shell that creates the illusion
To find these intriguing wonders, begin of fanning; I say illusion, because, as you
with NGC 2149. Use the chart on page 128 can see in Mario Motta’s revealing photo-
to locate 2nd-magnitude Kappa (k) Orionis graph on page 128, the nebula sports a dark
(Saiph), then the roughly 5th-magnitude cloud on its western side, making it appear
sun 3 Monocerotis about 3½ to the east- lopsided. At 94, a dimmer sun (perhaps
southeast. Now use the chart on this page 13th-magnitude) lies immediately to the
to locate 6th-magnitude Star a about 1 southwest of the central star. The eastern
east-northeast. NGC 2149 is about 400 side of the nebula is quite pronounced and
northwest of Star a. seems spiked at the northern and southern
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 2149 is a faint ends. The western side appears to have an
fan of light trapped between two roughly arc of light surrounding the dark void. So,
11th-magnitude suns, oriented north- even though I could not distinctly see the
northwest–south-southeast and separated dark cloud, it is nonetheless apparent in my
by about 50 ; the nebula is a bit closer to the drawing. When I returned to 33 and used
northern star in the pair and a tad east of averted vision, I suspected an even wider,
the line joining them. The field is quite fainter glow surrounding the main nebula.
rich, making it a pleasing view. I find the See what you think.
nebula swells nicely with averted vision. At To find NGC 2170, look about 4½ to the
this low power, the nebula appears larger northeast for 4.5-magnitude Gamma (g)
than it should owing to the richness of the Monocerotis, then use the chart on
field. page 132 to find 5th-magnitude Star a
The view at 60 is quite different, nearly 500 to the west-southwest, which
revealing a dim central star (perhaps is paired with 6th-magnitude Star b, about
The Secret Deep 131

28 & 29
N touches (tickles) the
southwestern companion,
Monoceros so it appears slightly
d
2183 elongated in that direc-
tion. At 94, I can see a
2185 2182
much dimmer star to the
E NGC 2170
W
north, and wings of nebu-
a
losity stretching to the
b c northwest and southeast.
1˚
Otherwise, this nebula is
one of the simplest in the
S
heavens, and it’s simply
beautiful just for that.
If you feel adventurous you could look
for NGC 2182, a dim reflection nebula 300
to the east-northeast; and the fainter pair
of nebulae, NGC 2183 and NGC 2185.
Interestingly, while Herschel discovered
NGC 2182 and NGC 2185; Heinrich
d’Arrest found NGC 2183, which is only
about 50 to its west.
By the way, at a 1999 American Astro-
nomical Society meeting in Chicago,
Heiles, who discovered the Orion–
Eridanus Superbubble in 1970, and a Uni-
versity of Wisconsin team headed by Ron
Reynolds, explained how they combined
200 to the southwest. From Star b, move a infrared, optical, and X-ray observations
little more than 300 west to 6.5-magnitude to create the most complete picture to date
Star c. NGC 2170 lies a little more than 300 of the Superbubble, which shows both its
to the northwest, about 120 southeast of near and far walls. In one area, however,
6.5-magnitude Star d. they could see no rear wall, which, in
At 33, NGC 2170 appears as a roughly X-rays, shows gas leaking out. “This hole
9th-magnitude double star, oriented is like a champagne bottle just uncorked,”
northeast–southwest, with the 20 -wide Heiles revealed in a University of Califor-
circular nebulosity centered on the north- nia, Berkeley, press release, “The high pres-
eastern member. With averted vision, the sure gas inside pops out the hole with
nebula fades away from that star and explosive force.”

30
Secret Deep 30
(NGC 2281)
Camelopardalis
Lynx
Auriga Perseus
36
4
5
E 7
2 W
NGC 2281
M38
M36
Gemini
14
Taurus
S
The Secret Deep 133

30
30
Broken Heart Cluster
NGC 2281
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Auriga
RA: 06h 48.3m

Dec: þ41 050
Mag: 5.4
Diam: 250
Dist: ~1,800 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed March 4,
1788] A cluster of coarsely scattered
pretty [bright] stars, pretty rich, the
place is that of a double star of
the 3rd class [the double star is
AH.II.71]. (H VIII-71)
n g c : Cluster, pretty rich,

very little compressed, stars
pretty [bright].
n g c 2281 i s a v e r y p r e t t y a n d But NGC 2281, in fact, resides in one of

bright open star cluster in the obscure the seven lashes of the Charioteer – a curi-
eastern reaches of Auriga the Charioteer. ous but ignored part of the constellation
The late deep-sky veteran Walter Scott consisting of ten 5th-magnitude stars (Psi1
Houston of Connecticut noted that it is (c1) through Psi10 (c10)); I call this region
seldom observed, perhaps because of its Psi-clone Alley. It lies about 3/4 southwest
“sideline” nature – it lies well outside the of Psi7. It also lies beneath the southwest
beautiful Pentagram of Auriga, which con- quadrant of the now obsolete constellation
tains three stunning Messier open clusters Telescopium Herschelii (Herschel’s Tele-
(M36, M37, and M38). The Victorian poet scope), which celestial cartographer
Alfred, Lord Tennyson saw the Pentagram Johann Bode created to honor the the tele-
as a funerary wreath. In his dusky 1855 scope William Herschel had used to dis-
poem Maud, in which a man hopelessly cover the planet Uranus, as depicted in
tries to contact the dead, Tennyson likens Bode’s 1801 Uranographia atlas. As Ian
Auriga at winter’s end to a “glorious crown” Ridpath shares in his wonderful 1989 book
hanging “Over Orion’s grave low down in Star Tales, “Bode, having bought tele-
the west.” scopes from Herschel, knew what they

30
looked like and he realistically depicted the are of both low and high mass and con-
7-ft telescope with which Herschel actually centrate toward the cluster center more
made the discovery of Uranus.” intensely than single stars. It is believed
Under a dark sky, I could spy NGC 2281 that binary stars formed at the same time
in 7 50 binoculars, appearing as a large as single stars in open clusters.
diffuse glow nestled between two 7th- and As with other clusters, the heaviest single
8th-magnitude stars. Can you see it with stars and binary systems tend to concen-
the unaided eyes? What’s more, both of trate at the core while the lighter stars tend
these stars have dramatic golden hues, to populate the outer periphery. Over time,
adding to the glory of the scene. Here is a stellar encounters eject individual stars,
dazzling pendant of suns hanging from an reducing their mass in the process and
imaginary necklace anchored by two causing the cluster to contract. The more
golden clasps. Trumpler listed it as a type tightly bound binaries become at the core,
I3m, meaning that it’s a detached and the more energy they add to impart to other
moderately rich cluster with a strong stars, inhibiting further contraction and
concentration of bright and faint suns offering stability to the cluster system.
8th-magnitude and fainter. In a 2004 To find this neglected treasure, use the
Astronomische Nachrichten, Ukranian chart on page 133 to locate 2nd-magnitude
astronomer N. V. Kharchenko (Main Astro- Beta (b) Aurigae and 2.6-magnitude Theta
nomical Observatory) lists the distance to (y) Aurigae. NGC 2281 forms a near-
NGC 2281 as 1,800 light-years; if we accept equilateral triangle with these stars to the
that value, NGC 2281 spans only 13 light- east. You’ll find the cluster about 450 south-
years of space. And because this interarm southwest of 5th-magnitude Psi7 (c7) Aur,
cluster lies on the fringe of the visible which is part of a pretty, 3 -wide, Y-shaped
Milky Way, its stars are reddened by only asterism of similarly bright stars – the
0.1 magnitude. others being Psi2 (c2), Psi4 (c4), and Psi5
NGC 2281 is some 300 million years old, (c5) Aurigae. Confirm these stars in
making it younger than the ~625 million- your binoculars, then center Psi7 (the
year-old Hyades (Caldwell 41) and older
than the ~100 million-year-young Pleiades
(M45). At a declination of þ41 it is well
placed for observations in the Northern
Hemisphere, culminating after sunset in
late winter.
In a 1975 Publications of the Astronom-
ical Society of the Pacific, Masanori
Yoshizawa (University of Kyoto, Japan)
says that his photometric study of the
cluster shows it to have a rather short
main sequence, owing to the fact that 25
percent or more of its bright members are
binary systems. The binaries in NGC 2281
The Secret Deep 135

30
southernmost one) in your telescope at enjoying the view. NGC 2281 has about
low power. Again, NGC 2281 should be 120 members 8th-magnitude and fainter,
easily identified some 450 to the south- with many of the fainter stars hovering
southwest. around 13th magnitude. Again, add the
At 33 in the 4-inch, NGC 2281 is a golden companions nearby, and the overall
beautiful cluster with some three dozen view is quite stunning and bright.
irregularly bright suns radiating out from The cluster is best admired at 60 and
a tight, diamond-shaped asterism at the 94, which show about 50-odd suns at a
cluster’s core; a tail of four stars extends casual glance. At 60, the stars of the cen-
to the east, before making a sharp jog to tral diamond stand out boldly, since they
the north. These are some of the brightest are all of near-equal magnitude. Look
stars in the cluster and together they look especially at the southeastern and north-
like a diamond-headed snake. The cluster eastern members, since they’re close
also has loose arms extending to the south, doubles; in photographs, the southeastern
east (beyond the snake), and north; the star is a triple with companions getting
northern arm loops broadly to the west progressively fainter to the west-
and south. northwest. The diamond is surrounded by
Overall, the cluster looks like a tortured a loose and coarse gathering of mixed suns
stellar system, one that’s been “stretched that form various geometrical patterns.
on the rack,” in all four directions, creating The rest is up to you to decipher, since
gumby-like arms in the process. The sur- imagination is a personal matter of opin-
rounding Milky Way makes it difficult to ion. The Albuquerque Astronomical Soci-
judge the cluster’s true extent, but don’t ety list refers to this cluster as the Broken
let that stop your wandering eye from Heart.

31
Secret Deep 31
(NGC 2298)
Sirius
M41
E W
Puppis
Canis Major
NGC 2298 t
a
Col.
The Secret Deep 137

31
31
NGC 2298
Globular Cluster
Con: Puppis
RA: 06h 49.0m

Dec: 36 000
Mag: 9.3
Diam: 50
Dist: ~35,000 l.y.
Disc: James Dunlop, included in his
1828 catalogue
j . h e r s c h e l : Bright, round,
gradually pretty much brighter in the
middle, all resolved into stars of 14th
magnitude. In the centre is a star of
13th magnitude. (h 3065)
n g c : Globular cluster, bright,

pretty large, irregularly round,
gradually brighter toward the middle,
partially resolved, some stars seen.
n g c 2298 i s a s u r p r i s i n g ly c o n - across the continental United States and

densed and obvious globular cluster beyond, NGC 2298 is a gleaming little treas-
tucked into the far northwestern reaches ure among the rich star fields along the
of Puppis, near the Canis Major and Col- western fringes of the Milky Way, where
umba borders. It’s easily located 3 south there is little interference with dust. So our
of 3rd-magnitude Kappa (k) Canis Majoris, view of it is relatively clean and clear.
the star marking a bend in the Greater James Dunlop (1793–1848) discovered
Dog’s most southerly leg. With a declin- the little gem while surveying the southern
ation of 36 , it is only about 1 further night sky from Australia with a 9-inch f/12
south than open cluster M7 in Scorpius, reflector. He listed it as the 578th object in
the most southerly Messier object. Obser- his 1828 A Catalogue of Nebulae and Clus-
vers at mid-northern latitudes can best spy ters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere,
it at culmination, when it sits about 10 Observed at Paramatta in New South
above the southern horizon. Wales. Of it he wrote: “A pretty bright
Of course, dark skies and a southern hori- round nebula, 30 or 40 diameter, moder-
zon with few or no obstructions will help ately condensed to the centre. This is
immensely. At more southerly latitudes resolvable into stars.”

31
John Herschel observed the cluster four nucleus. Thus, not only may our Galaxy
times during his survey of the southern grow by cannibalizing smaller systems,
skies from the Cape of Good Hope, which but its globular cluster system may be, in
began in 1834. A summary of these obser- part, composed of extragalactic immi-
vations reveals NGC 2298 to be a small grants from neighboring dwarf galaxies
globular cluster (2.50 ), irregularly round and proto-galactic fragments that our
and gradually brighter toward the middle. Milky Way accreted.
He resolved it into stars of 14th- to 16th- In 2003, an international team of astron-
magnitude “with stragglers and some large omers used Two Micron All Sky Survey
stars near.” (2MASS) infrared data to find the dismem-
Today’s astronomers recognize the bered corpse of yet another previously
importance of this tiny cluster. Of the unknown galaxy being cannibalized by
150-odd Galactic globular clusters known, our Milky Way. Known as the Canis Major
NGC 2298 is one of the smallest, measur- dwarf, its nucleus is surrounded by several
ing only about 50 light-years across – Milky Way globular clusters, including
about one-third the true linear extent NGC 2298, which belongs to the dwarf’s
of M13 in Hercules, and one-fourth the globular cluster system. The other associ-
size of 47 Tucanae. The cluster resides ated globulars may be M79 in Lepus, NGC
in the inner halo at a distance of 51,000 1851 (Caldwell 73) in Columba, and NGC
light-years from the Galactic center. 2808 in Carina.
Although NGC 2298 lies almost twice as The researchers also found long streams
far from the Galactic center as other, better of stars that have apparently been gravita-
studied clusters, astronomers have tionally ripped away from the dwarf’s main
obtained high-precision photometry of dismembered corpse during the merger.
NGC 2298’s upper main sequence. They Computer simulations show that the Milky
have also used the Hubble Space Telescope Way has been taking stars from the Canis
to perform accurate photometry of cluster Major dwarf and adding them to its own
members deep in the cluster’s core. disk, and will continue to do so. In a
Studies of globular clusters are one of 2MASS press release, Michele Bellazzini
the main tools for understanding whether (Bologna Observatory) says, “This small
our Galaxy formed by merging with small galaxy is unlikely to hold together much
satellite galaxies or after a rapid halo col- longer. It is being pushed and pulled by
lapse. While the two models may not be the colossal gravity of our Milky Way, which
exclusive, recent support for the mergers has been progressively stealing its stars
came from the discovery of very young and pulling it apart.” The illustration on
clusters in the Milky Way’s halo (which page 140 shows the location of the newly
appear to have formed differently from discovered galaxy and its associated tidal
the vast majority of Milky Way globulars), streams in relation to our Milky Way Galaxy.
and also by the discovery in 1994 of the In a 2004 Astronomical Journal (vol. 127,
Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, which the Milky pp. 3394–3398), Australian astronomer
Way is swallowing. In fact, globular cluster Duncan A. Forbes (Swinburne University,
M54 may be the Sagittarius dwarf’s Hawthorn, Victoria) and his colleagues
The Secret Deep 139

31
Stream of the as yet unidentified galaxies,
Canis Major Galaxy
then, the researchers con-
Sun clude, accretion was not a
major factor in building
the thick stellar disk or
bulge. Instead, the Galaxy
and most of its globular clus-
ters formed in situ after a
very rapid halo collapse.
But, as Forbes informed me,
Canis Major
Galaxy
in 2010, “this is a fast moving
field, and estimates of
Milky Way accreted vs. in situ fractions
are changing all the time.”
To find this fantastic
summarize their study of the Canis Major treasure, use the chart on page 137 to
dwarf’s globular cluster system, including locate Alpha (a) Canis Majoris (Sirius),
NGC 2298. The 12.9-billion-year-old clus- then 1.5-magnitude Epsilon (ε) Canis
ter is moderately metal poor, and its stars Majoris (Adhara) in the lower leg of Canis
contain, on average, about 1/70 as much Major, the Great Dog. Now look for 3rd-
iron (per unit hydrogen) as does our Sun. magnitude Kappa (k) Canis Majoris about
The fact that NGC 2298 and the other 4 to the south. Kappa forms the north-
Canis Major dwarf clusters are all metal western apex of a 2 -wide triangle with
poor argues against the belief that the two 5.5-magnitude suns, the eastern one
Canis Major dwarf is a major building of which is t Puppis. You want to center the
block of the Milky Way’s thick disk – a western star in that triangle (a) in your
flattened, highly rotating system in the telescope then switch to the chart on
Galactic plane with a relatively high metal- page 141. From Star a, move 400 southwest
licity. Instead, they are more typical of halo to 7th-magnitude Star b. Then drop 500
globular clusters. south to 8th-magnitude Star c. NGC 2298
Forbes et al. conclude that even when is only about 120 south-southeast of Star c
satellite accretions add globular clusters and 350 northwest of 6th-magnitude Star d.
to the Milky Way’s system, such additions In the 5-inch at 33, NGC 2298 is a
are unlikely to contribute significantly to a moderately condensed glow measuring a
thick disk or the bulge population of few arcminutes across. It lies in a hook of
globular clusters. Based on studies of halo stars, which is part of a rich and pretty
stars, it appears that only about three to Milky Way field. The cluster just seems to
seven dwarf accretions may have occurred burn steadily like a trusted beam of light.
over the Milky Way’s lifetime, contributing I could see it without difficulty with direct
only about 10 percent to the mass of its vision and notice structure with averted
halo. If the Milky Way’s young, metal-poor vision, namely sparkling clumps in the
globular clusters have been accreted from outer halo. At 60, the clumps in the tight

31
N
Puppis
E W
Certainly observers with larger apertures

NGC 2298 should be able to resolve this cluster well;
d its brightest stars shine around 13th mag-
nitude, with a horizontal branch magni-
tude of around 16th magnitude.
1˚
By the way, since the nucleus of the
S Canis Major dwarf lies only about 25,000
light-years away from the Solar System
outer halo appear more prevalent, while and 42,000 light-years from the Milky
the core itself breaks up into fine mottled Way’s center – or about three-quarters of
patches. the distance to the Sagittarius dwarf and a
At 94, individual stars pop in and out of quarter of the distance to the Large
view in the halo, which looks irregularly Magellanic Cloud – it is now recognized
round with long wispy extensions flowing as the closest known galaxy to the Milky
to the northwest, west, and southwest; Way. So add that fact to your astronomical
some shorter wisps also extend outward trivia. And remember, when you’re spying
from the cluster’s eastern side. Increasing NGC 2298, you’re viewing part of an extra-
the power to 165, then to 330, reveals galactic system being swallowed by the
two layers of starlight: a scrim of about a Milky Way. If you can resolve the stars of
half-dozen obvious suns, mostly flowing to NGC 2298 through your telescope, you’re
the southwest and northwest, and a fainter resolving stars that belong to another
orb of dim suns at the threshold of visibility. galaxy!
The Secret Deep 141

32
Secret Deep 32
(NGC 2316)
Canis
Minor
Procyon 2 8
1 Orion
Monoceros
20 19
E W
NGC 2316
M50
7
19
18 4
M46
µ
M47 Lepus
20
6
Sirius 3
16
2
Canis Major 19
Puppis

32
32
NGC 2316
Con: Monoceros
RA: 06h 59.7m

Dec: 07 460
Dim: 40 30
Dist: ~3,300 l.y.
1785] Some [faint] stars with pretty
bright nebulosity. (H II-304)
n g c : Pretty faint, small, round,

resolved, [faint] star involved.
Mo s t v e t e r a n o b s e r v e r s a r e w e l l commonly believed, however, that Rosse’s

aware of the most observed cometary object is only a part of Herschel’s NGC
nebula in the heavens: NGC 2261 (Caldwell 2316.
46), more popularly known as Hubble’s The term “cometary nebula” is essen-
Variable Nebula, or what I call Herschel’s tially an “historic relic” that describes the
Forgotten Fan, in Monoceros. But what photographic and visual appearance of a
some are unaware of is that Monoceros distinctive group of nebulae: small clouds
has another cometary nebula: our target, of dust and gas that resemble a comet with
NGC 2316 (Parsamyan 18). What’s more, a stubby tail. Today, cometary nebulae are
it’s only 1 northwest of M50, the brightest those little nebulae that not only look like a
binocular open cluster in Monoceros just comet but are connected with a star of the
7 north of 4th-magnitude Gamma (g) T Tauri or related variable variety – very
Canis Majoris. young, lightweight stars, less than 10 mil-
Although William Herschel discovered it lion years old and under three solar masses
in 1785, the Third Earl of Rosse (1800– that are still embedded in their natal
1867) in Ireland rediscovered it in 1851, clouds and undergoing gravitational con-
thinking, however, that it was a new object. traction; they represent an intermediate
John Louis Emil Dreyer (1852–1926) gave it stage between protostars and low-mass
a separate NGC number (2317) and pos- main-sequence stars like our Sun. Some
itioned it about 10 west of Herschel’s cometary nebulae display variability over
nebula, noting that it makes “a close time and appear bright at long-infrared
double nebula with [NGC 2316]).” It’s wavelengths.
The Secret Deep 143

32
In 1965 Elma S. Parsamyan examined In a 2008 Astronomical Journal (vol. 136,
Palomar Sky Survey prints in a quest to pp. 602–613) T. Velusamy (Jet Propulsion
discover new or little-known cometary Laboratory) and William Langer (JPL/
nebulae. Of the 23 objects she identified, Caltech) describe how they used infrared
NGC 2316 was the 18th on her list. In a data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope
study of 19 of these, Martin Cohen (Univer- to resolve that young star cluster, which
sity of California, Berkeley) found only five spans 4 light-years across. They found
objects that displayed significant long- more than 200 cluster members with an
wavelength radiation of at least 10 micro- age of about 2.5 million years. They identi-
meters, with NGC 2316 being the reddest. fied a B3 zero-age main-sequence star as
Consequently, in a 1974 Publication of the the main power source; that star is still
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (vol. 86, embedded in a nearly spherical HII region
p. 813), Cohen redefined this group of (dimming it by about 4.5 magnitudes),
objects, placing them into four morpho- which is being shaped and chemically
logical subsets: (1) arcuate structures, like altered by ultraviolet radiation emitted by
the incomplete ring near T Tauri; (2) conical this young star.
or fan nebulae, like NGC 2261; (3) nebulous To find this little nebula, use the chart
appendages, like commas (Z Canis on page 142 to locate brilliant Sirius,
Majoris); and (4) bicones or hourglasses. the Alpha star of Canis Major, then look
Cohen also noted that the nebulae are 5 east-northeast for Gamma (g) Canis
almost invariably associated with stars or Majoris. The 6th-magnitude open cluster
starlike condensations, which lie in a pos- M50 will be 7 north of Gamma. Center
ition of geometrical significance, such as in that cluster in your telescope at low power,
the waist of an hourglass, or near the apex then switch to the chart on this page. From
of a fan. The nebulae also have small M30 move only 350 west to 6th-magnitude
apparent diameters, usually 20 or less, and Star a. About 100 west of it, you’ll see
the definition of the visible structures is
crisp and well-defined, very rarely being
N
associated with larger swaths of surround-
ing nebulosity. Monoceros
NGC 2316, he found, is a bright conical c
nebula very reminiscent of NGC 2261 near NGC 2316
R Monocerotis. The nebulosity contains

two small (~1000 ) condensations, the
brighter one being located near the apex E W
of the cone; this condensation has a very b
high infrared luminosity – between 11.3 a
and 18 micrometers, making it the reddest M50
observed of any object then known to

Cohen, with a color temperature close to 1˚
100 K. The nebula also envelops a small
S
cluster of faint red stars.

32
I spied the nebula at 33 in the 5-inch
with averted vision. It lies within 20 north
of a little arc of three roughly 12th-
magnitude stars. At this power, the arc of
stars and the nebula seem to glow as one
object. It takes magnification to separate
them well. At all powers up to 94, the
nebula appears much the same: a highly
condensed, irregularly round glow with a
fainter fan of nebulosity stretching toward
the arc of stars. In my scope, though, it’s
hard to make any definition out in the fan.
Those using larger telescope should look
for a delicate “bubble” of glowing gas sur-
rounding, and centered on, the middle star
a roughly 150 -long line of three 8th- to 9th- in the arc – the one closest to the nebula.
magnitude stars (b). NGC 2316 is just a Those with large light buckets should
little more than 200 due north of the north- strain their eyes for the dimmer arcs of
ernmost star in that line, about 100 south- nebulosity surrounding all three stars.
southeast of 9th-magnitude Star c. Good luck!
The Secret Deep 145

33
Secret Deep 33
(NGC 2343)
Canis
Minor
Procyon 2 8
1 Orion
Monoceros
20 19
E W
M50
7
2353
NGC 2343
19
18 4
M46
M47
µ Lepus
20
6
Sirius
3
16
2
Canis Major 19
Puppis

33
33
Doublemint Cluster
NGC 2343
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Monoceros
RA: 07h 08.1m

Dec: 10 370
Mag: 6.7
Diam: 6.00
Dist: ~3,400 l.y.
Disc: John Herschel
(h 3100)
n g c : Cluster, considerably large,

poor, little compressed.
n g c 2 3 4 3 i s a c o a r s e a n d f a i r ly time for this peppery little cluster – the

bright open cluster about 8 northeast of second brightest and most alluring cluster
dazzling Alpha (a) Canis Majoris (Sirius), in the NGC 2353 area – to be further recog-
the famous Dog Star. I first encountered it nized. NGC 2343 lies about 1½ west-
in November 2002, while trying to locate southwest of NGC 2353 and can be seen
one of Caroline Herschel’s lost deep-sky in 7 50 binoculars from a dark-sky site.
objects (NGC 2349) near the northern It’s also the most conspicuous of four clus-
border of Canis Majoris and the southern ters in a 1 area of sky: Collinder 465, a
border of Monoceros with my 4-inch roughly 10th-magnitude asterism of dim
refractor. It was one of five open clusters suns 150 west of NGC 2343; Collinder 466,
that grabbed my attention in the 3 field. a tiny 11th-magnitude cluster of 25 stars a
I made the brightest and most alluring of little more than 100 south-southeast of Col-
these clusters (NGC 2353) the 40th object linder 465; and NGC 2335, another rich,
in my Hidden Treasures list and included it 7th-magnitude cluster with 57 suns nearly
in Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treas- 1¾ north-northwest of NGC 2343.
ures. But as I noted in that book, “I could NGC 2343 and its four companions (but
have made any one of the objects a Hidden not NGC 2353) are aligned with the long
Treasure.” curving emission nebula IC 2177, most
I encountered NGC 2343 once again as commonly known as the Seagull Nebula,
I worked on the Herschel 400 list. Now it’s for its appearance in photographs. The
The Secret Deep 147

33
Seagull Nebula actually comprises two continues to this day in a region known as
main parts: the Seagull’s head (Robert’s Canis Major R1 – a lean and extremely
Nebula), and its wings (Wolf’s Nebula).” youthful star-forming region 100 light-
(For a more detailed discussion of the years in extent.
Seagull Nebula and its parts see Deep- Canis Major R1 appears to follow the
Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures, Seagull Nebula, which itself is part of a
pp. 200–201.) larger ring nebula (Sharpless 296) that
The nineteenth-century British astron- includes the Seagull Nebula (the curved
omer Admiral William Henry Smyth western portion of the ring) and the nebula
called NGC 2343 a “double star in a loose LBN 1036 near NGC 2353 along the ring’s
cluster, under the Unicorn’s chest. . . This is eastern boundary. And though it’s uncer-
a scattered group of brightish stars, in an tain, this large ring of emission nebulosity
irregular lozenge form, and consists chiefly may be a relatively old supernova remnant;
of three vertical rows, having four individ- however, it could also be an old HII region
uals each; several are of the 9th magnitude, blown out by stellar wind.
and reddish.” In a 1986 Soviet Astronomy (vol. 30,
In 1930, Trumpler classified it as IIpn, p. 648) the late Tamara Borisovna Pyatu-
meaning it’s a detached and poor cluster nina (Institute of Applied Astronomy,
of stars with little central concentration St. Petersburg) and Yu M. Taraskin (Special
associated with nebulosity. The 104- Astrophysical Observatory, Pulkovo) note,
million-year old cluster lies 3,400 light- “in all likelihood four generations of stars
years from the Sun and 65 light-years coexist in [the Canis Major OB1 and R1
below the Galactic plane. At that distance, associations]” with NGC 2343 and NGC
the cluster has a true linear extent of only 6 2335 being the oldest generation, followed
light-years. The cluster is poor, having by NGC 2353, then the Canis Major OB1
some 50 members, of which one star (HD association, and, finally, the youngest
54387) is a very possible giant member. Canis Major R1 association. “All these dif-
NGC 2343 is located in the direction of ferent stellar generations probably are not
the Canis Major OB1 association – a region just occupying the same region but are
in the plane of the Milky Way where dust physically related to one another, consti-
and gas are being compressed into new tuting separate phases of a sequential star-
and massive stars. Astronomers believe forming process, operating within a single
the Canis Major OB1 association formed complex of dust and gas.”
in the aftermath of a supernova explosion Indeed, Pyatunina and Taraskin say that
about l million years ago. This event radio observations confirm that the field
occurred at the edge of a dense cloud of contains a massive molecular cloud of
gas and dust that measured about three intricate structure. NGC 2343 also matches
light-years wide and had a mass of about an extended radio feature, which they find
1,000 Suns. Then, about 100,000 years ago, interesting. While it could be a coinci-
the propagating blast wave from that dence, the researchers argue, “while a
explosion slammed into another cloud of massive young cluster containing OB stars
dust and gas, triggering star formation that that ionize and heat the gas would tend to

33
destroy the surrounding
N
‘parent’ cloud, an old cluster
whose OB stars have gone Monoceros
through their evolution would
cease to heat the ambient gas
but would serve as a ‘gravita- 2335
tional well’ for it – a cell a
2353
of recurrent condensation.” 2343 CR 465
Thus, they conclude, the ion- CR 466
izing gas near NGC 2343 is E W
being drawn there from out- Seagull
side sources in the Canis Nebula
Major OB1 association.

To find this interesting
W
cluster, it’s best to first find
Canis Major
NGC 2353. First locate Sirius
on the chart on page 146, 1˚
then the two 4th-magnitude
S
stars marking the top of the
Dog’s head: Gamma (g) and
Theta (y) Canis Majoris. Fifth-magnitude marks the pyramid’s southeast corner.
Mu (m) Canis Majoris lies midway between, With averted vision, a dim, roughly 10th-
and a little southwest of, those two stars. magnitude sun can be seen mirroring the
Using your binoculars, draw an imaginary pyramid’s apex to the south, transforming
line from Sirius though Mu, then extend it into a diamond or a cross, with the 11th-
that line about 6 to the northeast; you magnitude sun being the foot of the cross.
should encounter three 6th-magnitude At 60, the cross asterism stands out

stars in an arc only ¾ long and oriented prominently (more prominently than you
north-northwest–south-southwest. The mid- might see in photographs). A meandering,
dle of these three suns is NGC 2353. Look for north–south oriented, stream of faint star-
a 6th-magnitude star caught in a web of light flows through the pyramid, joining the
nebulosity – in this case, the “nebulosity” top of the cross to its foot and forming
is that of unresolved starlight. Now use the the cross’s vertical beam. The star marking
chart on this page to locate NGC 2343 the cross section of the two beams is a fine
about 1½ to the west-southwest just 350 wide double. A wider pair lies just to its
southwest of 6.5-magnitude Star a. north inside the northwest quadrant of the
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 2343 at first pyramid. A number of dim suns pop into
glance appears as a sparkling pyramid of view with averted vision to the west of that
starlight that consists of about a half- latter pair. And three dim suns form a long
dozen irregularly bright suns, with a few and graceful arc over the top of the cross,
outliers. The pyramid’s brightest star is from east to west, transforming the cross
yellow 8.5-magnitude ADS 5817, which and the arc into a celestial hieroglyph.
The Secret Deep 149

33
another pair continues in a stream to the
southwest of those stars. And the top of the
cross has a wide and faint companion to
the north of it. The middle star in the lower
part of the cross’s vertical beam is double,
as is the middle star in the northern arc
over the cross! Owing to the cluster’s
wealth of double and multiple stars, I call
it the Doublemint Cluster – in deference to
the “refreshing taste of Doublemint™
gum,” which, at least when I was a kid in
the 1960s, was advertised to double your
pleasure.
All in all, NGC 2343 contains about 30
The view is glorious at 94, when many obvious stars 8th-magnitude and fainter in
of the single suns can now be seen as an area only 60 across. Larger scopes will
double or multiple pairs. For instance, the have a better view of the dimmer compan-
double star at the intersection of the ions and will pick up twice as many
cross’s beams has a faint companion to members. By the way, if you can mentally
the southeast. And the double star north lose the pyramid image in your mind and
of it has a fainter double star to its south- look at the cluster with north up, you’ll see,
west with another pair of stars to its west- just as Admiral Smyth describes, that the
northwest. The longer I look the more cluster does indeed comprise three major
pairs I see. (All this is magnified even more rows of stars, all roughly oriented north-
dramatically at 165.) Most beautiful is northwest–south-southeast. See if you can
the 11th-magnitude companion to ADS make them out.
5817, just 110 to the northeast. Like me, While in the area, be sure to admire the
Admiral Smyth saw the primary as yellow, Seagull Nebula, which is unmistakable in
and the secondary as “dusky.” the 5-inch at 33. The glow hardly needs
In fact, each corner star of the pyramid is any effort to see. It just “is.” I’m always
a multiple; the star at the pyramid’s south- amazed at the clarity of this ghostly visage –
west corner has a close pair of suns to its such a graceful and luminous arc of
west-southwest and, if you look carefully, nebulosity.

34
Secret Deep 34
(NGC 2346)
Canis
Minor
Procyon 2 8
1 Orion
NGC 2346
Monoceros
20 19
E W
M50
7
19
18 4
M46
µ
M47 Lepus
20
6
Sirius
3
16
2
Canis Major 19
Puppis
The Secret Deep 151

34
34
Crimson Butterfly
NGC 2346
Con: Monoceros
RA: 07h 09.4m

Dec: 00 480
Mag: 11.8
Diam: >5000
Dist: ~2,253 l.y.
1790] A pretty considerable star, 9th
or 10th magnitude, visibly affected
with very faint nebulosity, of very
little extent all around. A power of
300 sh[o]wed the same, but gave a
little more extent to the nebulosity.
The 22nd Monocerotis was quite
free from nebulosity. (H IV-65)
n g c : 10th-magnitude star associated

with small, very faint, nebula.
n g c 2346 i s a n i n t e r e s t i n g b i p o l a r nebula was supposed to be 22 Monocero-

planetary nebula riding the Celestial Equa- tis, but the observed polar declination of
tor in Monoceros, just 400 west-southwest this star must be 1 wrong, as the “P.D.
of 4.5-magnitude Delta (d) Monocerotis. piece” was immediately afterwards set
It’s one of the few planetaries with a cen- from 88 500 to 89 480 , “supposing it to
tral star that is visually more prominent have been set upon the wrong degree or
than its surrounding nebula (when the changed by some accident.”
star, which varies in brightness, is at While William Herschel first noted the
maximum light), at least as seen through nebulosity surrounding the star in 1785, it
backyard telescopes. wasn’t until 1946 that Rudolph Minkowski
Larry Mitchell of Houston, Texas, notes at Mount Wilson Observatory classified it
that there was some uncertainty as to as a planetary nebula in the modern
whether the polar declination Herschel sense; he determined the nebula’s true
recorded in his original notes was 90 or identity on the basis of its appearance
91 . The 6.5-magnitude star following the on direct photographs obtained at the

34
Newtonian focus of the 60-inch or 100-
inch telescope.
In 1973, Lubos Kohoutek and G. Senkbeil
found that the nebula’s bright central star
is spectral type A, and therefore not hot
enough to excite the surrounding nebula,
which requires an ionizing radiation of
at least 45,000 K. Thus, the team proposed
that the central star is a binary system,
comprising an A0 III main component
and a blue (O) subdwarf (the actual
planetary nucleus). They also commented
on the remarkable similarity of NGC
2346’s nucleus to that of NGC 1514 (Secret
Deep 15).
Today, astronomers accept that theory,
advancing that the subdwarf has a suffi-
cient temperature (100,000 K) to have ion-
ized the nebula. The two stars closely
orbit one another with a period of about Astronomers now believe that millions
16 days. This is so close that even the of years ago one of the two stars (the more
Hubble Space Telescope could not resolve massive one at the time) expanded to
the pair. The Type-A component is also a become a red giant, swallowing its less-
variable known as V651 Monocerotis; it massive companion, causing it to spiral
was not noticed to be variable until deep ever closer in toward the more massive
eclipses began at the end of 1981. These star, where it orbited inside its swollen
continued with a period of 16 days (the envelope. In the process, rings of gas were
orbital period of the central pair). The expelled from the red giant. Most of the
variability, however, remained a mystery outer layers were ejected into a narrow
because the hot dwarf was thought to be but dense central waist (oriented east–
too small to cause the large drops in west) surrounding the central star (see
brightness (the star can vary from magni- the Hubble image). As the hot core of the
tude 11.2 to 13.5 or fainter). This was red giant was gradually uncovered, power-
eventually explained as a cloud of mater- ful stellar winds inflated two huge bubbles
ial moving across our line of sight. But of gas that expanded perpendicular to the
after 1986, the eclipses stopped occurring torus, producing the nebula’s classic but-
until a dramatic series began 10 years terfly shape, whose major axis is inclined
later. The eclipses were still occurring in about 23 to the line of sight.
1997 when the Hubble Space Telescope In a 2001 Astronomical Journal (vol. 122,
imaged the nebula, when the central star p. 3293), Lorena Arias and Margarita
was barely visible (see the HST image Rosado (Astronomical Institute, Mexico
above right). City) found that this dense disk, or torus,
The Secret Deep 153

34
is expanding at a velocity of 16 km/sec. N
The total diameter of the nebula is about
one-third of a light-year, or 2 trillion miles,
Monoceros
and its age is estimated to be only about
2,200 years young – about the time when
the Greek mathematician and astronomer a
Apollonius passed away. E W
To find this little treasure, use the chart
NGC 2346
on page 151 to locate Delta Monocerotis,
then switch to the chart on this page. From
Delta, move about 300 southwest to a 1˚
pair of 8.5- and 9.5-magnitude stars (a),
oriented northeast–southwest, and separ- S
ated by about 50 . NGC 2346 is only 100
further to the southwest. Again, note that
the visibility of the central star depends on
how, and when, it is being obscured by
orbiting clouds of obscuring matter. When
faintest, the star may not be visible in your
scope. When brightest, it will appear as a
near twin to a field star only about 50 to the
west.
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 2346 is visible
with averted vision. It seems larger than
expected because its light blends with
three other nearby stars. It takes concen-
tration to separate them. But increasing
magnification will resolve the problem. I’d
use as much magnification as your tele-
scope can handle. The central star is vis-
ible, being surrounded by a tight torus, telescopes may show the nebula’s short
which, under severe scutiny, I can see it perpendicular lobes stretching to the
at 165, the torus being elongated northwest and southeast, but I could not
northeast–southwest. This becomes even dect them at any magnification through
more apparent at higher powers. Larger my small aperture.

35
Secret Deep 35
(NGC 2359)
N
Canis
Minor
Procyon 2 8
1 Orion
Monoceros
20 19
E W
NGC 2359
19 2374
18 4
M46 b µ
M47 Lepus
20 a
6
2360
Sirius
3
16
2
Canis Major 19
Puppis
The Secret Deep 155

35
35
Flying Eye, Thor’s Helmet,
Duck Head Nebula
NGC 2359
Con: Canis Major
RA: 07h 18.6m

Dec: 13 120
Dim: 90 60
Dist: ~1,600 l.y.
31, 1785] A broad extended
nebulosity, forms a parallelogram
with a ray southwards; the
parallelogram is 80 long, 60 wide,
very faint. (H V-21)
n g c : Remarkable, very faint,

very large, very irregularly faint.
T h e r e g i o n o f s k y 10 n o r t h e a s t NGC 2359, in fact, lies a bit farther north

of Alpha (a) Canis Majoris (Sirius), the than open clusters M46 and M47 in neigh-
brightest star in the heavens, contains a rich boring Puppis. In his book Astronomical
stream of telescopic nebulae and clusters Objects for Southern Telescopes, Ernst
that can keep visual observers and CCD J. Hartung notes that 51 years after his
imagers occupied for nights on end. This father’s discovery of the object, John
region is one of my favorite winter haunts, Herschel compared it to “the profile of a
and its wonders continually amaze me. bust (head, neck and shoulders).” Indeed,
NGC 2359 is one of the more remarkable as you can see from the table above, the
nebulae in that region. I don’t know how nebula has all manner of fanciful names;
this beauty escaped my attention prior to I like the “Flying Eye” moniker the best,
the creation of the Secret Deep list. Never- since it spotlights the beautiful bubble of
theless, this fantastic wash of nebulosity gas (the eye) nestled within wide wings
has numerous subtle structures visible to of associated nebulosity. It’s quite a remark-
the eye, which blossom into a wonderland able sight in color CCD images, and one of
of delight when imaged through a CCD. the more exotic-looking nebulae in the sky.
For some odd reason, I always thought NGC 2359 is an emission/reflection
this nebula was a deep southern object, but nebula excited by the powerful wind

35
(about 2,000 km/sec) and chemically includes an arc-like feature that closely
enriched radiation of the 11.4-magnitude surrounds the northern part of a streamer
Wolf–Rayet Star HD 56925 (WR7). Wolf– of diffuse gas pointing to the northwest,
Rayet stars represent a rare evolutionary the eastern region of the filamentary
phase in the lives of massive stars during bubble, and a southern bar with an associ-
which they undergo heavy mass loss, typ- ated filament (all these features mark the
ically on the order of 105 solar mass per location of the ionization front); the other
year. Due to the chemically enriched radi- structure consists of clumps that surround
ation, they display an extraordinary spec- a major part of the shell and the southern
trum dominated by emission lines of bar of NGC 2359.
highly ionized elements. In a 2003 Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol.
During its main-sequence phase, the 25 411, pp. 465–475), Jose Ricardo Rizzo
solar mass HD 56925 carved a huge bubble (European Space Astronomy Centre) and
into a rather dense warm molecular cloud colleagues detected three different velocity
(Sharpless 298) that partially bounds it. components to the gas in the NGC 2359
The 2.3-million-year-old ring-like nebula region. The researchers found that its kin-
is centered on HD 56925 and has a mass ematics, morphology, mass, and density
between 700 and 2,400 Suns. At an are clearly stratified (like an onion) with
accepted distance of 1,600 light-years, the respect to HD 56925. These multiple
filamentary bubble has a true linear extent bubbles, they believe, tell us something
of about 230 120 light-years. Strong about the recent evolutionary history of
winds streaming from the extremely hot HD 56925; namely, that they’re related to
(up to ~50,000 K) Type O central star are several different energetic events that have
driving the bubble’s expansion at about acted upon the surrounding circumstellar
12 km/sec. medium. From the analysis of the mass-
At a 2001 IAU meeting, C. E. Cappa loss history of HD 56925, they suggest that
(Argentinean Institute of Radio Astronomy, the multiple layers of shocked molecular
Villa Elisa) and colleagues described their gas are likely to be produced during
radio observations of neutral and ionized the earlier luminous blue variable phase
gas in NGC 2359. NGC 2359 appears to be and/or the actual Wolf–Rayet stage of HD
associated with three molecular clouds. 56925.
The mass of neutral gas associated with To find this delightful bubble of gas and
NGC 2359 is about 320 Suns, while the its associated optical structures, use the
ionized, neutral, and molecular material chart on page 155 to first locate Sirius, then
in the surrounding region amounts to 4th-magnitude Gamma (g) Canis Majoris,
about 2,200 Suns. They found that the the easternmost star in the Great Dog’s
amount of ionized gas in the molecular head. Now use your naked eye or binocu-
cloud associated with the filamentary lars to locate the 5.5-magnitude Star a, 3
bubble indicates that it mostly consists of to the east, next to which is open star clus-
swept-up interstellar gas. ter NGC 2360 (Caldwell 58). Then look
Two other molecular structures also about 1½ to the northeast for similarly
appear closely related to the bubble: One bright Star b. Now use the chart on this
The Secret Deep 157

35
N with a faint extension
to the northeast, though
NGC 2359 following it or defining it
in any way was extremely
difficult. Averted vision
NGC 2374 just shows an amorphous
diaphanous glow of ill-
defined light. The bubble
E W is well defined, appearing
as a filled-in ring of light
Canis Major
with slightly sharper
b edges. It’s somewhat
detached from the south-
ern bar but connected
1˚ nevertheless by patches of
faint light. I could not
S detect any of the fainter
emission filaments like
page to look for NGC 2359 about 1¼ north- the one extending to the northwest from
northwest of Star b, about 1¼ west of the the north side of the bubble, nor could
8th-magnitude open cluster NGC 2374. I see the filament extending to the west of
At 33 in the 5-inch the nebula is very the southern bar. The 11.4-magnitude
obvious, with the first impression of it Wolf–Rayet star is visible within the shell,
being a large, ~100 -long elliptical patch, along with a fainter “companion.” An arc
oriented roughly east-northeast–south- of three similarly bright suns follows the
southwest, punctuated on the eastern end northern curve of the bubble.
by a roughly 11.5-magnitude star. A pretty Of course, CCD images bring out all
50 -long chain of four 9.5- to 10.5- manner of detail. The Eye is filled with
magnitude suns lies to east-northeast of wispy filaments, the brightest emission
this bar of light and parallels it. With time
and averted vision, I detected the nebula’s
“eye” – rising above the eastern section of
the southern bar to the northwest – like
one of the cauliflower heads of a cumulus
cloud. Averted vision also showed several
dim stars swimming in and around the
northern section of the bubble.
The nebula has a low surface brightness,
so I found that, at least in the 5-inch, it
doesn’t take magnification well. I found
the best view to be at 60. At this magnifi-
cation the southern bar is most distinct,

35
comes from the southern bar, which has a vast washes of emission lie well to the
crab-leg-like bend that narrows to the northeast and southwest, among other
west. Fainter filaments of gas can be seen structures both delicate and clumpy. Have
to the east and northwest of the Eye, while fun exploring!
The Secret Deep 159

36
Secret Deep 36
(NGC 2371-2)
N
Auriga
Lynx
Gemini
Castor
NGC 2371-2
64
E 65
W
Pollux
Cancer

36
36
Double Bubble Nebula
NGC 2371-2
Con: Gemini
RA: 07h 25.5m

Dec: þ29 290
Dim: 5800
Dist: ~4,300 l.y.

1785] Two, south preceding north
following, separated by 10 , chevelure
mix, both faint and small equal
nuclei. (H II-316)
n g c (2371): Bright, small, round,

brighter in the middle to a nucleus,
part of a double nebula.
n g c (2372): Pretty bright, small,

round, brighter in the middle to a
nucleus, part of a double nebula
(H II-317).
n g c 2371-2 i s a d i m , l ow - s u r f a c e Heber Doust Curtis (1872–1942) first rec-

brightness planetary nebula 1½ north of ognized NGC 2371-2 as a planetary nebu-
4th-magnitude Iota (i) Geminorum. As lae (Publications of the Lick Observatory,
with planetary nebula M76 (NGC 650–1), vol. 13, part III, 1918). He based his opinion
Herschel resolved this object into two on the object’s characteristic appearance,
parts (thus the double NGC number). The which included the nebula’s symmetry
southwestern lobe is NGC 2371, the north- around a central star, on plates taken with
eastern one is NGC 2372. Unknown to Lick Observatory’s Crossley reflector. His
Herschel, these parts belong to a single image of NGC 2371-2 shows two central
nebula, one he did not recognize as a plan- lobes forming an irregular and patchy oval
etary because, simply put, when seen and two faint wings of exterior matter.
together the entire form resembles a These outer wings are quite extensive,
dumbbell or butterfly more than a circular measuring about 20 in apparent diameter,
planet like Uranus. which, at an estimated distance of 4,300
The Secret Deep 161

36
light-years, means that the nebula’s true
physical extent is 3 light-years across –
three-fourths the distance between the Sun
and Alpha (a) Centauri. The inner lobes are
one-third that size. Indeed, NGC 2371-2 is
one of the largest planetary nebulae known.
The nebula’s central star is rather faint
(14.8), though not beyond the realm of
moderate-sized backyard telescopes, and
its spectrum shows strong emission lines
that belong to the OVI class – very hot stars
located toward the blue end of the
post-asymptotic giant branch in the Hertz-
sprung–Russell diagram. NGC 2371’s white
dwarf central star has a seething surface
temperature of 130,000 C with a luminos-
ity ranging between 700 and 1,400 Suns.
OVI central stars are also nonradial pul-
sators – only 16 of which are currently
known. These rare planetary nebulae
nuclei have distinct spectral lines with
OVI emission at 3811 and 3824 angstroms.
These lines can be either narrow and Most remarkable, however, are the
resolved or broad and blended. But only prominent bright clouds and spots (which
the central star of NGC 2371-2 shows both appear pink in the color image) in the two
kinds of lines simultaneously, narrow fea- central lobes. These are relatively cool and
tures set atop a strong broad blend. NGC dense knots of gas and may be jets of
2371-2’s central star also displays slight material ejected from the star along its
magnitude variations with a period of rotation axis. Space Telescope Science
about 17 minutes. Institute astronomers note, however, that
In November 2007, as part of the Hubble the jet’s direction has changed with time
Heritage program, the Hubble Space Tele- over the past few thousand years.
scope took a strikingly detailed image While the reason for this behavior is not
of NGC 2371-2 (shown above right), with well understood, it might be related to the
north to the lower right and east to the possible presence of a second star orbiting
lower left). The image, which shows an the visible central star, causing the
area equal to 1.6 light-years, shows the system’s rotational axis to shift, affecting
nebula’s bright inner lobes and one of the changes in the nebula’s morphology.
exterior “wings,” part of a huge halo of gas, In a 2008 Bulletin of the American Astro-
which may be excited by ultraviolet radi- nomical Society (vol. 40, p. 206), Douglas
ation streaming out from the hot central N. Arion and coworkers (Carthage College)
star via a dark lane. note how their deep [OIII] images of NGC

36
2371-2 with the Steward N
Observatory 61-inch Kui-
per telescope also show a
broad range of filamentary Gemini
2371-2
structures permeating the d
entire nebula. c
To find NGC 2371-2, use
the chart on page 160 to
locate Iota (i) Geminorum, b
which forms the southwes- E W
tern apex of an isosceles a
triangle with the 1st- 64
magnitude stars Alpha (a)
and Beta (b) Gem. Less 65
than 1 northeast of Iota
Geminorum are the 5th-
1˚
magnitude stars 64 and 65
Geminorum. Center 64 S
Geminorum in your tele-
scope at low power then switch to the
chart on this page. From 64 Geminorum,
make a generous 1 sweep east-northeast
to a crooked Y-shaped asterism of five
6th- and 7th-magnitude stars (a). Now
move 500 northwest to a pair of roughly
8.5-magnitude stars (b). A 250 hop to
the north-northwest will bring you to an
arc of three 7.5- to 8.5-magnitude stars (c).
Now move 300 northwest to 7.5-magnitude
Star d, which lies at the northeast end
of a 150 -long crooked line of slightly
fainter suns. NGC 2371-2 lies only 350 west
and slightly north of Star d. Use the stars in
Mario’s image on page 161 to identify the
field of faint stars that lie around the little trouble, try gently tapping the tube.
planetary nebula. Plan to spend some time with this object.
Remember, to claim this prize, you must If you’re patient, chances are you’ll
resolve the nebula into two bright patches. succeed.
The key to success for small-telescope At 33 in the 5-inch (and once I knew
users is to be under a dark sky, know where to look) I could glimpse the nebula
exactly where to look, and use high power with averted vision as a tiny bit of fuzz
with averted vision. If you still have 10 -wide. Increasing the magnification to
The Secret Deep 163

36
60 reveals the nebula’s elongated nature, can handle power well. In their Observing
being oriented northeast–southwest. NGC Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky
2371-2’s binary nature is quite apparent at Objects (Cambridge University Press, 1998),
94, appearing as two distinct orbs Christian B. Luginbuhl and Brian A. Skiff
divided by a clean dark lane, oriented note its presence at 225 in a 12-inch tele-
northwest–southeast. If you have a large scope. They also note that NGC 2371 (the
amateur instrument, try looking for southwest lobe) is slightly brighter than
the nebula’s fainter exterior “wings” to the NGC 2372, having what appears to be stellar
northwest and southeast. I could not see nucleus. Could this be the “jet”?
them in the 5-inch. I find the view at 180 By the way, at 5800 in apparent diameter,
very comfortable. the bright inner lobes measure 1 light-year.
I have not yet detected the planetary’s So this would be a great object to show
central star, but I encourage you to try, espe- friends and guests at star parties who want
cially if you have a larger instrument that to “see” a light-year.

37
N
Auriga
Lynx
Gemini
Castor
E Pollux W
NGC 2420
63
2392
56
61
Cancer
68
The Secret Deep 165

37
37
Twinkling “Comet” Cluster
NGC 2420
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Gemini
RA: 07h 38.4m

Dec: þ21 340
Mag: 8.3
Diam: 60
Dist: ~8,800 l.y.
November 19, 1783] A beautiful
cluster of many [bright] and [faint]
stars about 120 in diameter. (H VI-1)

rich, compressed, stars from
magnitude 11 to 18.
n g c 2420 i s a s o m e w h at d i m b u t One night while moving the great refractor

very beautiful, rich, and finely spun open slowly eastward beyond the southern arm of
cluster about 6½ south-southwest of 1.5- the Twins, I saw a round cometary form
magnitude Beta (b) Geminorum (Pollux), (about 8th magnitude) enter the field. My
the southeastern Twin star. It’s also a little heart stopped; the diffuse object looked so
more than 2¼ east-northeast of NGC stunning against the mottled starlight in the
2392, the Eskimo planetary nebula (Cald- field – like a little fuzzy snowball. (The late
well 39) in Gemini. Harvard astronomer Fred Whipple had, in
I’ll never forget my first encounter with it 1950, referred to comets as “dirty
many years ago during a sweep of the snowballs,” so my imagining seemed
heavens with the 9-inch f/12 Clark refractor appropriate.)
at Harvard College Observatory in Cam- But on closer inspection, I saw the
bridge, Massachusetts. I was comet hunting. “comet’s vapors” twinkling with averted
Although the skies were a bit light polluted at vision. When I increased the magnification,
the time (I could still see the Milky Way dimly the “vapor” shattered into a myriad of tiny
on the best nights), I was certain I could nab scintillating gems. A look at a star atlas con-
a new comet shining brighter than 10th- firmed that I had found open cluster NGC
magnitude, with an 8th-magnitude object 2420. Nevertheless, I have since became
being quite the comfortable sight in a sweep. truly fond of this “twinkling comet.”

37
NGC 2420 is another astrophysically but it’s not readily apparent how such an
interesting open cluster. Trumpler classi- encounter could toss the cluster to such a
fied it as type I1r, meaning it’s a moder- high Galactic latitude. Another possibility
ately rich, detached cluster with little is that NGC 2420 didn’t originate in the
central concentration whose stars exhibit Milky Way but in a dwarf galaxy that the
a medium range in brightness. It’s also an Milky Way cannibalized.
old cluster with an age of about 2 billion “One problem with this idea,” notes
years. Only a handful of open clusters in Constantine Deliyannis, a WIYN Open
our Milky Way are known to be more than Cluster Study team member from Indiana
1 billion years old. So NGC 2420 joins an University and Freeland’s research advisor,
elite group of senior Galactic cluster resi- “is that small galaxies of this type are gen-
dents, including NGC 752 (Caldwell 28) in erally believed to be less rich in the chem-
Andromeda (~1.7 billion years), M67 in ical elements than the Sun. How could this
Cancer (~4 billion years), and NGC 188 little galaxy generate such a high abun-
(Caldwell 1) in Cepheus (~5 billion years). dance of heavy elements?”
Unlike many open clusters, which lie in The research team determined that the
the plane of the Milky Way, NGC 2420, cluster contains 1,000 members out to 30
which is about 35 percent farther from light-years. (Most catalogues attribute only
the Galactic center than our Sun, lies about about 300 members out to 15 light-years.)
3,000 light-years above the main disk. They also found a very clear main
What’s more, while NGC 2420’s age is sequence (stars like our Sun that convert
about one-third that of our Sun, the clus- hydrogen into helium in their core), sub-
ter’s average composition seems to be very giant and giant branches (stars that have
similar to the Sun’s. exhausted their core hydrogen), a red
In a 2002 press release from Kitt Peak clump (giant stars converting helium into
National Observatory, Emily Freeland carbon in their cores), and blue stragglers
(Indiana University) – who, with her col- (stars that appear younger than they
leagues made new observations of NGC should and may be the product of two
2420 with the refurbished WIYN 0.9-meter suns merging into a single star).
telescope at Kitt Peak National Observa- NGC 2420 also contains a significant
tory, as part of a long-term project called population of binary stars, with a surpris-
the WIYN Open Cluster Study – says, “It is ingly large fraction of these binaries being
unclear how a cluster that is as rich in “twins” of roughly equal mass. “Other star
chemical elements as the Sun is can have clusters don’t seem to have nearly as many
such a location and motion around the twins,” Deliyannis says. “This interesting
Galaxy. Such clusters usually lie right in result, together with studies of the general
the Galactic disk.” distribution of binary mass fractions, will
The researchers remain puzzled. It’s pos- teach us about the environments in which
sible, they say, that NGC 2420 formed in stars and star clusters form.” Indeed, the
the disk but got ejected to its present loca- researchers believe that NGC 2420 may
tion by a close encounter with a massive contain a multitude of clues about the his-
object (such as a giant molecular cloud), tory and evolution of the Milky Way.
The Secret Deep 167

37
N transforms into an irregu-
larly round blaze of tiny
Gemini glittering gems, about
a dozen or more of
which seem to shine
NGC 2420
a between 11th and 12th
E b
63
W
magnitude. It’s hard to
tell exactly, there is so
much starlight that tiny
2392
bits seem to blend into
1˚
more prominent ones,
S though this could be a
trick of averted vision. At
To find NGC 2420, I like to first find NGC 60, the core looks like a wet tulip glinting
2392, Eskimo Nebula. Use the chart on flecks of moonlight. The tulip is narrow on
page 165 to locate Delta (d) Geminorum the southern end and fans out to the north;
(Wasat). Note that Delta Geminorum is it is surrounded by a filamentary back-
the bright star at the northwest end of a ground of dimmer suns, as if diamond
2½ -wide kite-shaped asterism with the dust has been blown away from the
5th-magnitude stars 56, 61, and 63 Gemi- cluster’s core in all directions. At 94,
norum. Use binoculars to verify this the wet tulip has a smaller sideways
appearance. Now center 63 Geminorum Y-shaped asterism of suns, oriented east–
at low power in your telescope, then switch west; this smaller Y opens to the west.
to the chart on this page. NGC 2392 lies Again, the intriguing core is surrounded
just 400 southeast of 63 Geminorum and by a faint noisy background of cluster out-
1.60 due south of an 8th-magnitude star. liers; they seem to flit about in a halo that
Now, after you enjoy this delightful planet- appears to extend beyond the cluster’s 60
ary nebula, make a slow and careful sweep diameter.
about 550 northeast to 7th-magnitude Star a.
Now look about 350 east and slightly south
of Star a for 9th-magnitude Star b with
a roughly 10th-magnitude companion.
NGC 2420 is about 500 east-northeast of
Star b.
At 33 in the 5-inch NGC 2420 is at a
glance a round ghostly apparition of
largely uniform light, like a tailless comet
that gets gradually brighter in the middle.
The glowing cluster is neatly framed inside
a crooked Y of 9th- to 10th-magnitude
stars. With averted vision, the glow

38
Secret Deep 38
(NGC 3079)
N
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
Ursa Minor
E 23 W
Draco a
76 37
NGC 3079
T
75
70
74
Ursa Major
Bootes
Canes Venatici
The Secret Deep 169

38
38
Phantom Frisbee Galaxy
NGC 3079
Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy (SB(s)c)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 10h 02.0m

Dec: þ55 410
Mag: 10.9
Dim: 8.00 1.50
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed April 1,
1790] Very bright, much extended,
north preceding south following,
very gradually much brighter in the
middle, 80 long, 20 wide. (H V-47)
n g c : Very bright, large, much

extended toward position angle 135 .
n g c 3079 i s a s p e c ta c u l a r , e d g e - channels. . . gyrating in gigantic and innu-

on galaxy 64 million light-years distant in merable vortices, and all whirling and plun-
the Ursa Major Southern Spur of galaxies. ging on the eastward with a rapidity which
It lies about about 3½ south-southeast of water never elsewhere assumes except in
precipitous descents.
3.8-magnitude Upsilon (u) Ursae Majoris,
in the Great Bear’s foreknee. As seen from The galaxy’s central lens is surrounded by a
mid-northern latitudes, the galaxy never seemingly warped disk, which, in the whole,
sets, though it’s highest in the sky after makes NGC 3079 look like a phantom fris-
sunset during the spring. bee. The warp is largely an illusion created
In high-resolution images taken with by dark dust irregularly distributed through-
large telescopes, the galaxy is an awesome out the galaxy. The outer portions of its disk,
sight, displaying a bright nucleus in a lens- however, have been distorted by tidal inter-
shaped maelstrom of galactic vapors – a actions with its two dwarf companions:
sight that brings to mind the “phrensied 13th-magnitude NGC 3073, 100 to the west,
convulsion” described by Edgar Allan Poe and a fainter anonymous companion nearly
in his A Descent into the Maelstrom: 6.50 to the northwest.
Here the vast bed of the waters, seamed Although we view NGC 3079’s disk only
and scarred into a thousand conflicting 2 from edge on, we can still see its central,

38
peanut-shaped bar and two
principal arms, the latter of
which show partial resolution.
One arm is longer than the
other and forms an outer loop.
NGC 3079 may be similar in
size and structure to the
9th-magnitude edge-on barred
spiral galaxy NGC 4361 (Cald-
well 32) in Canes Venatici.
Thus, if we could turn 3079 face
on, we’d probably see a mag-
nificent, late-type barred spiral,
150,000 light-years in extent,
with very clumpy and loosely
wound arms.
NGC 3079 is also one of the nearest and Indeed, in 2001, NASA released dramatic
brightest Type 2 Seyfert galaxies known. Hubble Space Telescope images of a lumpy
Consequently, its nucleus burns with star- bubble of hot gas, some 3,000 light-years
like intensity. As typical of Type 2 Seyferts, wide, rising above the galaxy’s disk from a
spectra of NGC 3079’s nucleus are domin- cauldron of glowing matter within NGC
ated by narrow-line emission. It has been 3079’s core. The feature looks remarkably
argued, however, that all Type 2 Seyferts like a bursting lava bubble – a product of
are intrinsically Type 1 Seyferts whose rapidly expanding gases within the melt.
broad-line-emission component cannot Indeed, it’s theorized that NGC 3079’s
be seen from our vantage point in space. bubble formed about a million years ago
Regardless, the spectra of all Seyferts indi- when streams of particles rushing away
cate the presence of very hot, fast-moving from hot stars at the galaxy’s core mixed
gas close to that starlike active galactic with small bubbles of very hot gas expelled
nucleus (AGN) – most likely surrounding during supernova explosions, resulting in a
a massive black hole, which accretes gas burst of star formation.
from its surrounding environment. Radio observations reveal that gaseous fila-
Judith A. Irwin of Queen’s University and ments at the top of the bubble are still
D. J. Saika of the National Centre for Radio whirling around in a vortex and being
Astrophysics note that NGC 3079 is also expelled into space. Eventually, this gas will
unique among spiral galaxies, because it rain down upon the galaxy’s disk where it may
shows well-defined radio lobes extending collide with gas clouds, compress them, and
from its AGN. It may be the closest analog form a new generation of stars. These bubble
of an extragalactic radio source (EGRS), pro- bursts may be episodic, occurring about
viding a laboratory for understanding the every 10 million years – until the hot stars
relationship between starburst activity (such expend their energy, depleting the bubble’s
as that in M81) and the AGN in galaxies. energy source.
The Secret Deep 171

38
N
Ursa Major
E b
W
a
c
d similarly bright Star c. From Star c, move 200
south-southwest to magnitude 7.5 Star d.
NGC 3079 is a little more than 500 south-
3079
3073
east of Star d, just 60 northwest of a triangle
e
of roughly 8.5- to 9.5-magnitude stars (e).
Years ago, in my 4-inch Tele Vue refrac-
1˚
tor, NGC 3079 was a somewhat difficult
S galaxy to see at 23, appearing as a long
and narrow streak of fairly faint light. But
It may take some time to find this in the 5-inch at 33, it was a fine sliver of
extragalactic wonder, because it requires light – 50 long and oriented roughly north
some star hopping. First, use the chart on to south (with a slight tilt westward) –
page 169 to locate the Big Dipper’s Pointer penetrating a tiny triangle of suns
Stars: Alpha (a) and Beta (b) Ursae Majoris, (Triangle e on the chart). With concentra-
Dubhe and Merak, respectively. Now look tion and averted vision, the galaxy’s bright
about 10 to the west for Upsilon (u) Ursae Seyfert nucleus pops into view surrounded
Majoris, which forms the apex of a nearby a central lens with a delicately mottled
equilateral triangle with Dubhe and Merak. texture. The longer you look at it with
Now use the chart on this page to find averted vision (though be sure not to stare
NGC 3079, which lies about 3½ southeast too long; it’ll “drain” your eyesight) at this
of Upsilon. Begin by looking 2 south- power, the more magnificent the galaxy
southwest of Upsilon, where you’ll find appears.
5th-magnitude Star a. Next, move 1½ At 60, the inner lens stands out well, as
east-northeast to 6th-magnitude Star b, does its Seyfert nucleus, while the galaxy’s
which marks the southeastern corner of length appears scarred with light: two
a nearly equilateral triangle with Upsilon sharp, needle-like protrusions – one on
and Star a. Now hop 400 southeast to either side of the central lens. With

38
concentration, these needles appear isol- region) is a maelstrom of faintly dappled
ated in the disk, surrounded by patches of light. As you gaze at this waver of extragal-
dust. Indeed, at 94, these arms give the actic vapors, try imagining it receding from
galaxy’s preceding side a sharp edge, while you at a speed of 1,116 km/sec (693
the entire disk (especially the nuclear miles/sec).
The Secret Deep 173

39
Secret Deep 39
(NGC 3077)
N
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
M81 1,2
NGC 3077
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
76 37
T
75 70
74 Ursa Major
Bootes Canes Venatici

39
39
NGC 3077
Type: Peculiar Irregular Galaxy
(I0 peculiar)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 10h 03.3m

Dec: þ68 440
Mag: 9.8
Dim: 5.50 4.10
Dist: ~12.5 million l.y.
November 8, 1798] Very bright,
considerably large, round, very
gradually brighter in the middle.
On the north-following side there
is a faint ray interrupting the
roundness. (H I-286)
n g c : Considerably bright,
considerably large, much brighter in
the middle, round with ray.
n g c 3077 i s a s m a l l b u t b r i g h t Yet our target is only a slight tap of the

peculiar galaxy about 450 east-southeast tube away from M81.
of the magnificent spiral galaxy M81 in In the mid-nineteenth century, NGC
Ursa Major, which has an equally dynamic 3077 was thought to be either an irregular
companion, M82. NGC 3077 is a member lenticular (I0) galaxy or a peculiar mixed
of the M81 group, making it a well-known spiral lenticular galaxy (SAB0p). In plates,
triplet of galaxies for small telescope users. it appeared as a little elongated, smooth
Despite its apparent obscurity, NGC 3077 nebulosity marked by irregular patches of
is just as bright and large as M89 (a much dark matter; two of them emerging on
sought after elliptical galaxy in Virgo). both sides near the minor axis simulate
This only helps prove the point that many a nascent spiral pattern. The texture of
non-Messier deep-sky objects are greatly the dust patches silhouetted against the
neglected because they suffer the fate of galaxy’s diffuse luminous glow is similar to
being close to more visually overpowering that of M82 and NGC 5195 (Secret Deep 67).
sights, such as the powerful attraction Later images showed the irregular array
of such a grand duet as M81 and M82. of dusty filaments to have a roughly radial
The Secret Deep 175

39
pattern centered on the nuclear region. used HST to observe roughly 14 million
Other images also revealed some “knots” stars in 69 galaxies. The survey explored a
near the core, which were interpreted as region called the “Local Volume,” which
either individual stars or star clusters, but spanned distances ranging from 6.5 mil-
their spectral luminosities were more like lion light-years to 13 million light-years
that of super star clusters. from Earth. The image reveals in stunning
Like its larger companion M82, the most detail (see above) not only a young mas-
unusual feature in NGC 3077 is that it’s not sive star cluster with a mass of 200,000
well resolved into stars despite the small Suns but also that the dark clumps of
distance (10.4 million light-years). Astron- material scattered around the bright
omers postulated that if NGC 3077 is a nucleus of NGC 3077 are pieces of wreck-
starburst galaxy like M82, the activity, then, age from the galaxy’s interactions with its
must be hidden (as in M82) presumably larger neighbors.
by dust. Indeed, radio observations dating to
Today we know NGC 3077 is a nearby 1978 have shown a bridge of neutral
dwarf starburst galaxy with a true linear hydrogen gas extending northward from a
extent of 20,000 light-years, a total mass large concentration in the southeast of the
of about 1.5 billion Suns, and a total lumi- galaxy (seen inclined by 38 from face on)
nosity of some 450 million Suns. In 2008, toward the outer spiral arm structure of
NASA released an incredible image that M81. But, as Walter Fabian (National Radio
proved, the press release said, that “galax- Astronomy Observatory, New Mexico)
ies are like people. They’re only normal reported in 2002, the extended tidal arm
until you get to know them.” NGC 3077 of neutral gas near NGC 3077 is “one of
was part of a detailed survey, called the the most dramatic features of its kind seen
ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury in the local universe.” It was created by an
(ANGST) program, in which astronomers interaction with M 81 some 300 million

39
years ago. It is one of the few tidal systems to the galaxy itself. They also detected
where atomic (HI) and molecular (CO) more than 30 HII regions previously
gas as well as low-level star formation identified in the immediate vicinity of
(H-a) is detected over an area of several this structure showing a common origin
thousand square light-years. “This tidal of shock disturbance. They proposed
complex,” Fabian says, “is believed to be that gravitational interactions within the
in the process of forming a tidal dwarf triplet (M81, M82, and NGC 3077) have
galaxy.” not only torn away large amounts of HI
In 2003, deep Chandra X-ray observa- gas from NGC 3077’s mass center, but also
tions of NGC 3007 resolved emissions from induced large-scale star formation over a
several supershells. About 85 percent of time scale longer than a typical bursting
the X-ray luminosity in NGC 3077 comes event.
from hot interstellar gas that stretches to To find this peculiar dwarf galaxy, use
the north but not to the south; the remain- the chart on page 174 to locate 2nd-
der comes from six X-ray point sources. magnitude Alpha (a) Ursae Majoris. Now
Two years later, in a Monthly Notices of look 12 to the northwest for 4.5-
the Royal Astronomical Society, Mexican magnitude 24 Ursae Majoris. If you live
astronomer Daniel Rosa-Gonzalez made under light-polluted skies, you may need
subarcsecond radio observations of the to confirm the star with binoculars; notice
galaxy and found that one of the Chandra that it forms the northeastern apex of a
X-ray sources is associated with a super- roughly 3 -wide acute triangle with the
nova remnant (SNR) some 760 years old – similarly bright stars Rho (r) and Sigma
between the average age of SNRs detected (s) Ursae Majoris – actually this star marks
in M82 and those detected in the Milky the position of Sigma1 and Sigma2 Ursae
Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Majoris.
other X-ray source may be
from an X-ray binary in the N
young, massive star cluster
detected by HST. Ursa Major
At a 2009 American 24
Astronomical Society meet-
ing, Zhong Wang (Harvard- a
3034
2787
Smithsonian Center for
b
Astrophysics) explained E M81 W
that a recent study of the 3077 c
star-forming regions in the
tidal arms of NGC 3077, by d
him and his colleagues,
revealed a gigantic shell- 2976
like structure that suggests 1˚

an earlier starburst occur-
S
ring on scales comparable
The Secret Deep 177

39
Center 24 Ursae Majoris in your tele- and detect an out-of-round shape. At 60,
scope at low power, then switch to the the galaxy takes on a more clearly elliptical
chart on page 177. From 24 Ursae Majoris, form, and displays a very dense central
move 250 southeast to 7.5-magnitude core that gradually gets brighter toward
Star a. Next, move about 350 further to the the middle. The galaxy has a slightly
southeast to 6th-magnitude Star b. Bright mottled texture when seen with averted
M81 lies about 1¼ east-southeast vision, with the northwestern side
of Star b. Now look for the pair of appearing slightly brighter, though this
8th-magnitude stars (c) 400 to the south- may be an illusion owing to the fact that
southeast of M81. NGC 3077 is immedi- the galaxy’s southeastern side is closest to
ately southeast of the northeastern star in the 8th-magnitude star.
Pair c. It is best seen with magnification When you’re done viewing NGC 3077,
and looks like a small tailless comet. So you may want to turn your attention to
be prepared to find the field then zoom in another forgotten wonder: NGC 2976,
on your target. another member of the M81 group of gal-
At 33 in the 5-inch, I could fit the trip- axies, though it appears in a small tele-
let of galaxies in the same field of view. scope as only a dim ellipse of light. It’s
NGC 3077 was a bright but small (50 -wide) best viewed under a dark sky at low power.
uniform glow kissing an 8th-magnitude You’ll need to take your time when search-
star. Its form is very circular and tight, ing for it, because the surrounding field
looking like a concentrated puff of diffuse has no bright stars. It lies about 1½ south-
light like a cotton swab. With averted west of the core of M81, less than 100
vision, I could see a distinct starlike core northwest of a 150 -long line of three
11th-magnitude stars (oriented northeast
to southwest). I observed NGC 2976 in
my smaller 4-inch Tele Vue refractor
years ago, recording it at 33 as a faint
ellipse of diffuse light that almost van-
ishes with increased magnification.
Larger scopes will reveal a mottled texture
to the galaxy, which has no distinct cen-
tral condensation. Yet the late deep-sky
observing veteran Walter Scott Houston
says he spied this 10th-magnitude galaxy
in a 2.4-inch Unitron refractor, noticing it
had a slight diamond shape. See what you
think.

40 & 41
Secret Deep 40 & 41
(NGC 3166 & 3169)
N
Leo
52
Regulus
53 31
16 14
19
NGC 3169
E 3166 13 W
Sextans 23
Alphard
Crater 2
µ
Hydra
The Secret Deep 179

40 & 41
40
NGC 3166
Type: Mixed Spiral Galaxy (SAB(rs)0)
Con: Sextans
RA: 10h 13.8m

Dec: þ03 260
Mag: 10.4
SB: 12.9 (Rating 4)
Dim: 4.60 2.60
bright, pretty large, compressed,
much brighter in the middle. (H I-3)
n g c : Bright, pretty small, round,

pretty suddenly much brighter
in the middle, 2nd of 3.
41
NGC 3169
Type: Peculiar Spiral Galaxy
(SA(s)a Peculiar)
Con: Sextans
RA: 10h 14.2m

Dec: þ03 280
Mag: 10.2
SB: 12.9 (Rating 3)
Dim: 5.00 2.80
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed December 19,

1783] Considerably bright, pretty large,
compressed, much brighter in the middle.
(H I-4)
n g c : Bright, pretty large, very little extended,

pretty gradually much brighter in the middle,
star of magnitude 11.78, 8000 , 3rd of 3.

40 & 41
n g c 3166 a n d 3169 a r e t w o s m a l l , (University Books, New York, 1988), Ian
yet pretty, interacting galaxies less than 2 Ridpath suggests, “it was perhaps to dem-
south of 1st-magnitude Alpha (a) Leonis onstrate the keenness of his eyes that
(Regulus). Although the pair lies about 3 [Hevelius] formed Sextans out of such faint
north of the Celestial Equator – so they stars.”
stand halfway up the sky when highest When William Herschel discovered NGC
in the south, as seen from mid-northern 3169 in 1783, he went on to make three
latitudes – they suffer from lack of atten- additional observations of it before noticing
tion owing to their lonely location in one of that it had a companion (NGC 3166) only ~80
the classic voids of the night sky: Sextans, away; how this other object, nearly equal in
the Sextant. brightness, had escaped Herschel’s atten-
Actually, Johannes Hevelius (1611– tion for so long is a mystery, given the obser-
1687) – who formed the constellation in ver’s acute ability to ferret out new nebulae –
1687 from 12 unclaimed stars between Leo especially one so close to another.
and Hydra (to honor the huge instrument William and his son John also failed to
he used in Danzig [now Gdansk] to make notice NGC 3165 only 4.50 southwest of
stellar measurements) – called it “Sextans NGC 3166. But this isn’t surprising; NGC
Uraniae.” Hevelius placed the instrument 3165 shines at magnitude 14 and is only 1.50
between Leo and Hydra because, in the in apparent length. Still, as Brian Skiff and
vernacular of astrologers, these beasts were Christian Luginbuhl note in their Observing
fiery in nature. As Richard Hinckley Allen Handbook and Catalogue of Deep-Sky
explains in his book Star Names: Their Lore Objects (Cambridge University Press, 1998),
and Meaning (Dover Publications, New NGC 3165 is “clearly visible” with averted
York, 1963), William Henry Smyth said its vision as a “faint, difficult object” at medium
placement “formed a sort of commemor- powers in a 10-inch reflector.
ation of the destruction of [Hevelius’s] Nevertheless, it took the visual prowess
instruments when his house at Dantzic of R. J. Mitchel working under William
was burnt in September, 1679; or, as Parsons (Third Earl of Rosse) to pick out
[Hevelius] expresses it, when Vulcan over- this tiny little object on January 30, 1856,
came Urania.” with the 72-inch Leviathan at Birr Castle.
The stars of Sextans are further doomed Lord Rosse and his assistants excelled at
to obscurity by having no names associ- discovering new nebulae near brighter
ated with them, only Greek letters; even known nebulae. NGC 3165 was but one of
its Alpha star shines at a meek magnitude 233 nebulous objects they discovered
4.5, faint enough to succumb to suburban between 1848 and 1865 with the 36-inch
light pollution. In his book Star Tales and 72-inch reflectors at Birr Castle.1
1
Lord Rosse’s 72-inch Leviathan left an impression on science-fiction novelist Jules Verne, who mentions it in his 1905
fictional classic From the Earth to the Moon: “The distance which had then separated the projectile from the satellite was
estimated at about two hundred leagues. Under these conditions, as regards the visibility of the details of the disc, the
travelers were farther from the moon than are the inhabitants of earth with their powerful telescopes. Indeed, we know
that the instrument mounted by Lord Rosse at Parsonstown, which magnifies 6,500 times, brings the moon to within an
apparent distance of sixteen leagues.”
The Secret Deep 181

40 & 41
Dreyer listed NGC 3165
as GC 2037 in his
supplement to the Gen-
eral Catalogue; French
astronomer Édouard
Jean-Marie Stephan at
Marseille Observatory
independently discov-
ered it on March 18,
1884, with the 31½-
inch reflector at Mar-
seille. Stephan was
obviously not aware
that Lord Rosse’s son, Lawrence Parsons NGC 3169, on the other hand, has a very
(Fourth Earl of Rosse), had published the bright, flattened nucleus that extends
discoveries made at Birr Castle in an 1878 some 3,000 light-years almost perpendicu-
Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin lar to the plane of the galaxy. Paul
Society. B. Eskridge and his colleagues (2002) note
All three objects (NGC 3166, NGC 3169, that it may also have a weak bar (seen in
and NGC 3165) belong to the Leo Cloud of the near-infrared) embedded in a large
galaxies some 72 million light-years distant. elliptical bulge, whose outer regions
NGC 3166 and NGC 3169, your targets, are appear sightly boxy. As the Hubble Space
receding from us at speeds of 1,345 and Telescope image above shows, the galaxy’s
1,238 km/sec, respectively. They have simi- weak disk has a complex and varied dust
lar inclinations (58 and 59 , respectively) morphology, from nuclear spiral lanes to
and true physical extents (97,000 and chaotic feathery spiral features, all seen
93,000 light-years, respectively). They also dramatically in silhouette against the
share a common envelope of neutral hydro- galaxy’s bulge. The disk also contains more
gen, suggesting tidal interaction. So the two than 60 HII regions, with some of them
are tugging twin systems. arranged in a shell-like structure that
NGC 3166 is the brighter of the two gal- doesn’t form a clear spiral pattern.
axies by a mere 0.2 magnitude in visual NGC 3169’s most curious feature, how-
light (it is fainter than NGC 3169 in blue ever, is a highly distorted southeast spiral
light), has a very small, very bright nucleus arm, suggesting that a tidal encounter has
extending into a short smooth bar whose occurred between it and NGC 3166; NGC
major axis is perpendicular to the major 3166’s disk also shows peculiar tidal
axis of the disk, which is oriented nearly effects. The two galaxies reside some
east–west. The bar gives way to a disk of 100,000 light-years apart and are sur-
dust-lane fragments with no evidence for rounded by an extended HI cloud more
spiral features or star-forming knots. The than 300,000 light-years across.
disk resides in a lens surrounded by a weak The envelope, which is centered on NGC
extended envelope. 3169, surrounds not only NGC 3166 and

40 & 41
3169, but also NGC 3165. Indeed, in a 2006 N
Astronomy Letters (vol. 32, pp. 534–544),
Sextans
Russian astronomers Olga K. Sil’chenko
19
(Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow)
and her colleagues note that they found
the mean age of the stellar populations in
the centers of all three galaxies to be
approximately the same, about 1 billion
years young. Since the galaxies are early-
type ones, and since NGC 3166 and NGC
E W
3156 show no global star formation, the 3169
astronomers suggest we are witnessing a 3166
synchronous star-formation burst in the 3165

centers of all three galaxies.
3156
To find the celestial twins, use the chart
on page 179 to locate 1st-magnitude Alpha a
(a) Leonis. About 250 south of it is 4th-

1˚
magnitude 31 Leonis. Now look about 350
southwest for 5th-magnitude Pi (p) Leonis.
Now use your unaided eyes or binoculars to S
locate 14, 16, and 19 Leonis, which form a
250 -wide isosceles triangle about 450 south-
east of Pi Leonis. Center 19 Leonis, the
southernmost star in that triangle, in your
telescope at low power, then switch to the
chart on this page. From 19 Leonis, make a
generous, but slow and careful 1½ sweep
south and slightly east to an 180 -wide tri-
angle of 7.5- to 8.0-magnitude stars (a).
NGC 3166 is less than 200 north-northwest
of the easternmost star in Triangle a. NGC
3169 is immediately to its north-northeast.
At 33 in the 5-inch, the galaxies lie in a
beautiful field, one rich in stellar pairs and
groups. You’ll find the pair about 250 north- in that position. (This is probably why
east of a 60 -wide triangle of magnitude 7.5 Herschel also noticed NGC 3169 first
to 8.5 stars, and about 150 north of a 60 line before he realized NGC 3166 was nearby.)
of magnitude 8 to 10 stars. While NGC Once I realized that there was a star next to
3166 is the brighter of the two, my eye is the galaxy, NGC 3169 immediately shrank
drawn first to NGC 3169 because it abuts in splendor. It really is a tiny object, being
an 11th-magnitude sun to the east, caus- only about 10 in extent visually in my
ing the eye to see an illusory larger object small telescope. So remember that you’re
The Secret Deep 183

40 & 41
looking for a little lens of light. Its disk is In 2003, amateur astronomers Koichi Ita-
elongated northeast to southwest and has gaki of Japan, and Ron Arbour of the UK,
a small bead of light at its core. The independently discovered a 14.5-magnitude
galaxy’s larger swooping and warped arms Type Ia supernova (one that lacks hydrogen
are much too faint for my 5-inch. and presents a singly ionized silicon line
As I stare at NGC 3169, I cannot help but near peak light) 1400 east and 500 north of
notice NGC 3166 to the southwest, which the nucleus of NGC 3169. They discovered
suddenly swells to prominence with averted SN 2003cg near maximum light. Itagaki
vision. It’s also hard to observe one, without made his photographic discovery on March
comparing it to the other. The differences 21.51 UT; Arbour made his photographic
are quite striking considering the galaxies discovery on March 22.835 UT.
are “twins” in other respects. As I compared By the way, in his Cycle of Celestial
the two, it became immediately obvious that Objects, Admiral William Henry Smyth
NGC 3166 is the slightly larger and brighter notes that NGC 3166 and 3169 are “on or
one. It also has a bright circular core that near the spot where the Capuchin, De
suddenly increases in brightness toward Rheita, fancied he saw the napkin of
the middle where there shines a bright and S. Veronica, in 1643, with an improved
stellar nucleus. At 94, NGC 3166’s elliptical telescope which he had just constructed.”
disk is faintly apparent compared to NGC He adds, “It would be much easier to
3169’s, which is more intense, a result of ascribe this strange discovery to a heated
the galaxy’s large central bulge. With averted imagination, than to deliberate falsehood;
vision, NGC 3169’s central disk is a chaotic but it happens unfortunately that there is
brew of light – various shades that swim in no staring cluster or nebula near.” He ends
and out of view at the limit of visibility, his discussion of this interesting observa-
leading to the impression of a misshapen tion by quoting Sir John Herschel:
and tortured nest of galactic vapors. “Many strange things were seen among
NGC 3169 has been the site of two known the stars before the use of powerful tele-
supernovae eruptions. The first (SN 1984E) scopes became common.” Can you find
was discovered visually on March 29, 1984, the napkin?
by Australian supernova hunter Robert
Evans. It was learned, however, that three
days earlier, Nataliya Metlova, of the
Sternberg Crimean Station, had seen the
supernova, as had Kiyomi Okazaki of
Japan. The supernova was discovered near
maximum light, which occurred on April
Fool’s Day. This Type IIL supernova (one
that displays a linear decrease in its light
curve) displayed the largest hydrogen
luminosity ever seen from a single star; its
light output was comparable to the lumi-
nosity of a spiral galaxy.

42
Secret Deep 42
(NGC 3198)
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
76 37
T
75 70
NGC 3198
74
Bootes Ursa Major

Canes Venatici
The Secret Deep 185

42
42
NGC 3198
Type: Spiral Galaxy (S(rs)c)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 10h 19.9m

Dec: þ45 330
Mag: 10.3
SB: 13.9 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 9.20 3.50
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed January 14, 1788]

Considerably bright, much extended
south-preceding north-following, very
gradually brighter in the middle, 50 length or
30 wide. (H I-199)
n g c : Pretty bright, very large, much extended

toward position angle 45 , very gradually
n g c 3198 i s a s o m e w h at “s o f t ” a n d bar, partially obscured on one side. The

extended spiral galaxy about 2½ north- galaxy also displayed what appears to be
northeast of 3rd-magnitude Lambda (l) a pseudo-ring in the intermediate part of
Ursae Majoris (Tania Borealis) in the Great the galaxy’s disk, and several knotty, par-
Bear’s left-hind foot, close to the northern tially resolved branching arms with
border of Leo Minor. In fact, the galaxy numerous HII regions. The arms in NGC
belongs to the Leo Spur of galaxies. The 3198 appear moderately thin and fairly
great Irish astronomer Lord Rosse well defined. However, the inclination
included NGC 3198 as one of his 14 “spiral angle of this 125,000 light-year-long
or curvilinear nebulae” discovered prior to system is so high (19 from edge on) that
1850; Lord Rosse initially described as the pattern is not easily traced.
“spiral” any object exhibiting “a curvilinear In a 1991 Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol.
arrangement not consisting of regular re- 244, pp. 27–36) R. L. M. Corradi (University
entering curves.” of Padua, Italy) and colleagues say that
In early plates, it was classified as a modern CCD images of the galaxy, how-
barred spiral galaxy, and many sources to ever, have failed to reveal the presence of
this day refer to it as such. The early a bar. “Despite the RC2 classification,” they
images of the galaxy revealed a small, very say, “there is no strong evidence that NGC
bright nucleus in what appeared to be a 3198 is a barred spiral.” Their images show

42
a “quite normal bulge” and an incomplete local reference frame, as a non-uniform
ring-like structure in the central region, disc due to its rotation. The apparent
noting that the spiral pattern appears com- non-uniform radial distribution of stars is
plex because of the patchiness and the described by delayed gravitational inter-
high inclination of the galaxy to the line actions over great distances in an acceler-
of sight. ating reference frame whereby a uniform
Given a more perfect viewing angle, we distribution of stars appears to occupy an
would probably see NGC 3198 as a two- increasing circumference.” He stresses that
armed spiral with a secondary third arm. from “overwhelming evidence” in the
The two principal S-type arms would observations of our own galaxy, “there is
start at the center, then wind around for no requirement for exotic material [such as
about half a revolution before each arm dark matter] in the linear mass distribu-
branched to form the multiple pattern we tion,” Rout says, as has been postulated
see in the outer regions. In a private 2010 by other astronomers. “Any material,
communication, Bruce Rout explained exotic or otherwise, having a geometry
that, through a geometric projection on other than that given by a linear mass dis-
each of the pixels in the image, the galaxy tribution would invalidate a constant rota-
can be seen as if looking at it from directly tional velocity profile of material making
above. “In this case we can see the galaxy up the galaxy. We therefore conclude there
as being a perfect Archimedean Spiral,” he is no ‘dark matter’ in NGC 3198.”
shared. In the Hubble Space Telescope’s key
The researchers, however, did not totally project, the Cepheid distance of NGC
discount the possibility that deep infrared 3198 was determined to 47 million light-
images might reveal a bar, which could be years. The team identified 78 Cepheid
responsible for an observed “twisting” at candidates in the period range from 8 to
the galaxy’s core. Indeed, in an email, Rout more than 50 days, of which 52 were
informed me that “upon further research selected for establishing the galaxy’s dis-
into the structure of galaxies, and from tance. At that accepted distance, the
noting the ‘flat’ velocity of rotation being galaxy has a true linear extent of about
151 km/s, we can determine a small bar at 40,000 light-years, a total luminosity of
the center of NGC 3198 having a radius of about 10 billion Suns, and a total mass of
12,500 ly. This is almost unnoticeable com- 60 billion Suns.
pared to the expanse of the entire galaxy To find this object, users of small tele-
which stretches for at least 300,000 light- scopes under somewhat light-polluted skies
years in diameter.” might want to first star-hop to the field, then
Rout adds that NGC 3198 is quite a use moderate magnifications to sight it.
normal galaxy that orbits about its center Light pollution will certainly impair the
of mass in a single plane of orbit, and its view, so try for it under the darkest skies
stars all orbit with a constant rotational available. Start by using the chart on
velocity. He describes the arms of NGC page 185 to locate Lambda Ursae Majoris,
3198 as a “linear star cloud of near- center it in your telescope at low power,
uniform density which appears, from our then switch to the chart on page 188. From
The Secret Deep 187

42
N
d
Ursa Major
NGC 3198
E b W
With time and attention I could make out
traces (or hints/suggestions) of the galaxy’s
high-surface brightness inner S-shaped
arms. At 60, NGC 3198 is a beautiful
phantom of elongated light with the inner
a S-shaped arms more defined, emanating
from a diffuse elliptical core with no further
definition. At 94, the core does sharpen in
the middle to a brighter concentration of
light, but even that is a diffuse speck of
1˚ light. The arms are best defined at this
power, and I could see enhancements at
S
the bends in the S. Larger telescopes, how-
ever, will reveal the galaxy’s sharp core and
Lambda, move 180 northeast to 6.5- mottling throughout the disk.
magnitude Star a. Exactly 1 due north of Also, be on the lookout for supernovae.
Star a is 6.5-magnitude Star b, which has a As of this writing, the last one (SN 1999bw)
9.5-magnitude companion immediately to was discovered at 18th magnitude by the
its east. Now make a slow and careful sweep Lick Observatory Supernova Search on
1 north-northwest to a pair of 7.5 and 8.0- April 20, 1999 UT. Spitzer images of the
magnitude stars (c). Another 1 sweep, this object on May 1 revealed that the shell’s size
time to the northeast, will bring you to a is consistent with ejecta expanding at 1000
tighter pair of 9th-magnitude suns (d). km/sec in the five years since core collapse,
NGC 3198 is about 150 southwest of Pair m. suggesting the reported emission may be
Under a dark sky at 33 in the 5-inch, from dust that condensed within the ejecta.
NGC 3198 is a big (nearly 100 ) diffuse ellip- NGC 3198 was the site of another super-
tical glow with a very nice diffuse concen- nova (SN 1966J), a prototype-Ib supernova,
tration at the core but no starlike center. that had a peak blue magnitude of 11.2.

43 & 44
Secret Deep 43 & 44
(NGC 3226 & 3227)
NGC 3226
3227 Leo
52
Regulus
53 31
E W
Sextans
Alphard
Crater
2
1
µ
Hydra
The Secret Deep 189

43 & 44
43
NGC 3226
Type: Elliptical Galaxy (E2 peculiar)
Con: Leo
RA: 10h 23.4m

Dec: þ19 540
Mag: 11.4
SB: 13.1 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 2.50 2.20

1784] Two, about 20 asunder. Both faint,
considerably large, round. (H II-28)
n g c : Pretty bright, considerably large,

round, double [with 3227],
toward position angle 159 , 13800 .
44
NGC 3227
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SAB(s) peculiar)
Con: Leo
RA: 10h 23.5m

Dec: þ19 520
Mag: 10.3
Dim: 6.90 5.40
Disc: W. Herschel, 1784

1784] Two, about 20 asunder. Both faint,
considerably large, round. (H II-29)
n g c : Pretty bright, considerably large,

round, double nebula [with 3226]
toward position angle 159 , 13800 .

43 & 44
T h e i n t e r a c t i n g g a l a x y pa i r n g c it as magnitude 11.1; and The Deep Sky
3226–7 was “invisible” when I was a youth. Field Guide says magnitude 10.3 – only
They were too faint to appear on my Nor- 0.2 magnitude fainter than the galaxies
ton’s Star Atlas, so widely used by backyard M91 or M98 in Coma Berenices!
astronomers during my generation. Not As you will discover in your own
until I began using the library at the searches, an object’s visibility is deter-
Harvard College Observatory in the early mined by more factors than magnitude
1970s did I learn of the true wealth of gal- alone. For instance, NGC 3226 shines
axies and other deep-sky objects populat- about a magnitude fainter than its com-
ing the heavens beyond the bright Messier panion; but its small apparent size (2.50
objects and some equally apparent 2.20 ) and higher surface brightness (13.1
Herschel ones. My main resource was compared to 14.1) make it stand out
Antonin Becvar’s 1962 Atlas of the Heavens. against the sky background almost as well
But even on it, NGC 3226 and NGC 3227 as NGC 3227. Also, NGC 3226’s close prox-
eluded attention; they, like many other imity to larger NGC 3227 (5.40 3.60 ) helps
galaxies in the Atlas, were “anonymous,” the eye to enhance 3226’s visibility. In fact,
appearing as red ellipses of varying sizes Skiff and Luginbuhl found NGC 3226–7
without descriptive labels: Becvar identi- “easily detectable” in a 6-inch telescope.
fied only those galaxies brighter than 12th I have since seen these galaxies in tele-
magnitude. scopes as small as 4-inches under a dark
At the time, searching for little galaxies sky. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a keen-
fainter than 12th magnitude with a 9-inch eyed observer under similar conditions
f/12 refractor from a city seemed next to could detect at least the brighter member
ludicrous. But how times, telescopes, eye- in a good 2-inch scope, with patience.
pieces, and attitudes have changed. Our William Herschel discovered the pair in
knowledge of the deep sky and approach 1784 and considered them a “double
to visual observing have also changed. . . nebula.” Today we know NGC 3227 is a
for the better; we’re becoming more brazen peculiar mixed-spiral galaxy (an inter-
in our attempts to push the limits of our mediate case between a spiral and a barred
telescopes and our vision. spiral), 130,000 light-years in linear extent
More importantly, the magnitudes and inclined 42 from face on. It is strongly
of many “faint” galaxies found in older interacting with NGC 3226, a peculiar
sources have been modified – though it’s elliptical companion less than half its size
still not uncommon for some to have their and inclined 59 from face on. The pair is
brightnesses underestimated by one or linked by a long tidal tail – one reminiscent
more magnitudes, or to find different of that between M51 and its irregular com-
values in different sources! For instance, panion NGC 5195 (see Secret Deep 67).
in a 1985 Astrophysical Journal article, the NGC 3226–7 has been the object of
authors state that NGC 3227 has an appar- much professional study. The most
ent visual magnitude of 12.2; Burnham’s detailed images of NGC 3227 show a bright
Celestial Handbook has it as magnitude active nucleus at the galaxy’s core, which is
11.6; the Nasa Extragalactic Database lists surrounded by a faint spiral structure
The Secret Deep 191

43 & 44
dappled with HII regions. Its outer north- Phil Uttely and Ian McHardy (University
western arm appears to be the bridge of Southampton, UK) used data from the
between it and NGC 3226. Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)
Halton Arp included NGC 3226–7 in his spacecraft to observe a three-month-long
1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Known as dimming event that they suspect was due
Arp 94, the tidal pair has two neutral to a cold cloud of dust and gas eclipsing
hydrogen (HI) plumes: one extending 70 the central source of NGC 3227’s AGN,
north of the system, the other 160 south; temporarily obscuring it from our line-of-
there’s also an unusual HI feature at the sight. As discussed in a 2003 Astronomical
base of the north plume – at the projected Society of the Pacific Conference Series
intersection of two faint stellar tidal paper, the researchers determined that
streams wrapped around the interacting the observed cloud had a diameter
pair of galaxies; this feature, dubbed of around a light-day and was located
J1023þ1952, appears to be a star-forming, 10–100 light-days from the X-ray emitting
tidal dwarf galaxy candidate. Writing in a source. Likewise, in the 2001 ASP Confer-
2008 Astrophysical Journal, Ute Lisenfeld ence Series, Stefanie Komossa (Max-Planck
(University of Grenada, Spain) and col- Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics,
leagues report that data from the IRAM Germany) and her colleagues report how
30-meter telescope show that the galaxy Chandra X-Ray Observatory data also favor
candidate is made from metal-enriched the theory that variable obscuration by
gas. Thus, the Lisenfeld team argues, it cold clouds passing our line of sight occurs
did not pre-exist but most likely formed frequently in this galaxy.
from recycled, metal-enriched gas Based on observations at the European
expelled from NGC 3227 or NGC 3226 in Southern Observatory Very Large Tele-
a previous phase of the interaction. scope, Richard I. Davies (Max-Planck
NGC 3227 is classified as a Type 1 Seyfert Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Ger-
galaxy. A Seyfert galaxy has a small but many) and his colleagues report in a 2006
intensely bright nucleus that behaves like Astrophysical Journal that within a few
a low-energy quasar, exploding matter epi- light-years of the AGN there has been an
sodically into space. A massive black hole, intense starburst, the most recent episode
accreting gas from its surrounding envir- of which began about 40 million years ago
onment, is thought to power this active but has now ceased. They found the cur-
galactic nucleus (AGN). rent luminosity of stars within 100 light-
X-ray observations of NGC 3227’s AGN years of the AGN to be about 3 billion Suns,
reveal it to be highly variable (in time which is comparable to that of the AGN.
scales of months or less). The variability Thus, star formation must be occurring in
may be caused by clouds of gas and dust the obscuring material surrounding the
of varying sizes and densities orbiting the central black hole, for which Davies et al.
AGN and absorbing X-ray emission. have derived a mass range of 7 million to
A substantial amount of the X-ray 20 million Suns.
absorbing gas may lie within 1.3 light- NGC 3226 is a Seyfert galaxy, but one with
years of the nucleus. a low-ionization nuclear emission-line

43 & 44
region (LINER) nucleus. In other words, its To find this interesting interacting pair,
AGN is perhaps in its lowest state of activ- simply find 2.4-magnitude Gamma (g)
ity, a trait commonly found in many bright Leonis (Algieba) in the Sickle of Leo
galaxies. An AGN, then, can be likened to a (or the Lion’s mane) and center it in your
powerful volcano, one that can lay dor- telescope at low power. NGC 3226–7 lies
mant for tens, hundreds, or many thou- only 500 east of that star; in many backyard
sands of years, before exploding onto the telescopes the galaxy pair will share the
scene; after expending its energy, the vol- same low-power field of view with Gamma.
canic powerhouse returns to sleep, though But before you sweep up that extragalac-
ready to awaken once again some time in tic pair, look at Gamma Leonis with a mag-
the distant future. nification of 100 or more. The star is one
Aaron J. Barth (California Institute of of the most magnificent doubles in the
Technology) and his colleagues note in a northern skies. William Herschel dis-
2004 Astrophysical Journal that while there covered it in 1782, though it is more com-
is no question that NGC 3226 hosts a monly known as W. Struve (STF) 1424AB.
genuine AGN, it is too massive and too The pair consists of a magnitude 2.4 golden
large to be classified as a true dwarf ellip- primary (K0III) and a green 3.6-magnitude
tical galaxy. Instead, he says, it appears to secondary (G7III) separated by 4.400 , so they
be a small but ordinary elliptical, probably are resolvable under steady skies in a 2-inch
with a fairly massive black hole with a scope. Under steady seeing, the primary
mass on the order of 100 million solar has a lemon yellow sheen tinged with red
masses. But this, Barth says in a private (giving it its overall golden hue); the sec-
2010 communication, was “just a rough ondary burns a paler yellow with a touch
estimate based on the galaxy’s stellar velo- of pistachio. In his Cycle of Celestial Objects,
city dispersion, not a real measurement Admiral William Henry Smyth saw the pri-
of the black hole mass.” mary as bright orange and the secondary
as greenish yellow. Try comparing the light
of these stars with those of the slightly
N fainter but popular double Beta (b) Cygni
(Albireo), which, to some observers, have
Leo similar complimentary colors.
NGC 3226
When you have finished admiring this
b gorgeous double, return to your lowest
3222
NGC 3227 power then gently move your scope 500 to
a
E W the east, where you’ll find NGC 3226–7.
3213
Otherwise, you could first search about
300 east-northeast of Gamma for the two
40
roughly 9th-magnitude stars labeled a and
b on the chart on this page. The galaxies
1˚ form the eastern apex of a near-equilateral
triangle with them. Look for a delicate
S
elliptical glow (the combined light of the
The Secret Deep 193

43 & 44
two galaxies), some 20 across, oriented
north-northwest to south-southeast.
At 33 in the 5-inch, that single glow
immediately splits in two. With averted
vision, NGC 3227, the more southerly of
the two, swells in size and intensity to
become the larger and brighter one. Still,
at 60, NGC 3226’s core is quite remark-
able and extremely prominent, like a
swollen star; it’s surrounded by a faint
circular disk that gradually fades away
from the nucleus. With averted vision its
southern edge seems to touch NGC 3227,
where the two gently kiss.
At this power, NGC 3227 appears as an modest powers, the proximity of NGC 3226
amorphous elliptical glow with an intense to NGC 3227’s northwestern side steals the
starlike nucleus nested in a wider (20 ) lens eye’s attention, making NGC 3227’s disk
of light. With time and patience, I saw the appear to fade in that direction. In other
outer edge of that lens as horseshoe- words, NGC 3227’s asymmetry is likely an
shaped on the southeastern side, the west- illusion.
ern arm of which extended fully to NGC Be on the lookout for supernovae in
3226, apparently linking them in what NGC 3227. On December 21, 1976,
appears to be the first step in a gravita- Arnold Richard Klemola (Lick Observa-
tional embrace. The cores of both galaxies tory) discovered on photographic plates a
hold up well at 94 and higher magnifica- supernova, of blue magnitude 17, 2700 east
tions, which tend to enhance NGC 3227’s and 2200 north of NGC 3226’s nucleus – but
horseshoe-shaped appearance. SN 1976K is most likely associated with
I don’t know why NGC 3227’s northwes- NGC 3227. Another supernova appeared
tern side is not as apparent as its south- in NGC 3227 in 1983 along a faint exten-
eastern side; it should be. I can only sion of a spiral arm, near (but not in) the
suspect that in my small telescope, at these dust lanes.

45
Secret Deep 45
(NGC 3432)
57
38
55 NGC 3432 35
Ursa Major
21
30
61 46 46
Leo Minor
37
62
E 23 W
67
54
72
93
Leo
Denebola
The Secret Deep 195

45
45
Knitting Needle Galaxy
NGC 3432
Type: Dwarf Barred Spiral Galaxy
(SB(s)m)
Con: Leo Minor
RA: 10h 52.5m

Dec: þ36 370
Mag: 11.2
Dim: 6.90 1.90
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed March
17, 1786] Considerably bright,
extended south preceding north
following, few stars in preceding, 1
in north, unconnected. (H I-172)
n g c : Pretty bright, pretty large,

very much extended toward position
angle 40 , double star close south
preceding.
n g c 3432 i s a v e r y n i c e e d g e - o n , respectively – form a long, flat triangle. Curi-

barred spiral galaxy, inclined 84 from our ously, Leo Minor has no Alpha (a) star,
line of sight. It lies about 3 southeast of 38 making it the only northern constellation
Leonis Minoris, an isolated 4th-magnitude without one. Hevelius is not to blame. As
star in the back of the Lesser Lion, the sky’s Ian Ridpath informs us in his delightful book
64th largest constellation in area. Star Tales it was an oversight by the nine-
Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius teenth-century English astronomer Francis
formed Leo Minor in 1687, using 18 “left Baily, who labeled and numbered the new
over” stars between the back of Leo the constellation’s stars 150 years after Hevelius’s
Lion and the rear feet of Ursa Major, the death. “In his British Association Catalogue
Great Bear. The constellation contains only of 1845,” Ridpath explains, “Baily assigned
22 square degrees of sky. It is also dim, the letter Beta to the second-brightest star
having only one star brighter than fourth in Leo Minor, but left the brightest star
magnitude – though only by a whisker. (46 Leonis Minoris) unlettered by mistake.”
The constellation’s three brightest stars – Although Hevelius did not number or
46, Beta (b), and 21 Leonis Minoris, letter the stars in Leo Minor, he apparently

45
did bestow a name to 46 Leonis Minoris, Lehmen, and Bryan Miller describe in a
calling it Praecipua, meaning “the Excel- 1996 Astronomical Journal (vol. 111, p. 1575).
lent One” or “the Chief” – quite amazing In a 1996 Astronomical Journal, Can-
considering the star shines at only magni- adian astronomers Jayanne English and
tude 3.8. And while Hevelius first Judith Irwin (Queen’s University, Kingston,
imagined a lion cub in this region, one Ontario) note that their Very Large Array
mimicking the posture of its grander rela- observations show a radio halo extending
tive (Leo), he was not the first to arrange up to 17,300 light-years above the galaxy’s
stars in this region as an imagined figure. plane as well as radio “spurs.” These latter
Ancient Chinese stargazers saw them as features, they say, do not generally align
Noui-p’ing, the Administrator of the Inter- with regions of star formation in the disk
ior – either a magistrate who equalized nor with discrete ionized features, such as
punishments or the officer in charge of supernovae remnants or emission
the imperial harem; it’s uncertain, so you nebulae.
decide. The galaxy also does not have an
Leo Minor has a few deep-sky objects of enhanced giant (e.g. 30 Doradus-sized)
interest. Take, for instance, the face-on HII region formation rate at this stage in
spiral galaxy NGC 3486. Although it is the interaction. “Nor is it forming massive
brighter than NGC 3432 by 0.7 magnitude, stars at a high rate,” English says. “The
its lower surface brightness (14.1) makes reason this is important is that the wind
this galaxy more difficult to detect, espe- from massive stars and their supernova
cially under skies of less-than-perfect explosions create blowouts – chimney-like
quality. No matter, I find NGC 3432 fascin- holes in the gas – that allow cosmic rays to
ating, not only because it’s a slender edge- escape above the disk to form the halo
on wonder (wonderfully wedged between which is detected in radio continuum
three moderately bright stars as seen observations; radio continuum observa-
through backyard telescopes), but also tions detect electrons (cosmic rays) accel-
because it’s an astrophysical curiosity. erating in a magnetic field. This is
NGC 3432 is a member of the Leo Spur consistent with radio observations of
of galaxies and is moving away from us at a hydrogen gas which show the galaxy has
velocity of 616 km/sec. The galaxy, recog- two distinct tidal tails.”
nized as a dwarf, is also known as Arp 206 In May 2000, the Lick Observatory
and UGC 5986. NGC 3432 is interacting Supernova Search encountered a curious
with UGC 5983, a dim dwarf galaxy 30 to 17.4-magnitude variable star about 12300
the west-southwest. Its disk is very com- east and 18000 north of the the galaxy’s
plex, showing considerable distortion and diffuse nucleus, superimposed on an HII
a bright central bar – riddled with bright region or a spiral arm. At first, the star
knots and chaotically distributed across its appeared to be an extragalactic nova,
length – and a curious condensation (MAC but it was later reclassified as a Type IIn
1052þ3640) at the galaxy’s northeast end. supernova and given the designation SN
Two distinct tidal tails are also visible in HI 2000ch. But analysis of the star’s complex
images, as Eric M. Wilcots, Catherine light curve, spectrum, and luminosity
The Secret Deep 197

45
suggested that the star is a N
“supernova impostor.”
Indeed, the object is now
believed to be a very Leo Minor b
a
massive, luminous blue
38
variable star analogous to
c
Eta Carinae; thus, the star’s
observed variations are due E W
to repeated mass-ejection
events. At a 2001 American
e d
Astronomical society meet-
NGC 3432
ing, R. Mark Wagner (LBT
Observatory) and his col- 1˚
leagues noted that the
star’s brightest apparent S
magnitude implies an
absolute magnitude of about –12.7 at the 46 Leonis Minoris (Praecipua); the second
distance of NGC 3432 – a value compar- brightest is 5th-magnitude 46 Ursae
able to Eta Carinae during its grand out- Majoris, so don’t confuse the two. NGC
burst in the mid-nineteenth century. At the 3432 is about 2¼ almost due north of
2006 IAU meeting in Prague, Schulyer Praecipua.
D. Van Dyk argued that NGC 3432 is but Unfortunately, the region of sky between
one of several recent luminous events that Praecipua and NGC 3432 is fairly devoid of
have been identified initially as super- good guide stars to make a star hop. You
novae but are probably not genuine. can try sweeping, though, if you have
Instead, he says, these highly luminous a moderately large-aperture telescope.
events represent an interesting pre- But I suggest continuing your naked-eye
supernova evolutionary phase for very search from Praecipua to look 5½ west-
massive stars. northwest for 4.2-magnitude Beta (b) Leo-
Finding this interesting galaxy requires a nis Minoris. Now use your binoculars or
careful star-hop. Seeing it also takes a bit of naked eye to find 6th-magnitude 38 Leonis
patience, so be prepared and take your Minoris about 2½ to the northeast. You’ll
time. Using the chart on page 195, start know if you have found it, because the star
by looking about 10 (a fist width) above has an 8th-magnitude companion about
3rd-magnitude Delta (d) Leonis (Zosma) in 100 east-southeast.
the Lion’s hindquarters for the pair of Using low power, center 38 Leonis Min-
roughly 3rd-magnitude stars marking the oris, then move about 400 east-northeast to
right hind foot of the Great Bear: Nu (n) 9th-magnitude Star a. Now move 300 east-

and X; (x) Ursae Majoris. About 5 west of northeast to similarly bright Star b. Next

Nu is a ~1 -wide arc of three suns, oriented make a 500 swing southeast, to 7.5-
north-northwest to south-southeast; the magnitude Star c. A careful 1 sweep fur-
brightest star in the arc is 3.8-magnitude ther to the southeast will bring you to

45
9th-magnitude Star d. NGC 3432 lies about
150 southeast of Star d and 50 west-
southwest of 9th-magnitude Star e.
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 3432 is a truly
mesmerizing sight, appearing as a slender
50 -long streak of light, oriented northeast
to southwest, with a bright and sharp cen-
tral glow that seems to stab three tightly
knit field stars: a nice pair to the southwest
and an equally bright sun to the east. It
looks as if the galaxy were a needle being
pushed gently into black sequined fabric.
The stars help guide the eye to the galaxy’s
bright core. At 60 and averted vision, the though, once again, unevenly, with the
“needle’s” light tapers unevenly away from northeast tip being brighter than the
the center, being brightest on the south- section closest to the core. That brightening
west end. At 94, the galaxy holds up well. at the northeast tip coincides with the pos-
The 20 -long core seems faintly mottled, ition of MAC 1052þ3640, though it is not
with a knot just north of the star bordering visible at all as a distinct feature in a 5-inch
the core to the east. From this knot, the telescope, just an extremely small enhance-
galaxy fades away toward the northeast, ment of faint light.
The Secret Deep 199

46
Secret Deep 46
(NGC 3675)
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
76 37
T
75
70
74
Ursa Major
µ
Bootes 56
Canes Venatici NGC 3675 47

46
46
NGC 3675
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SA(s)b)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 11h 26.1m

Dec: þ43 350
Mag: 10.2
Dim: 6.20 3.20
14, 1788] Very bright, considerably
large, much extended, mer., bright
nucleus, 60 long, 20 wide chevelure.
(H I-194)
n g c : Very bright, considerably large,

very much extended toward about
position angle 0 , very suddenly much
brighter in the middle to a nucleus,
many stars preceding.
n g c 3675 i s a f a i r ly b r i g h t s p i r a l Today we know this spiral system, which

galaxy about 3 east-southeast of 3.5- is receding from us at 770 km/sec, is about
magnitude Psi (c) Ursae Majoris, the as large as our Milky Way; it spans 100,000
Great Bear’s right hind knee. As Herschel light-years of space and has a total mass of
noticed, the object’s core is very bright, some 110 billion Suns. The galaxy belongs
making it a good object for small-telescope to the nearby Leo Spur, which also
users to hunt down – especially since it includes the flocculent spiral galaxy NGC
shares the same low-power field with 5th- 2841 (Hidden Treasure 49) in Ursa Major.
magnitude 56 Ursae Majoris. In the nine- We see NGC 3675 tilted nearly 30 from
teenth century, Admiral William Henry edge on, so the galaxy’s remarkably high
Smyth had an interesting description of dust content (which can be seen well in
this “pale, white” glow whose “axis of silhouette against the near side of the disk)
extension is preceded by stardust,” no has caused some confusion over the years
doubt a reference to the “many stars” that as to the galaxy’s type.
Herschel saw preceding it. Smyth also said Grand design spiral galaxies display at
the “ill defined surface . . . has the appear- least two well-defined and magnificent
ance of a flat stratum seen obliquely.” arms. But early images of NGC 3675
The Secret Deep 201

46
showed it to be an exception, sporting only can be identified in the near-infrared (J, H,
one. In a 2002 Astrophysical Journal Sup- and K bands) – and NGC 3675 displays a
plement (vol. 143, p. 73), Paul B. Eskridge strong bar in the near-infrared. Galaxies
(Ohio State University) and his colleagues with optically hidden bars, they explain,
found that later images showed not only are most often systems with relatively
the galaxy’s bright nucleus embedded in short, high-contrast, infrared bars that are
an elliptical bulge but also a low-contrast “hidden in the optical by patchy fore-
bar and multiple arms in a clear interarm ground extinction and complex inner arm
disk. Deeper images also showed the structure.” They note that it’s also notori-
galaxy’s narrow, tightly wound spirals ously difficult to detect bars in edge-on
forming an inner pseudo-ring, which galaxies based on imaging data alone,
has been followed for another full “thus we are not troubled by the disagree-
winding outside the ring. Beyond that, the ment for these galaxies.” Although NGC
galaxy’s outer arms are very patchy and 3675 is not edge on, it is highly inclined.
filamentary. “Another issue with identifying bars in
Hubble Space Telescope optical images optical vs. near-infrared light,” Eskridge
(V and R bands) and ground-based optical explains, “is that bars are mainly com-
images (B, V, and R bands) have now posed of old stars. B-band images are
revealed these features sans bar in even really good at showing the distribution of
more intricate detail. In the HST image, young stars and dust. H-band images are
for instance, the spiral pattern appears much better at showing the distribution of
unlike a grand-design spiral and more like the older stars.”
the flocculent arms in NGC 2841 or NGC The authors disagree, however, with
488 (Secret Deep 3), consisting of a large claims found in the recent literature that
number of individual spiral fragments in all or nearly all bright spirals are barred in
close concert with rich segments of spiral the near-infrared. They do find that nearly
dust lanes out to large distances. The cen- 50 percent of galaxies classified as
tral bulge in NGC 3675, however, is smaller unbarred in the 1994 Carnegie Atlas of Gal-
than those in NGC 488 or in NGC 2841. axies are strongly barred in the near-
The very few knots in the arms of NGC infrared, with late-type spirals (Sc-Sm)
3675 are presumed to be HII regions, having essentially the same bar fraction
though they are poorly resolved. The poor as early-type spirals (Sa-Sb). Thus, while
resolution into HII regions and stars shows deep optical images show NGC 3675 as a
that the current rate of star formation is normal SA(s)b-type spiral, in the near
low. And while the HST and ground-based infrared, it’s an SB(r)a barred spiral.
optical images showed a bulge component Finding NGC 3675 is a cinch. Just use the
with the same position angle as the disk, chart on page 200 to locate Psi (c) Ursae
they revealed no signature of a bar. Majoris, which is a little more than 7
In a 2000 Astronomical Journal paper southwest of Chi (w) Ursae Majoris. From
(vol. 119, p. 536), however, Eskridge and Psi, use your unaided eyes or binoculars to
his colleagues argue that while optical find 5th-magnitude 56 Ursae Majoris. NGC
images of galaxies might show no bar, they 3675 is only 350 east-northeast of 56 Ursae

46
N
Ursa Major
NGC 3675
E W
56
1˚
Majoris. Use the chart on this page to iden-

tify the galaxy’s exact location. S-shaped spiral structure to the disk,
At 33 NGC 3675 was a big, bright, and which is otherwise faintly mottled.
quite obvious 40 -long ellipse, oriented As reported in IAU Circular No. 4021, on
north–south, which swells with averted December 2, 1984, UT, Japanese amateur
vision. The galaxy is so bright that Brian Kaoru Ikeya of Shizuoka visually discovered
Skiff and Christian Luginbuhl saw it as a a possible 13th-magnitude supernova in
“faint patch” through a 2.5-inch telescope. NGC 3675 during one of his extragalactic
At 60 the nuclear region is very bright supernova patrols. Ikeya made further
and extremely starlike in a tiny central observations on December 3 and 8, which
lens. The disk is a large and uniform ellip- again showed the object shining at 13th
tical glow with a dim sun punctuating its magnitude. The position of the possible
southwestern flank. With time, I could also supernova (SN 1984R) was measured by
suspect some enhancements in the disk H. Shibasaki on an exposure on December
along the major axis, and a possible knot 4 UT with the 0.5-m Schmidt at the Dodaira
about 20 north of the nuclear region. At station. Unfortunately, following Ikeya’s
94, the core remains very stellar, and discovery no spectra were ever made of this
I traced out what appeared to be an star, so its type remains unknown.
The Secret Deep 203

47
Secret Deep 47
(NGC 3893)
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
76 37
T
75 70
74
Ursa Major
NGC 3893
µ
Bootes 56
Canes Venatici 47

47
47
NGC 3893
Type: Mixed Spiral Galaxy (SAB(rs)c)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 11h 48.6m

Dec: þ48 430
Mag: 10.5
Dim: 4.20 2.30
1788] Pretty bright, pretty large, round,
much brighter in the middle. (H II-738)
n g c : Bright, pretty large, round,

much brighter in the middle.
n g c 3893 i s a s o m e w h at b r i g h t on. Old plates showed it as a small (40 )

and obvious spiral galaxy about 1 north- object, sporting a bright nucleus in a short
northeast of Chi (w) Ursae Majoris, a beau- bar inside a small pseudo-ring. But the
tiful reddish star in the rear of the right spiral pattern of NGC 3893 is magnificent,
hindquarter of the Great Bear. It belongs one of the grand-design type, formed by
to the Ursa Major Cluster of galaxies – a two main, knotty, filamentary spirals –
large spur of spiral systems in the Ursa both of high surface brightness – that wind
Major Cloud of galaxies, which is as near around the core for at least half a turn from
as, and on one side of, the Virgo Cluster, their place of origin near the center. Both
stretching across nearly 6 million light- arms sport numerous, large HII regions,
years. though the southernmost one appears
It’s moderately large, extending about stronger than the northern one.
60,000 light-years. The size is slightly In 2001, Mexican astronomers Hector
smaller than the largest galaxies in the Virgo M. Hernandez-Toledo and Ivanio Puerari
Cluster such as NGC 4321 and NGC 4303. announced that, while their multi-color
NGC 3893’s stars shine with a total lumi- broad-band images of the galaxy show a
nosity of 20 billion Suns and the entire beautiful spiral structure with knotty blue
system has a mass of about 50 billion Suns. features all along the arms, they could
It’s receding from us at nearly 1,000 km/sec. not identify signs of a barred structure,
In images, the galaxy is a stunning thus classifying it as an Sc-type spiral.
barred spiral system seen 30 from edge But in a 2002 Astronomy & Astrophysics
The Secret Deep 205

47
(vol. 387, p. 821), a year later, O. Garrido towards NGC 3893 is apparently bifur-
(Observatoire Astronomique Marseille- cated, forming an external arc/shell-like
Provence) and colleagues announced that feature. Radio images show extended HI
their Ha image of this late-type spiral did emission encompassing both galaxies; the
display a small central bar. They also envelope is elongated from southeast to
found a strong warp to the disk, probably northwest, parallel to the line that joins
due to the interaction with its 13th- the nuclei of both galaxies. This long radio
magnitude companion NGC 3896, a pecu- tail, or broad arm, appears to connect the
liar barred dwarf lenticular 40 to the two galaxies. The team also detected non-
southeast. circular rotation in both galaxies. “These
The bar in NGC 3893 was also detected motions,” they say, “can be associated to
in the 2002 Ohio State University (OSU) perturbations due to the encounter and, in
Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey, a near-infrared the case of the main galaxy, to the presence
imaging survey of a well-defined sample of of a structure such as spiral arms.”
205 bright, nearby spiral galaxies. The To find NGC 3893, use the chart on page
near-infrared image of the galaxy shows a 204 to locate Chi Ursae Majoris. Now
centrally condensed, slightly elliptical move about 450 north-northwest to 7th-
bulge, from which emerges a grand-design magnitude Star a. NGC 3893 is a little more
two-armed spiral pattern. The inner arms than 400 northeast of Star a and about 100
are high-contrast, rich with star-forming north-northeast of the variable star HT
knots, and have obvious inner dust lanes. Ursae Majoris.
After winding for ~250 , they become At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 3893 is a
broad, low-surface-brightness outer arms largely uniform oval glow about 20 in extent
that can be traced for another ~100 before with a small, but highly condensed circular
fading into the sky.
In a 2008 Astronomy & N
Astrophysics (vol. 466, pp. NGC 3893
Ursa Major
847–854), Isaura Fuentes- 3896
Carrera (at the time at

3906 HT a
the Universidade de São
Paulo, Brazil) and col-
leagues compare the kin- 3949
ematics and dynamics of
E W
NGC 3893 and NGC 3896
to those of M 51 and NGC
5193 (Secret Deep 67). 3877
Such pairs are formed of

a large spiral galaxy and
a less massive compan- 60
1˚
ion, with some sign of
interaction. The arm of
S
NGC 3896 that stretches

47
core just 30 northeast of an 11th-
magnitude star. The core stands out first,
appearing extremely starlike (so think
“small”). The galaxy’s disk suddenly blos-
soms with averted vision.
The view at 60 remains much the
same, though the disk is much more obvi-
ous, appearing as a 40 20 spindle with a
soft oval core and fainter arc-like exten-
sions. Supernova hunters take note: a mag-
nitude 12.5 star appears projected against
the galaxy’s northwestern flank.
At 94, the core shrinks to a tiny star-
light point in a soft oval lens. Although
I found the view difficult (the intensity of images show. Also, visually, the northern
the disk appears “fainter”), I could with arm seems to suddenly end at the 12.5-
time make out the two major spiral arms magnitude star.
wrapping tightly around the core. A very Finally, I surprised myself by seeing,
elegant and impressive sight. That I can quite impressively, the galaxy’s 13th-
see the arms in a 5-inch should not be magnitude companion. But this is obvi-
surprising, given their high surface bright- ously a mistake in the object’s brightness,
ness. Although I could not make out any since it appears more like 11th magnitude.
HII regions, or other mottling (the arms to I could resolve its bright nucleus and
me just appear smooth), the southern one slightly oval disk. Herschel also discovered
is more intense than the northern one, as NGC 3892, cataloging it as H II-739.
The Secret Deep 207

48
Secret Deep 48
(NGC 3953)
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
76 37
T 75
70
74 Ursa Major
NGC 3953
µ
Bootes 56
Canes Venatici 47

48
48
NGC 3953 = M109?
Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy (SB(r)bc)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 11h 53.8m

Dec: þ52 200
Mag: 10.1
Dim: 6.00 3.20

1789] Considerably bright,
irregularly faint, extended, milky,
easily resolvable, large, bright
nucleus with faint branches 7 or 80
long, 5 or 60 wide. (H V-45)
n g c : Considerably bright, large,

extended toward position angle
about 0 , very suddenly brighter
in the middle to a large mottled
nucleus.
n g c 3953 i s a p r e t t y, b a r r e d - as M104, on evidence he found in a

spiral galaxy nearly 1.5 south of 2nd- manuscript addition to Messier’s own
magnitude Gamma (g) Ursae Majoris (Phad) copy of the Connaissance des Temps for
and a little more than 1 south-southwest 1784. It wasn’t until 1953, however, that
of the more famous 10th-magnitude M109 the famous Harvard astronomical histor-
(NGC 3992). Its position near both Gamma ian Owen Gingerich added NGC 3992 as
Ursae Majoris and M109 has made it an M109, based on a note he found that
object of controversy. Messier made to M97 (the Owl Nebula);
As is well known, the final catalogue of without knowledge of this observation,
nebulae and star clusters compiled by William Herschel rediscovered this
the French astronomer Charles Messier object on April 12, 1789, cataloging it as
(1730–1817) contained only 103 objects. H IV-61.
The remaining seven objects (one a But is NGC 3992 M109? Henk Bril, an
duplication) were later additions. Begin- active member of the Royal Dutch Associ-
ning in 1921, French astronomy popular- ation for Meteorology and Astronomy and
izer Camille Flamarrion added NGC 4594 2005 recipient of its prestigious Dr. J. van der
The Secret Deep 209

48
Bilt Award, does not think so. Proof, he the Local Supercluster at the junction of
says, can be found in J. Fortin’s 1795 filamentary structures. In particular, the
Atlas Céleste, which was edited by Joseph researchers say, the cluster lies behind
Jérome le Français de Lalande and Pierre the long axis of the filament of galaxies
Méchain, who discovered the nebula we live in, the so-called Coma–Sculptor
attributed to M109. Bril notes that on Cloud.
Plate 6 of the atlas and also on Plate 7, NGC 3953 is inclined 29 from edge on,
“a nebula is drawn exactly on the position so we see it more obliquely than M109.
of NGC 3953,” our Secret Deep target! It’s a fairly large system measuring about
Bril notes that although NGC 3953 is 90,000 light-years in true linear extent
only 0.3-magnitude fainter than M109, with a total mass of 14 billion Suns. If
it is also about 1.50 smaller, so it has we could see its form more face-on, it
a slightly higher surface brightness, might have the appearance of our own
making it an easier target through small Milky Way. NGC 3953 is receding from
telescopes. view at 1,052 km/sec. In short exposures,
“There is another scenario possible.” Bril the galaxy shows a small, very bright
explains: “Méchain made his discovery on nucleus in a bright inner lens (more of
March 12, 1781. Messier observed it on an oval than a bar). The galaxy’s sharply
March 24, 1781. But did he actually? angled disk comprises several filamen-
Maybe Messier did observe (and as a tary, knotty arms near the limit of
matter of fact discover) NGC 3992, but resolution. Deeper images show two char-
mixed it up with Méchain’s observation acteristic thin (shock-induced) dust lanes
twelve nights earlier.” may be present in the central disk, which
Bril’s more detailed account appears in harbors a low-luminosity active galactic
the March 2007 issue of the Dutch astron- nucleus (AGN).
omy magazine Zenit, and the July/August To find this wonder, use the chart on
2007 issue of the French Astronomie page 208 to locate Gamma (g) Ursae
Magazine. Majoris in the Big Dipper’s Bowl, then
Whether NGC 3953 is the real M109, it switch to the chart on this page. From
is a “companion” to M109; both belong to Gamma, try locating M109 first, which is
the Ursa Major Cluster of galaxies, some a moderately bright and compact glow
50 million light-years distant. The cluster only 400 east-southeast of Gamma. From
is not to be confused with the Ursa Major M109, you can either try making a slow
Cloud of galaxies, to which the cluster and careful sweep 1¼ southwest to
belongs. In a 1996 Astronomical Journal, NGC 3953 (which will appear similar to
R. Brent Tully (University of Hawaii) and NGC 3992 in brightness and size), or you
his colleagues explain the difference can make smaller star-hops. From
between the two in more detail. In brief, M109, move about 18 0 south-southwest
the cluster has been hard to define to 9th-magnitude Star a. Next, make a
because it lacks a concentrated core. It slow 500 sweep due south to similarly
lies in a particularly confusing part of bright Star b. NGC 3953 is about 300 west
the sky because it is in the plane of of Star b.

48
irregularities. But that
N only means it needs
more power.
At 60, the galaxy
Ursa Major is quite detailed. The
nucleus appears as a
crisp stellar point
framed by a fractured
inner lens from which
spiral arms appear to
M109 hook. The fracturing is
a caused by the bar and
the bright spiral arcs
emanating from it. The
galaxy is flanked to the
east by three equally
E W bright suns in a line,
and a 3rd-magnitude
star shines just west of
the nucleus.
b
At 94 the galaxy’s
3953
bar and central arcs are
well defined with faint
spiral wisps in the disk
wavering in and out of
view. The disk appears
lopsided, being brighter
on the eastern side, with
the southeastern part of
1˚
the disk showing the
most spiral features.
S But again, these fine
filaments waft in and
out of view.
At 33 in the 5-inch, I can fit Gamma NGC 3953 was host to two known
Ursae Majoris, M109, and NGC 3953 in the supernovae: According to IAU Circular
same field of view. The two are truly a 7683, supernova 2001dp was discovered
matched pair visually. NGC 3953 immedi- at magnitude 14.5 on August 12–13 UT,
ately has a bright circular core with a star- by M. Migliardi and E. Dal Farra, of
like point in an oblong disk 50 20 in Haute-Provence, France. The object was
extent. The core really packs a punch, 2400 west and 8100 north of the galaxy’s
while the disk has some frustrating nucleus. Spectra of SN 2001dp resemble
The Secret Deep 211

48
that of the Type Ia SN 1994D, one month
after maximum. The other supernova,
2006bp, was discovered at magnitude
16.7 by Koichi Itagaki in Yamagata,
Japan, around April 9 UT. This one was
a Type II found very young and was 6200
east and 9300 north of the center of NGC
3953.

49
Secret Deep 49
(NGC 4036)
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
a
76 37
NGC 4036
T
75 70
74 Ursa Major
µ
Bootes 56
Canes Venatici 47
The Secret Deep 213

49
49
NGC 4036
Type: Mixed Lenticular/Spiral
Galaxy (S0a/Sa)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 12h 01.4m

Dec: þ61 540
Mag: 10.7
SB: 12.7 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 3.80 1.90
March 19, 1790] Very bright, very
little extended. (H I-253)
n g c : Very bright, very large,

extended.
n g c 4036 i s a v e r y c o n d e n s e d a n d linear extent of 90,000 light-years and a

obvious lenticular galaxy a little north of total luminosity of 26 billion Suns. Thus,
the midpoint between the 2nd-magnitude it’s the same size as NGC 5866. But since
stars Alpha (a) Ursae Majoris and Delta (d) NGC 5688 is 30 million light-years closer,
Ursae Majoris in the Big Dipper’s Bowl. It’s we see that galaxy shining more promin-
only about 1 magnitude fainter than the ently in the sky.
famous lenticular galaxy NGC 5866 in NGC 4036 was first classified as a clean,
Draco and forms a noninteracting pair early type (S0) lenticular – a lens-shaped
with the small (20 ), 11th-magnitude face- galaxy with a central bulge and disk but no
on spiral galaxy NGC 4041 just 150 to spiral arms and interstellar material. But
the north-northeast. At the mean redshift later images revealed intensity irregular-
distance of 80 million light-years, the pro- ities in the disk, so it was not a typically
jected linear separation of the pair is about smooth S0 galaxy. These “irregularities”
400,000 light-years. turned out to form a tightly wound spiral
This disk-dominated lenticular belongs pattern. Indeed, deep images also revealed
to the Ursa Major Cloud of galaxies, whose three clearly defined dust lanes threading
hundreds of members are glued together through the disk in an embryonic spiral
by the bond of gravity and whizzing away pattern and a low-contrast nuclear ring.
from us at 1,445 km/sec. It’s a nearly edge- The galaxy also shows an asymmetry,
on system (18 inclination) that has a true owing to the dust pattern, so that the south

49
side seems dimmer (redder) than the 400 northeast of the nucleus along a pos-
north. The dust lanes are not as regular as ition angle of 70 ; this could be a pos-
those in a pure lenticular type, indicating sible ionization cone of the kind often
that NGC 4036 is a mixed lenticular/spiral seen in Seyfert galaxies. “This is one of
(S0/Sa) form. In a 2001 Astronomy Letters the few LINERs in our sample,” the
(vol. 27, pp. 15–24), Olga Sil’chenko and researchers say, “whose emission-line
V. V. Vlasyuk report that they found evi- morphology can possibly be termed
dence for a tilted circumnuclear stellar disk ‘linear’ in some sense, but it seems that
with a radius of about 1,600 light-years. this morphology is in the plane of the
NGC 4036 has also been classified inclined dusty disk, rather than perpen-
as harboring a low-ionization nuclear dicular to it.”
emission-line region (LINER) – a type of To find this interesting galaxy, use the
gaseous region common in the centers of chart on page 213 to locate Alpha (a)
galaxies that have been shown to be a low- Ursae Majoris. Then use your unaided
energy type of active galactic nuclei (AGN) eyes or binoculars to find Pair a – two
– like that of a Seyfert at its lowest level of 6th-magnitude stars a little more than
activity. A Seyfert galaxy is one with a small 3 east-northeast of Alpha. Center the
and bright nucleus that behaves like a low- southernmost star in Pair a in your tele-
energy quasar, jetting matter episodically scope at low power, then switch to the
into space. The production of the energy chart on page 216. Now make a slow 1
feeding the jet probably comes from a sweep east-southeast to 7th-magnitude
supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s Star b. Next, swing 550 northeast to 6.5-
heart. magnitude Star c. Just 250 east-southeast
While LINER emission exists in the is a pair of 8th- and 9th-magnitude stars
nuclei of a large fraction of luminous gal- (d). Now move another 550 east-northeast
axies, their connection with AGN has to a 200 -wide arc of three 6.5- to 7.5-
remained elusive. In a 2000 Astrophysical magnitude suns (e); the stars in Arc e
Journal (vol. 532, pp. 323–339) Richard get progressively fainter to the southeast.
W. Pogge (Ohio State University) and col- NGC 4036 is about 350 northeast of the
leagues presented Hubble Space Telescope center star in Arc e.
narrowband emission-line images of the At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 4036’s very
central regions of NGC 4036 and 13 other small but bright core pops immediately
galaxies with LINER nuclei. NGC 4036’s into view. Once spotted, the galaxy’s 40 -
nucleus proper resembles an ellipse with long lens (oriented east–west) appears to
a major axis of 0.600 along a position angle burn forth about 100 east of two roughly
of 45 . 11th-magnitude stars. Be sure to employ
One of HST’s unsharp-masked images averted vision, which will make the
reveals wisps of dust in a disk-like con- galaxy’s disk more obvious. The galaxy is
figuration surrounding the nucleus on all very obvious at 60, displaying a bright
scales probed. The core also has a com- core surrounded by a smooth spindle of
plex filamentary and clumpy structure, light. But with averted vision, I suspected
with several “tentacles” extending up to enhancements at the ansae of the lens.
The Secret Deep 215

49
N
4041
Ursa Major
NGC 4036
e
d c a
E W
3945
1˚
At 94, the galaxy’s nucleus snaps into

view as an extremely sharp stellar point
immersed in a circular nebulous haze
within a faint spindle. It may have been
an illusion, but on one night the galaxy’s
north side did indeed seem brighter than
the south side, though I have to wonder.
See what you think.
By the way, despite its early type, NGC
4036 has produced at least one known
supernova. IAU Circular 1017 reports that
K. Itagaki (Teppo-cho, Yamagata, Japan,
0.60-m f/5.7 reflector) discovered a 16th-
magnitude supernova (SN 2007gi) on mul-
tiple unfiltered 15-second CCD frames
taken around July 31.49 UT. The new to NGC 4041. Small-telescope users may
object was located about 2300 west and 1100 need to use moderate magnification to
south of the nucleus. see this little spiral, which appears as a
When you’re finished observing NGC small (30 ) and dim cometary glow with a
4036, be sure to move 150 north-northeast starlike core.

50 & 51
Secret Deep 50 & 51
(NGC 4051 & 4111)
Draco
Camelopardalis
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E Draco W
a
76 37
T
75
70
74 Ursa Major
µ
Bootes 56
NGC 4051 47
Canes Venatici
NGC 4111 67
The Secret Deep 217

50 & 51
50
NGC 4051
Type: Mixed Spiral Galaxy
(SAB(rs)bc)
Con: Ursa Major
RA: 12h 03.2m

Dec: þ44 320
Mag: 10.2
SB: 13.5 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 5.50 4.60
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed February 6, 1786]

Considerably bright, irregularly round,
considerably bright nucleus in the middle,
with extensive chevelure, 50 in diameter.
(H IV-56)
n g c : Bright, very large, extended, very

gradually, then very suddenly, much brighter
in the middle to an 11th-magnitude star.
51
NGC 4111
Type: Lenticular Galaxy (SA0(r))
Con: Canes Venatici
RA: 12h 07.1m

Dec: þ43 040
Mag: 10.7
SB: 12.1 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 4.40 0.90
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed January 14,

1788] Extended, very bright nucleus and
faint branches. (H I-195)
n g c : Very bright, pretty small,

much extended toward position angle 151 .

50 & 51
n g c 4051 a n d n g c 4 1 1 1 a r e t w o first to noticed NGC 4051’s peculiar
pretty galaxies near 5.5-magnitude double nucleus, reporting in 1926 that it showed
star 67 Ursae Majoris, which is about 5½ a “planetary nebula type” emission-line
southeast of 4th-magnitude Chi (w) Ursae spectrum.
Majoris in the Hind Leg of the Great Bear – At the time when Hubble was examining
in the far southeastern portion of that con- plates, NGC 4051 appeared as a “nebula”
stellation near Canes Venatici. Both belong with a very small, extremely bright nucleus
to the Ursa Major Cluster of galaxies and or star in a lens-shaped bulge, from which
are receding from us at 700 and 807 km/ two main arms branched. It was not
sec, respectively. Let’s start with bright and known at the time, nor was it in Seyfert’s
obvious mixed spiral NGC 4051, the day, that the galaxy’s peculiar nucleus was
brightest galaxy within 2 of 67 Ursae the site of a rapidly flickering active galac-
Majoris, beating out NGC 4111 by 0.5 tic nucleus (AGN) – one that was drawing
magnitude. energy from a tiny volume of space
and releasing more energy than can be
NGC 4051 accounted for by the number of stars pre-
Like the more famous spiral galaxy M77 in sent in the region.
Cetus, NGC 4051 is a classical Seyfert, one The beginning of the modern work on
of the original six galaxies listed in a 1943 Seyfert galaxies and related AGN objects
paper by their namesake Carl K. Seyfert (quasars are, for instance, maxi-Seyferts)
(1911–1960). In that paper, Seyfert dis- was made in a seminal paper by Lodewijk
cussed Mount Wilson spectra and direct Woltjer in 1959, and research on AGN on
plates of a class of galaxies (mostly spirals many wavelength fronts has expanded
and barred spirals) known – initially to exponentially ever since. NGC 4051 is one
Edward Faith at Lick Observatory in 1908 of the lowest luminosity Seyferts known,
and Vesto Slipher at Lowell Observatory in with conspicuously narrow emission lines
1917 – to have “stellar or starlike” (unre- in its spectrum. But before we look more
solved) nuclei and stronger and broader closely at NGC 4501’s well-studied
emission lines in their spectra than those nucleus, let’s now zoom in on its overall
in normal galaxies. Although Seyfert was morphology.
not the first to notice the peculiar nature The galaxy is moderately large,
of these extragalactic nuclei, his systematic extending 80,000 light-years in true phys-
work on them made this galaxy class a ical extent and has a total mass of nearly
popular object of study in the mid- 120 billion Suns. We see it at an inclination
twentieth century and beyond. of about 40 , shining with a total luminos-
Actually, it was American astronomer ity of about 20 billion Suns. Short expos-
Edwin P. Hubble (1899–1953) – most noted ures at large telescopes reveal an intense
for his observations that proved that galax- starlike (unresolved) nucleus, which has
ies are “island universes” beyond our been interpreted as a mini-quasar at the
Milky Way and for his discovery of the center of the galaxy. Deeper images show
linear relationship between a galaxy’s dis- the nucleus embedded in an elliptical
tance and its velocity (Hubble’s law) – who bulge threaded by a prominent bar aligned
The Secret Deep 219

50 & 51
with the galaxy’s major axis. Two dominant At the highest available resolution,
arms emerge from the ends of the bar. the central core splits into a small-scale
There are also two fainter arms. One double separated by 0.400 roughly in the
emerges from the west end of the bulge. east–west direction. There is also a jet-like
The other appears to form via the bifurca- emission extending toward the southwest.
tion of the southern main arm. In 2001, Luis C. Ho (The Observatories of
The outer spiral structure is nearly of the the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
grand-design type, having only several Pasadena, CA) and James S. Ulvestad
major arms rather than a series of frag- (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
ments. Many HII (star-forming) regions also detected a fainter, oppositely directed
dapple NGC 4051’s spiral arms, the largest component to the northeast. The total
of which can be decently resolved. Deep linear extent of this “jet” is about 4,000
imaging has also revealed compact HII light-years, and it lies along position angle
regions within 1500 of the nucleus. Detailed 41 perpendicular to the galaxy’s major
optical emission-line and continuum con- axis. Radio observations also show that
tour maps of the inner few arcseconds sur- the southwest side of the galaxy is the
rounding the nucleus suggest that the nearer side, so that the jet is projected
Seyfert activity may have been triggered against the side of the galaxy farthest
tidally through interactions with NGC from us.
4013, an 11th-magnitude galaxy about 1 This galaxy’s nuclear region (500 –1000 ) has
to the southwest, which is separated from also been observed with all the major X-ray
NGC 4051 by ~800,000 light-years in phys- satellites, which have detected variability
ical space. of NGC 4051’s AGN on a number of differ-
Infrared observations show a cold and a ent time scales: from those as short as a
very intense warm component to the disk. few hundred seconds to tens of minutes.
The cold component is most likely emis- The variations are most likely due to cen-
sion by dust heated by young OB stars in tral (nuclear) activity plus an extended
star-forming regions. The warm compon- starburst component.
ent is probably due to dust in the form of It’s long been suspected that the central
small grains heated either directly by the engine of an AGN is a supermassive black
nucleus or by very massive stars in circum- hole. The one at the core of NGC 4051 is
nuclear starbursts. Indeed, the Kuiper Air- estimated to have an emission region of
borne Observatory detected extended far- about 2 light-days across and a black hole
infrared emission, which suggests that mass of about 1.7 million Suns. A 2007
NGC 4051 has a modest outgoing starburst. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astro-
The radio structure of the nuclear region physics (CFA) press release announced
is known to be quite complex, having three yet another astounding finding: The black
clearly distinct components: fine nuclear hole at the center of the NGC 4051 galaxy
emission, extranuclear (diffuse emission emits a hot wind of chemical elements,
associated with the spiral arms of the including elements such as carbon and
galaxy), and a large-scale radio emission oxygen that are critical for life. The hot
associated with the entire galaxy disk. wind originates very close to a black hole,

50 & 51
at a distance about five times the size of
N
Neptune’s orbit – closer than previously
thought. Ursa Major
Winds from black holes have been NGC 4051
clocked at speeds of up to 4 million miles
per hour. Although speedy, the wind from
NGC 4051’s black hole is weaker than
expected and ejects only 2 to 5 percent of Canes
accreting material. Over thousands of Venatici
years, however, the chemical elements E W

such as carbon and oxygen in those winds a
can travel immense distances, eventually b
becoming incorporated into the cosmic 4111
67
clouds of gas and dust, called nebulae, that
will form new stars and planets. 4143
“One of the big questions in cosmology
is how much influence massive black holes 1˚
exert on their surroundings,” said Martin
S
Elvis of CfA, who co-led the team of
astronomers studying the black hole. “This
research helps answer that question.”
Thus, the press release explained, “black
holes are not the ultimate destroyers that
are often portrayed in popular culture.
Instead, warm gas escaping from the
clutches of enormous black holes could
be one source of the chemical elements
that make life possible.”
To find this extragalactic wonder, use the
chart on page 217 to locate 67 Ursae
Majoris and center it in your telescope at
low power, then switch to the chart on this
page. First, note that 67 Ursae Majoris is
the brightest star in a 250 -wide W-shaped
asterism, oriented northeast to southwest.
Now center the northernmost star in the
W-shaped asterism, 9.5-magnitude Star a. With averted vision, the galaxy sports a very
NGC 4051 is 1¼ north and slightly east of stellar core in a small, circular inner lens
that star. surrounded by a nonuniform outer ellipse
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 4051 appears as oriented northwest to southeast.
a very bright and obvious glow (30 ) immedi- At 60 the galaxy’s form is much
ately northwest of an 11th-magnitude star. enhanced (enlarging to 50 ), and its outer
The Secret Deep 221

50 & 51
disk has mottling or irregularities. With in a peanut-shaped bulge. The edge-on
time, however, and much visual coaxing, disk is smooth and sliced cleanly through
I could make out quite distinctly an arc of a by a dust lane.
spiral arm to the southwest – the more Early spectroscopy of the galaxy’s stars
dominant one as seen in photographs. revealed them to be old. Those in the red-
The northeastern arm (or a fragment of dish nuclear disk are consistent with those
it) could also be suspected. in the main galaxy, so it’s possible that
At 94, the galaxy’s outer disk fades, but both the core and disk formed at the same
the arms become more enhanced. I could time. However, in a 1997 Astrophysical
not only clearly see the galaxy’s two major Journal (vol. 113, p. 950), David Fisher
spiral arms but also that the southwestern (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, the Neth-
side of the disk is more prominent. With erlands) notes that it’s also possible that
averted vision and time, once again, the stellar disk is a more recent addition
I believe I could also differentiate the spiral to NGC 4111.
branches on the southwest side. Larger Surrounding the bright, compact
scopes will show this mottled texture to nucleus is a dust lane oriented perpen-
be HI regions and dust lanes in the galaxy’s dicular to the galaxy’s plane, causing a dra-
S-shaped inner spiral arms. matic decrease in luminosity between the
edge of the bulge and the beginning of the
NGC 4111 disk; its morphology is suggestive of a
NGC 4111 is a small but fascinating edge- polar ring having a radius of 300 , which is
on lenticular galaxy in Canes Venatici, also responsible for the galaxy’s “peanut-
about 5 west-northwest of Beta (b) shaped” bulge.
Canum Venaticorum (Chara) and only 550 In a 2000 Astronomy & Astrophysics
due east of 67 Ursae Majoris. Through Supplement Series (vol. 141, pp. 1–22)
backyard telescopes, it’s the brightest of R. Michard (Observatoire de la Côte
four galaxies in a 120 -area of sky. Its other d’Azur, Nice, France) presented his study
companions are 14th-magnitude NGC of the color distribution of 12 lenticular
4109 about 50 to the southwest and NGC galaxies, including NGC 4111. Of that
4117–8 (magnitudes 13 and 14.6, respect- galaxy he detected not only the “peanut-
ively) about 70 to the east-northeast. Actu- shaped” bulge, but also an inner disk.
ally, NGC 4111 has at least five more (much “There is a small but high contrast central
fainter) companions, none of which dust pattern,” he says, “elongated along
appear to have had any tidal effects on both galaxian axes.” This suggests that the
NGC 4111 itself. peanut bulge may result from extinction
NGC 4111 is classified as a normal len- by the pattern of the overlying dust. He
ticular galaxy seen only 3 from edge on, so also found the galaxy to be surprisingly
it cuts a fine line against the night sky. In blue compared to other galaxies in his
deep images, the galaxy’s nucleus, lens, sample, especially in the disk, away from
and outer envelope are all easily visible. the central dusty bulge. “Its stellar popula-
The central region appears to be com- tion is probably younger than average,”
posed of a very small, very bright nucleus Michard concludes.

50 & 51
NGC 4111’s central dust disk has been
classified as a LINER (low-ionization
nuclear emission-line region). If so, the
AGN may be on the boundary between a
low-luminosity AGN – one that emits more
energy than can be explained purely in
terms of its star content – and that of a
normal galaxy. AGNs are believed to con-
tain material heated to several million
degrees in an accretion disk before tum-
bling into a central black hole, or being
shot away in twin jets along the central
engine’s spin axis. NGC 4111 also has a
very high rotational velocity: The velocity
difference between the galaxy’s central Under a very dark sky with averted vision,
lens and outer disk is 400 km/sec, making the galaxy’s tapered disk can be seen very
NGC 4111 one of the fastest rotators faintly, being oriented northwest to south-
known. east. As I have found with other edge-on
To find this galaxy, return to 67 Ursae galaxies at low to moderate magnifica-
Majoris and center it in your telescope at tions, the length of the system appears
low power, then switch to the chart on exaggerated. Our eyes like to extend lines
page 221. NGC 4111 is 550 due east of 67 and this is what happens when a needle of
Ursae Majoris, about 40 southwest of 8.5- light is perceived against the starry dark-
magnitude Star b. NGC 4111 and 67 Ursae ness. The illusion breaks down at 94,
Majoris will fit in the same field of view when the galaxy’s extent seems to shrink
with most telescopes at low power. (a disappointment of sorts). But study the
In the 5-inch at 33, NGC 4111 looks inner lens carefully. I could see the patchy
like a small fuzzy star. What I’m seeing fragments of light and shadow that make
with direct vision is the galaxy’s very small up part of the peanut (not visible). At high
(~10 ) and very bright (like a star) core. With power the galaxy is a fantastic sight.
averted vision the galaxy swells to 20 , A brilliant bead of light burns at the
appearing as a star in a tiny lens. But with core. It resides in an eye-shaped bulge
time, and breathing, the lens tapers on with bright knots at the ansae, out of
each end into an extremely fine thread of which extend the hyperfine needle-like
light. At 60 the galaxy has a very intense, extensions of the galaxy’s edge-on disk.
quasi-stellar nucleus surrounded by a very A beautiful sight to behold and one that
bright and condensed inner core of light. tickles the imagination.
The Secret Deep 223

52
Secret Deep 52
(NGC 4147)
N
26 2
5 60
93
NGC 4147
24
11 Leo
3
Coma Berenices 6
E 20 W
Virgo
11
35
7

52
52
Kick the Can Cluster
NGC 4147
Type: Globular Cluster
Con: Coma Berenices
RA: 12h 10.1m

Dec: þ18 32.50
Mag: 10.3
Dim: 40
Dist: ~63,000 l.y.
14, 1784] Very bright, pretty large,
gradually brighter in the middle.
(H I-19)
n g c : Globular cluster, very bright,

pretty large, round, gradually
brighter in the middle, well resolved,
clearly consisting of stars.
n g c 4147 i s a s m a l l , t i g h t, a n d f a i n t location on the north celestial sphere that

globular cluster in a rather bland parcel of marks the imaginary location of a point
celestial real estate between Beta (b) Leonis 90 above the Milky Way’s plane as viewed
(Denebola), the Lion’s tail, and Melotte from Earth. NGC 4147 lies only about 13
111, the Coma Berenices Cluster (Hidden from that point. Indeed, the globular clus-
Treasure 62), just a little more than 2 ter is a small and compact object some
south-southwest of 5 Comae Berenices – 61,000 light-years above the Galactic
a magnitude 5.5 star midway between plane, 70,000 light-years from the Galactic
Denebola and the Coma Berenices Cluster; center, and 63,000 light-years from Earth,
it’s also about 2½ west-northwest of 4.5- plunging it deep into the Galaxy’s halo.
magnitude 11 Comae Berenices. You can Early studies of it were problematical
use these stars to visually triangulate to the because they suggested the cluster was
region. But be prepared to make a slow and missing significant giant branch stars. At
careful search, since the area immediately the time, this threw a monkey wrench into
surrounding the cluster is largely devoid of models of stellar evolution in globular
conspicuous stars. clusters, which have a well-populated
Coma Berenices is also the constellation giant branch and a horizontal branch as a
that harbors the North Galactic Pole: the main feature. The most prominent stars in
The Secret Deep 225

52
globular clusters should be the luminous clusters are called blue stragglers, and they
cool supergiants at the tip of the red giant have indeed been detected in NGC 4147.
branch. Instead, studies by Walter Baade This situation of rejuvenated youth
(1930) and Nicholas Mayall (1946) showed amongst the senior members of the cluster
RR Lyrae variables at maximum brightness reminds me of a 1962 episode of TV’s The
as the most prominent members. RR Lyrae Twilight Zone, called “Kick The Can.”
stars are evolved old, low-mass stars (on This moving production takes us to the
average only 40–50 times as luminous as Sunnyvale Rest Home for the Aged, where
our Sun), while red giants may release the main character, Charlie, tries to inspire
1,000–10,000 times the Sun’s luminosity. youth into his languishing companions by
But in a 1987 Publications of the Astro- playing kick the can. “All kids play that
nomical Society of the Pacific, University of game,” he says. “And the minute they stop,
Hawaii astronomer Eileen D. Friel and her they begin to grow old. It’s almost as
colleagues abolished that claim with though playing kick the can keeps them
results obtained at the 3.6-meter Canda– young.”
France–Hawaii Telescope atop Mauna In the end, Bernie and his friends play
Kea. Their photometry of the roughly kick the can and turn into youths (all
14-billion-year old cluster, which reached except for one, who refused to join the
to magnitude 22 (several magnitudes fun). In a way, we can see the blue strag-
below the main-sequence turnoff), found glers of globular clusters as the reward for
a normal color–magnitude diagram that playing “kick the can” – a celestial youth-
resembled that of a cluster with intermedi- restoring venture. Perhaps the collapsed
ate metallically – one only slightly more cores of globular star clusters are, as Twi-
metal-poor than M13, the Great Hercules light Zone creator Rod Serling reminds us
Cluster; each of NGC 4147’s members has at the end of “Kick the Can”, that the Sun-
about 1/68 as much iron (per unit hydro- nyvale Rest Home is a “dying place for
gen) as does the Sun. those who have forgotten that childhood,
The researchers also found the cluster’s maturity, and old age are curiously inter-
core out to 2000 was bluer than light from twined and not separate.”
the outer regions. In a 1991 Astrophysical Blue stragglers also tend to be more
Journal (vol. 372, p. 41), S. George Djor- massive than average stars in the cluster.
govski (Palomar Observatory) notes that As such, each tends to “sink” to the clus-
some clusters show color gradients in the ter’s center, like a ship taking on water
sense of being bluer at smaller radii (the before it plunges into the murky deep. As
“core” is not a distinguishing characteris- these stars approach “bottom,” they can
tic), and that this seems to be caused by a rebound back out until they reach a point
relative deficit of red giants in the central where they remain in a globular cluster
regions. However, subsequent studies have twilight zone. NGC 4147, in fact, appears
shown that the situation is really complex, to be a post-core-collapse cluster, where
and that there are probably several com- heating binaries have stabilized the col-
peting effects involved. These seemingly lapse, which is expected to undergo oscil-
youthful stars at the core of ancient lations even in the absence of binaries.

52
It has also been suggested that NGC spheroidal galaxy is being tidally destroyed
4147 is associated with the Sagittarius tidal by the interaction with our Galaxy, losing its
stream, and thus assumed to be a previous stellar content along a huge stream clearly
member of the Sagittarius dwarf spher- detectable in the Galactic halo. The stellar
oidal galaxy – of which globular cluster content and internal dynamics of it, how-
M54 in Sagittarius is suspected of being ever, are marginally known due to its large
its nucleus, and NGC 4147, one of its cap- dimensions (~20 10 in the sky).
tured globulars. In a 2003 Astronomy & To find this probable captured extragal-
Astrophysics (vol. 405, pp. 577–583), actic globular, use the chart on page 224 to
Michelle Bellazzini (Astronomical Obser- find 5 and 11 Comae Berenices. Then use
vatory of Bologna, Italy) and her colleagues the chart on this page. From 11 Comae
used infrared color–magnitude diagrams move a little more than 500 northwest to
from the Two Micron All Sky Survey 8th-magnitude Star a. Next move about 200
(2MASS) to search for stars belonging to further to the northwest to a roughly 80 -
that tidal stream around selected Galactic long line of three 11th-magnitude stars
globular clusters, finding a statistically sig- (b), oriented northwest to southeast.
nificant detection around NGC 4147, Now make a slow and careful 1 sweep
strongly supporting the idea that this clus- west, and ever-so-slightly south, to 9th-
ter is associated with the stream and that magnitude Star c. A short 250 hop to the
they were previous members of the Sagit- west-northwest will bring you to 8th-
tarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. magnitude Star d. NGC 4147 is a little less
Interestingly, in a 2009 Bulletin of the than 150 southwest of Star d.
American Astronomical Society (vol. 41, In the 5-inch at 33, it is a condensed
p. 205), Inese I. Evans (Princeton University/ circular glow, almost starlike; it swells
Carnegie Observatory) shares her chemical slightly with averted vision, with which
analysis of four red giants in NGC 4147 I can see a dim 20 -wide halo brighten grad-
made with the 10-meter Keck Telescope ually to a smaller core. The more time
atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii. She found their I spend looking at the cluster at low power,
metal abundances all similar to that of the more intense it appears. If you take
Milky Way field stars, with
none of the unusual abun- N
dances observed in the
Coma Berenices
Sagittarius dwarf field
or globular cluster stars of
higher metallicities. If b d
NGC 4147 is part of the a c NGC 4147
E NGC 4293 W
stellar population of the
Sagittarius dwarf spher-
oidal, it shared a similar
formation history with 11 1˚
the Milky Way. Now
S
the Sagittarius dwarf
The Secret Deep 227

52
a ragged and spiked halo, like the flaring
of light caused by astigmatism in the eye.
But these “flares” are short stubby arms
extending about 20 from the core; in order
of intensity, these arms are to the west-
northwest, south-southwest, east and
southeast. With averted vision, I can
see dark veins separating the cluster frag-
ments, which are made up of highly
concentrated aggregations of dim, unre-
solved stars. The cluster’s core takes mag-
nification well. But 180 seems to be the
maximum power for a somewhat com-
short breaks and breathe rhythmically, you fortable high-power view in the 5-inch.
may be able to see some dim suns, or group- At this power, the core appears as a
ings of stars, sparkling across the little glob- ghostly hexagon of light superimposed
ular’s face. At 60, the cluster’s core is a very on which are about a half-dozen suns
pronounced and rather intense bead of light surrounding a dim central glow, which,
surrounded by a cauliflower halo with a with concentration, seems to fragment.
curious patch or enhancement of light to The brightest stars in the cluster shine
the east-northeast. at a reasonable 14.5 magnitude; the RR
At 94, the cluster’s starlike core is sur- Lyrae stars hover around 17th (too dim
rounded by a fragmented inner core and for this scope).

53
Secret Deep 53
(NGC 4293)
N
26 2
5 60
93
NGC 4450
24
11 Leo
3
Coma Berenices 6
E 20 W
Virgo
11
35
7
The Secret Deep 229

53
53
NGC 4293
Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy (SBab)
Con: Coma Berenices
RA: 12h 21.2m

Dec: þ18 230
Mag: 10.4
Dim: 5.30 3.10
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed March 14, 1784]

Large, extended, resolvable, 6 or 70 long.
(H V-5)
n g c : Faint, very large, extended,

little brighter in the middle,
resolvable (mottled, not resolved).
n g c 4293 i s a r e a s o n a b ly b r i g h t its lens (0), but also one strong dark lane in
and elongated galaxy just north-northeast a bar (SB) that partially hides the galaxy’s
of 4.5-magnitude 11 Comae Berenices. It is very small but bright nucleus, as well as a
fairly condensed and should be a nice sight very faint pseudo outer ring (R) composed
even in small telescopes, especially at of soft, non-symmetrical arms making
moderate magnification. It belongs to the massive spiral sweeps. So to this day we
Virgo Cluster and southern extension of still see it classified as the complicated
galaxies and we see it inclined only 24 type of (R)SB(s)0/a.
from edge on. But some astronomers argued that the
In photographs, the 85,000 light-year- spiral pattern of the dust in NGC 4293 pre-
wide galaxy is quite a perplexing brew of cludes an S0 classification. The lack of
light and dark textures and features. In the resolved stars also precludes an Sb classifi-
1960s, astronomers believed that NGC cation. It does have a weak, short, broad bar
4293 might belong to the second major that threads the bulge along a diagonal. And
subdivision (Sa) of spiral systems – those spiral arms made of dust alone are known in
with predominantly small nuclei and other Sa galaxies. So, it’s more common
somewhat regular, thin, internal dust lanes today to see the galaxy classified simply as
lining thin S-shaped (s) spiral arms. Later an SBab system seen nearly edge on.
images revealed NGC 4293 not only to In a 2002 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 143,
have heavy dust lanes spread throughout p. 73) Paul B. Eskridge and colleagues

53
announced the initial release of data from emerged from the core of NGC 3079, in a
the Ohio State University Bright Spiral process, they believe, that directly relates
Galaxy Survey – a near-infrared imaging to the many-million solar-mass black hole
survey of a well-defined sample of 205 at the neck of the hourglass. Then, in
bright, nearby spiral galaxies. Their images a 2006 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 638,
of NGC 4293 reveal two very open, stubby, pp. 100–105), Paul T. Kondratko (a student
broad spiral arms emerging from the ends at the time at CfA) and colleagues
of the galaxy’s central bar. The arms can announced the successful detection of
only be followed for 45 before terminating water maser emission from the core of
abruptly at a discontinuous decline in disk NGC 4293 with the 70-meter NASA Deep
surface brightness. The arms are defined Space Network (DSN) antenna at Tidbin-
by a series of bright blobs. The outer low- billa, Australia. The position of the maser
surface-brightness disk has a position emission, measured with the Very Large
angle skewed about 45 from that of the Array (VLA) of the National Radio Astron-
boxy inner disk/bulge with traces of spiral omy Observatory, matched the optical
structure. position of the galaxy’s AGN, confirming
The roiling cores of many active galaxies its association with the accretion disk at
are difficult to see in detail because of sur- the galaxy’s core.
rounding gas and interstellar dust. This is Lincoln Greenhill at CFA notes that
especially true for highly inclined systems, though water masers (much weaker ones)
such as NGC 4293, where the line of sight are also known to arise in regions of star
cuts through such a long slant path in the formation, the VLA measurements make
galaxy. But in a January 2006 press release, association with the disk much more certain.
astronomers at the Harvard–Smithsonian NGC 4293 was also one of the objects
Center for Astrophysics (CFA) announced studied in a high-resolution radio census
a new way to better trace the structure of of 70 nearby LINERs (low-ionization
these unusual regions – namely, by meas- nuclear emission-line regions) and com-
uring millimeter and submillimeter wave- posite LINER/HII galaxies. As M. E. Filho
lengths of extragalactic water maser (Centro de Astrofı́sica da Universidade do
emission in the core of active galactic Porto, Portugal) and colleagues report in a
nuclei (AGN). “Detections of water masers 2006 Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 451,
at these wavelengths will provide a unique pp. 71–83) the work, carried out with the
new means of determining the physical Jodrell Bank Multi-Element Radio-Linked
conditions near the center of active galac- Interferometer Network (MERLIN), found
tic nuclei, where supermassive black holes a rotating compact source in NGC 4293’s
are believed to lie,” said Elizabeth core, which they believe is thermal radi-
M. L. Humphreys. ation flowing from an accretion disk that’s
Humphreys and her CfA colleagues had feeding the supermassive black hole at the
their first success with NGC 3079 – a galaxy heart of the galaxy.
50 million light-years distant in Ursa To find this intriguing galaxy, use the
Major. Over millions of years, an immense chart on page 229 to find 11 Comae Bere-
hourglass-like bubble of hot gas has nices, which is nearly 10 (a fist held at
The Secret Deep 231

53
N arm’s length) northwest of Rho
(r) Virginis. It also forms the
Coma Berenices northwest apex of a 5 -wide
NGC 4293 isosceles triangle with the simi-
4394 M85
larly bright stars 24 and 6
Comae Berenices. Center 11
a Comae in your telescope at
11
low power then switch to the
E W chart on page 232. NGC 4293
b
4450
is only 350 north and slightly
east of 11 Comae.
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC
4340
4350 4293 is a beautiful phantom
ellipse (about 30 -long) at the
1˚ end of a pretty star chain. It
is oriented east-northeast to
S west-southwest and shines
with a uniform brightness. At
60 the galaxy is a most intriguing sight.
The galaxy’s core is a diffuse lens bracketed
on either side of the major axis by two
diffuse arcs of light, separated from the
nucleus by dark matter. The view is much
the same at 94, though the core suddenly
becomes much brighter to the middle to a
tiny nucleus. With time and averted vision,
I could see hints of the galaxy’s dim and
fuzzy outer halo, making the glow swell to
50 in length. That outer disk appears
warped or unevenly bright with dim and
uneven enhancements near the ansae.

54
Secret Deep 54
(NGC 4414)
N
4
2
57
55
14 Ursa Major
Canes Venatici
46
a 61
62
NGC 4414
Leo
Minor
E 14 W
17 12 4
54
7 Leo
8
2 60
Coma Berenices 5 93
The Secret Deep 233

54
54
NGC 4414
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SA(rs)c?)
Con: Coma Berenices
RA: 12h 26.4m

Dec: þ31 130
Mag: 10.1
Dim: 4.40 3.00

1785] Very bright, large, broadly
extended, bright in the middle.
(H I-77)
n g c : Very bright, large, extended,

gradually, very suddenly much
brighter in the middle to a star.
n g c 4414 i s a m o d e r at e ly s m a l l is just about as far away as you can get

but very conspicuous lens-shaped spiral from the stellar and dusty madness of the
galaxy about 3 north and very slightly Milky Way’s plane, it is an area rich in
west of Gamma (g) Comae Berenices – just extragalactic wonders. NGC 4414 lies on
at the southwestern-most corner of Canes the western skirt of the great Coma Bere-
Venatici. The galaxy has a relatively high nices Cluster of galaxies, a turbulent array
surface brightness and should be a good of more than 3,000 galaxies (mostly ellip-
target for small-telescope users, even ticals and lenticulars), some 300 million
under suburban skies. Those using equa- light-years distant. It is the nearest massive
torial mounts can simply place Gamma in cluster of galaxies and is scattered across
their scope at low power and move the 20 million light-years of space.
scope 3 north to strike it. But NGC 4414 is only 62 million-light-
Gamma is the bright northern star in the years distant, receding from us at about
l-shaped asterism of the Coma Berenices 700 km/sec. It belongs to the Coma–Sculp-
star cluster (Melotte 111 (Hidden Treasure tor Cloud (or wall) of galaxies, which
62)), which lies only about 5 west of the includes the Local Group (home to our
North Galactic Pole – the imaginary point Milky Way). The Coma–Sculptor wall may
in the sky that marks where the rotational actually be part of a long filament of galax-
axis of our Milky Way Galaxy intersects the ies that extends from the distant Coma
north celestial sphere. Although the region Cluster, runs through the Virgo Cluster,

54
and tickles the Local Group. At
the given distance, NGC 4414
has a true linear extent of
80,000 light-years and a total
mass of 80 billion Suns.
Typical astrophotos show
NGC 4414 to have a bright dif-
fuse nucleus in a bright bulge.
But unlike the magnificent
arms in the disk of grand-
design spirals, those of NGC
4414’s are filamentary (floccu-
lent); in white light, they
appear as a complex array of
luminous, knotty fragments
that remain only partially
resolved (though well
developed). Dark lanes accompany many astronomers determined that the galaxy
of the feathery branches, which appear lies about 62 million light-years away.
well silhouetted against the near side of HST imaged the rest of the galaxy in 1999
the underlying disk. But near-infrared as part of the Hubble Heritage Project (see
images have revealed active star-forming image above). The end result of the two
regions spread over the disk. Notably, observations is a stunning look at the entire
bright regions northwest and southeast of dusty spiral galaxy. In the color image (not
the nucleus seem to form an apparent shown here) the galaxy’s central region is
ring/arm structure with a radius of 2000 typical of most spirals, containing primar-
(~6,500 light-years). Outer “arm” segments ily warm-hued older stars; the outer spiral
to the north and south extend to a radius arms, however, appear considerably bluer
of about 4000 and are continuous over 60 and younger due to ongoing star forma-
in azimuth, but they do not appear to form tion. The brightest of the young stars can
a regular two-arm spiral pattern. be seen individually at the high resolution
In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope provided by the Hubble camera. The arms
imaged NGC 4414 as part of the its Key are also very rich in clouds of interstellar
Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. dust, seen as dark patches and streaks sil-
An international team of astronomers, led houetted against the starlight.
by Wendy Freedman of the Observatories Although NGC 4414 is as bright as M91 in
of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Coma Berenices, few go after it because it is
observed parts of the galaxy on 13 different somewhat of a “bear” to find. It lies in a
occasions over the course of two months. relatively star-poor region, one especially
Based on their discovery and careful devoid of bright ones. Nevertheless, use the
brightness measurements of nine Cepheid chart on page 233 to locate 4.5-magnitude
variable stars in NGC 4414, the Key Project Gamma Comae Berenices. Then look about
The Secret Deep 235

54
halfway between it and 3rd-
N
magnitude Alpha (a) Canum
Venaticorum for a tight binocu- a
Canes Venatici
lar pair of roughly magnitude
5.5 stars (a), oriented north-
b
northeast–south-southwest
and separated by about 100 .
Once you locate this pretty
pair, center it in your telescope
then switch to the chart on
this page. From the southern E c W
0
star in the pair, move 30 west-
T
southwest to 7.5-magnitude
Star b. Then make a careful 1 d
sweep southeast to Triangle c
comprising three roughly Coma Berenices NGC 4414
0
9th-magnitude stars about 12
wide. Now make another 1
hop, this time to the southwest, 1˚
where you’ll find a pair of stars
(d) that shine between 7th and S
8th magnitude, are separated
by about 250 , and are oriented east–west.
Beware, another star (the long-period vari-
able T Canum Venaticorum) lies a bit north
and midway between these stars; it varies
between magnitudes 7.6 and 12.6 and back
every 290 days. NGC 4414 is about 350 west-
southwest of the westernmost star in Pair d.
At 33 NGC 4414 is moderately large (40 )
and surprisingly bright. Most prominent
(even with direct vision) is a bright starlike
core surrounded by a fuzzy elliptical core
embedded in a larger diffuse lens that’s
oriented northwest to southeast. At 60
the galaxy is very beautiful, appearing as
a large tapered lens with a very prominent At 94, the galaxy smoothes out and less
nucleus. The inner lens appears mottled detail is seen. The core is extremely sharp and
along the major axis and the outer lens the major axis of the galaxy seems enhanced,
has hints of knotty enhancements along as if light were glinting off it at an angle. As of
what appears to be a spiral pattern, though this writing, SN 1974g was the only known
nothing is connected. supernova to appear in this galaxy.

55 & 56
Secret Deep 55 & 56
(NGC 4435 & 4438)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
3
6
NGC 4438 NGC 4435
M86
M87
E 20 W
Virgo
11
35
7
The Secret Deep 237

55 & 56
55
The Eyes
NGC 4435
Type: Barred Lenticular Galaxy SB(s)0
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 27.7m

Dec: þ13 050
Mag: 10.8
SB: 12.7 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 3.20 2.00
Disc: William Herschel. 1784
1784] One of two, separated by
4 or 50 , bright, considerably large.
(H I-28,1)
n g c : Very bright, considerably large,

round, north preceding of 2.
56
The Eyes
NGC 4438
Type: Lenticular Galaxy SA(s)0/a
peculiar
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 27.8m

Dec: þ13 010
Mag: 10.2
Dim: 8.90 3.60
Distance: ~55 million l.y.
1784] One of two, separated by 4 or 50 ,
bright, considerably large. (H I-28,2)
n g c : Bright, extremely large, very little

extended, round, south following of 2.

55 & 56
n g c 4 4 3 8 i s a r at h e r b r i g h t a n d Kenney. “There are two mysteries: who did
obvious galaxy roughly 200 east and NGC 4438 collide with? And why is its gas
slightly north of the magnificent elliptical so disturbed?
galaxy M86 in Virgo; it is paired with Kenney sees two options for the collision
smaller and dimmer NGC 4435 immedi- (NGC 4435 or M86) and three options
ately to the northwest. M86, NGC 4438, for the gas distuption: The intrastellar
and NGC 4435 make up part of Markar- medium of NGC 4438 collided with
ian’s Chain – an intriguing arc of galaxies (1) the intracluster medium of the Virgo
at the heart of the vast Virgo Cluster of Cluster; (2) the intrastellar medium of
galaxies. Viewed together, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435; or (3) the intrastellar medium
4435 are known as The Eyes, a moniker of M86.
bestowed upon them by Leland Copeland The most obvious candidate for the
in a 1955 Sky & Telescope article, for their gravitational encounter, Kenney says, is
appearance through a telescope. For NGC 4435. But problems exist with this
some reason, The Eyes have morphed idea: (1) While NGC 4438 is madly dis-
into the Little Eyes in some popular torted, NGC 4435 shows no evidence
circles. of tidal effects; so the do-unto-others-
Of all the galaxies in Virgo, NGC 4438 is as-they-would-do-unto-you gravitational
arguably the most fascinating, at least its model doesn’t seem to apply here. (2) The
appearance in high-resolution images two galaxies have different redshifts; NGC
immediately captures the attention. Here 4435 is receding from us at 753 km/sec,
is a large and peculiar nonbarred lenticular while NGC 4438’s recessional velocity is
galaxy whose outer disk is fantastically 115 km/sec, showing that the encounter
warped and ripped into shreds. Halton is one of exceptionally high velocity.
Arp, the P. T. Barnum of modern astron- In 2008 Kenney and his colleagues used
omy, listed NGC 4438 as the 120th object the 4-meter NOAO telescope in Arizona
in his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies – a to find “monumental tendrils” of ionized
photographic sideshow starring 338 extra- hydrogen gas 400,000 light-years long (four
galactic “freaks,” namely wildly deformed Milky Way galaxies in length) connecting
galaxies that pique our curiosities. M86 and NGC 4438!
NGC 4438 is certainly an attraction, “This discovery provides some of the
being a perturbed spiral, 140 million clearest evidence yet for high-speed colli-
light-years across, seen nearly edge-on. sions between large galaxies,” Kenney says.
It’s also the most disturbed large spiral Spectroscopic observations of selected
galaxy in the Virgo Cluster. Its stars are regions along the filament, obtained with
clearly disturbed, indicating a strong gravi- the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope on Kitt Peak,
tational encounter with another galaxy. show a fairly smooth velocity gradient
But its gas is even more disturbed than between the galaxies, further supporting
that in most gravitationally interacting the collision scenario.
systems. “Something has pushed most of As in most elliptical galaxies, most of
the gas west of the stars in the galaxy and the gas within M86 is extremely hot,
heated it up,” says Yale astronomer Jeffrey and therefore radiates X-rays. While galaxy
The Secret Deep 239

55 & 56
heat up so much that it
cannot easily cool and form
stars. Further studies may
help astronomers learn
about the role of gravity in
the heating of galaxy gas,
which appears to be quite
significant.
NGC 4438 also has a cool
outflow bubble, probably
driven by its active galactic
nucleus/nuclear black hole.
In June 2000, the Space
Telescope Science Institute
gas stripping from motion through the released Hubble Space Telescope images
intracluster gas may also be occuring, the of the galaxy’s central region, which
X-ray distribution in M86 is irregular and revealed evidence for a supermassive cen-
sports a long plume, which had previously tral black hole – one that’s belching huge
been interpreted as a tail of gas that is bubbles of hot gas into space. The images
being stripped by ram pressure as M86 clearly show one bubble rising from a dark
falls into the intracluster medium of the band of dust. Another bubble, emanating
Virgo cluster. The new H-alpha image from from below the dust band, is barely visible,
Kitt Peak suggests that most of the disturb- appearing as dim blobs in the close-up
ances to the interstellar medium in M86 view in the image below.
are instead due to the collision with NGC As the supermassive black hole feeds on
4438. the dust and gas spinning around it in
Interestingly, unlike with many tidal tails what’s known as an accretion disk (the
seen between galaxies, here there are no white blob below the bubble seen in the
obvious stars in the filaments. It’s long close-up image above), some of the material
been a mystery as to why large galaxies, rapidly spews away from it in opposite
especially ellipticals like M86, stop forming directions as long jets. As the jets rush
stars. It now appears that high-velocity forward at speeds greater than 223,000
collisions (which happen naturally miles per hour (360,000 kilometers per
between large galaxies, since their large hour), they collide with slower moving
gravity pulls mass inward much faster), is matter, causing it to not only swell and
a leading mechanism. expand like a bubble but also glow. The
Kenney explains that the consequences hot bubble is much more obvious on
of such collisions are a plausible alterna- one side of the nucleus because that’s
tive to black holes in trying to explain the where one jet smashed into a denser
mystery of what process turns off star for- amount of gas; it measures 800 light-years
mation in the biggest galaxies. The kinetic across. While these outflow shells share
energy of the collision can cause the gas to similarities with those in some other

55 & 56
and his colleagues note that
spectra obtained with the Hubble
Space Telescope reveal that the
galaxy’s circumnuclear disk also
appears to be rotating around a
supermassive black hole with a
mass of some 75 million Suns.
To find this wonderful pair of
interacting galaxies, it’s best to first
locate 9th-magnitude M86. Start
by using the chart on page 237
to locate 5th-magnitude Rho (r)
Virginis, which is easy to identify,
since it is the central bright star in
a 300 -wide upside-down Y of stars
starburst or Seyfert galaxies, these in NGC (oriented north–south). About 2 to the
4438 are notable because NGC 4438 west you’ll find 6.5-magnitude 20 Virginis.
harbors neither a luminous starburst nor Center 20 Virginis in your telescope at low
a luminous active galactic nucleus. power, then switch to the chart on this
NGC 4435 is another early-type galaxy page. From 20 Virginis, make a careful
inclined 45 from face on. Its dominant sweep 2 north and a tad west until you
central bulge contains a very bright hit 8.5-magnitude M87, just 200 northwest
nucleus in a bright bar, centered on a dusty of 8th-magnitude Star a. If you’re careful,
circumnuclear disk that’s surrounded by a you shouldn’t miss M87, since it will be the
spherical envelope. first bright galaxy to enter the field in your
Pasquale Panuzzo (Astronomical Observa- sweep; in other words, there simply are
tory of Padua, Italy) and his colleagues com- no other objects to confuse it with in the
bined new spectroscopic observations sweep. M86 is the next brightest object
obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope you’ll encounter by moving your scope
and existing infrared and broadband data to 1¼ to the northwest. It will be paired with
find evidence for starburst activity in the similarly bright M84 to its west-southwest.
galaxy. As reported in a 2007 Astrophysical The Eyes (NGC 4435 and 4438) lie only 200
Journal (vol. 656, pp. 206–216), the estimated east and a tad north of M86. It’s that simple.
age of the burst is found to be around At 33 NGC 4435 appears as a sharp star
190 million years, which is fully consistent surrounded by a 10 circular halo of light.
with the notion that the star-formation pro- NGC 4438 is a larger, fuzzier oval (20 ) with
cess was triggered by the interaction with a fainter central bead. With averted vision,
NGC 4438. the two make quite a lovely low-power pair
And in a 2006 Monthly Notices of the in the 5-inch; with imagination, they do
Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 366, pp. look like eyes, one of which (NGC 4438) is
1050–1066) Lodovico Coccato (Kapteyn winking. The view at 60 is quite interesting
Astronomical Institute, the Netherlands) as both objects double in apparent size.
The Secret Deep 241

55 & 56
warped arms are most appar-
N
ent with averted vision, and its
northwestward distortion fills
4419
the void between the galaxies,
the northwestern edge of which
4548 is like the string being pulled
M91 M88
away from the bow to form
4459 a broadly sloping arc. NGC
4435’s nucleus continues to
Coma Berenices 4477 look amazingly starlike and its
4473 central bulge dominates the
4461
NGC 4435 view as a bright lens of light, like
Virgo M84 a small spindle. With imagin-
NGC 4438
E M86 W ation, I can see NGC 4438 as a
M89
4388 glowing flying saucer and NGC
M87 4476
4551
4550 4478
4435 as a smaller “scouting
a vessel” preparing to dock. What
do you see?
M58 4371
4429
1˚
20
NGC 4435’s nucleus remains sharp. Its

central region is round, but with averted
vision it extends into an ellipse that gets
gradually fainter away from the nucleus.
But what’s most interesting is the visual tug
of NGC 4438 because its dim arms appear
warped (something I’ve seen in a 4-inch
refractor). The arms curve bow-like toward
NGC 4435 and the region between the two
galaxies is filled with playful light, like breath
that comes and goes on a cold window pane.
The galaxies take high power well, but
I feel most comfortable viewing them at
94. At this magnification, NGC 4438’s

57
Secret Deep 57
(NGC 4450)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
M85
24 11
Leo
3
NGC 4450
6
E 20 W
Virgo
11
35
7
The Secret Deep 243

57
57
NGC 4450
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SA(s)ab)
Con: Coma Berenices
RA: 12h 28.5m

Dec: þ17 050
Mag: 10.1
Dim: 5.00 3.40

1784] Pretty large, irregularly round,
bright in the middle, 2 or 30 in
diameter. (H II-56)
n g c : Bright, large, round, gradually

very much brighter in the middle to a
star, resolvable (mottled, not resolved),
bright star south-preceding.
n g c 4450 i s a s m a l l bu t fa i r ly the same soft, “massive” arms as M64 (The

bright spiral galaxy a little less than 1½ Black-Eye Galaxy) and M90 in Coma Bere-
southeast of M85. It is nicely compact, nices, and M58 in Virgo. “The internal dust
making it a good target for small-telescope lanes are quite regular,” Hubble continued,
users. In fact, our target is only 1 magnitude “The most conspicuous lane does not start
fainter than M85 and has the same bright- in the nuclear region but begins abruptly
ness as the more popular barred spiral galaxy some distance from the center – an
M91, also in Coma Berenices; NGC 4450 unusual feature in galaxies.”
even has a slightly higher surface brightness Later, more detailed images began to
than M91. Yet who looks at NGC 4450? reveal a small, very bright, diffuse nucleus
I found it interesting that, in 1961, Edwin in a smooth bulge with strong, regular dark
Hubble reported imaging NGC 4450 with lanes. The milky smooth arms also revealed
the 100-inch reflector atop Mount Wilson a few condensations. In 2002, Debra Meloy
in California, but complained about the Elmegreen (Vassar College, New York) and
effects of light pollution on it. “The plate her colleagues report in an Astrophysical
was taken with the 100-inch after the war, Journal (vol. 564, pp. 234–243) how they used
when the city lights from Los Angeles were archival HST Planetary Camera and other
bright,” he said. “The faint outer detail is images to investigate the nuclear dust in
lost because of the bright background sky.” NGC 4450. In general, nuclear dust spirals
Still, Hubble could see that the galaxy has have several characteristics that differ from

57
spiral arms and dust clouds in
main galaxy disks: (1) They have
no associated star formation,
(2) are very irregular with both
trailing and leading compon-
ents that often cross, (3) become
darker as they approach the
center, (4) fill the inner disk
completely with structure
(main galaxy disks often have
a small number of arms that
get farther apart with radius),
and (5) decrease in number
with increasing arm width.
The detailed images of NGC
4450 they surveyed show two
long dust spirals in the main
disk, along with some floccu-
lent structure; the stellar spiral
arms are smooth. In contrast,
the nuclear region has no stellar arms and observed in low-power Seyfert galaxies
at least seven prominent dust arms, some known as LINERs (low-ionization nuclear
with pitch angles as high as 45 and some emission-line regions), of which NGC 4450
crossing each other. The eastern side of the is one. They believe the wildly rotating
nuclear region shows more dust than the accretion disk, which is inclined by 27 along
western side because of the galaxy’s inclin- the line of sight, is feeding a supermassive
ation. Some small dust feathers extend black hole (see the illustration above).
nearly radially from the center toward the In a 2000 NASA/ESA press release of that
south, reminiscent of jets. While the observation, Dutch astronomer Roeland van
researchers found no direct evidence for der Marel (Space Telescope Science Insti-
the dust spirals feeding a central accretion tute), who is collaborating with another
disk, they do note that the galaxy’s increase international group of black hole astron-
in dust opacity toward the nucleus is what omers, elaborates: “It has long been
they’d expect to see if the spirals were hypothesized that black holes act as the
driving nuclear accretion. engines that power the centers of active gal-
Indeed, in a 2000 Astrophysical Journal axies, but conclusive measurements have
(vol. 541, p. 120), Luis C. Ho (Observatories remained elusive. Thanks to Hubble and
of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, other telescopes this has changed and little
Pasadena, California) and colleagues room is now left for doubts that black holes
reported that HST spectral observations do exist in galaxy centers.” Team leader
revealed high-velocity “wings,” which are Hans-Walter Rix (Max-Planck-Institut fur
characteristic of accretion disk activity Astronomie, Heidelberg), adds that it is
The Secret Deep 245

57
N the east-northeast. From M85,
move about 350 southeast to
Coma Berenices 7.5-magnitude Star a. Now move
4394
4293 400 southeast to equally bright
M85
Star b. NGC 4450 is about 200
southwest of Star b, and 40 north-
a east of a 9.5-magnitude star.
11
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC
E W 4450 is a bright and moderately
b
NGC 4450
condensed oval glow about 30 in
extent. Its major axis is oriented
north to south, and it gradually,
4340
4350 then suddenly, gets brighter
toward the middle but not to a
1˚ starlike core. It looks very much
like a comet with a DC (degree
S of concentration) of 5 (on a
scale of 0 to 9).
“quite clear that the nearby Universe is full At 60, the galaxy is very apparent. It has
of black holes in galaxies. Using Hubble we a bright circular core that now appears a
now routinely find black holes in perfectly little more concentrated toward the center
typical, normal, boring galaxy centers. to a fuzzy “star.” The core is surrounded by
Indeed it seems likely, that Nature can’t an oval of light with a soft, milky texture.
make a big galaxy without a black hole at At 94, the core is surrounded by an
the center.” eye-shaped inner lens (a pseudo-ring) and
NGC 4450 belongs to the Virgo cluster a diffuse outer halo. The galaxy has a satiny
of galaxies and is receding from us at 1,954 sheen with hints of thin wisps of arms,
km/sec. In true physical extent, it spans but nothing definite. Larger telescopes
80,000 light-years of space, has a total mass may show the galaxy’s spiral structure.
of 70 billion Suns, and shines with a total
luminosity of some 20 billion Suns.
To find this extragalactic dynamo, use
the chart on page 243 to locate M85, which is
a little more than 1 east-northeast of the 4.5-
magnitude star 11 Comae Berenices, which is
about 8 northeast of 2nd-magnitude Beta (b)
Leonis (Denebola). M85 is a bright 9th-
magnitude lenticular galaxy and should
appear as a powerfully glowing oval mass.
Center M85 in your telescope at low power,
then switch to the chart on this page; note
that little NGC 4394 lies only about 80 to

58
Secret Deep 58
(NGC 4461)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
3
NGC 4461
M86
M87
E 20 W
Virgo
11
35
7
The Secret Deep 247

58
58
NGC 4461 ¼ NGC 4443?
Type: Lenticular Galaxy (Sa0)
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 29.0m

Dec: þ13 110
Mag: 11.2
SB: 13.9 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 3.70 1.40
17, 1786] Considerably bright,
extended south preceding north
following, few stars in preceding,
1 in north, unconnected. (H II-122)
n g c : Pretty faint, small, round,

bright in the middle, following of 2.
n g c 4461 i s t h e s o u t h e r n m o s t o f to the north-northwest, I did not in-

two galaxies a little northeast of The Eyes clude that object in the Secret Deep list;
NGC 4435 and 4438 (Secret Deep 55 and I thought it might be just a little too faint
56, respectively) – in Markarian’s Chain, a (12.1) and a bit too small (1.50 ) for anyone
great string of galaxies at the heart of the using a small telescope under any kind of
vast Virgo Cluster that arcs away from the light pollution, though I do encourage you
extragalactic dynamic duo, M84 and M86; to try to see, or image, it, but more on that
the other members of the Chain include later.
Virgo galaxies NGC 4458, and NGC 4473 It’s not surprising that NGC 4461 would
and 4477 (Secret Deep 60 and 61, respect- be involved in a historical mystery, given
ively) just over the border in Coma the richness of galaxies around it. It turns
Berenices. out that NGC 4461 is probably the missing
Our target, NGC 4461, is one of those galaxy NGC 4443, of which there is nothing
little wonders that possess a seemingly at the NGC position aside from a 19th or
dim magnitude (11.2) – one that could turn 20th magnitude object. Hal Corwin of the
people away from it – but is, in fact, owing NGC/IC project proposed the link between
to the galaxy’s compactness, a reasonable NGC 4461 and 4443. The only evidence we
target for small-telescope users under have for this, Corwin says, comes from one
decent skies. And though its noninteract- observation in 1849, when Lord Rosse
ing companion NGC 4458 lies only 3.70 sketched 11 nebulae, the last of which is

58
NGC 4443. “The sketch is fairly crude and the outside inward for each of the arms
the distances between the objects do not emerging from the bulge at about 1 o’clock
correspond well to what we see on the sky,” and 7 o’clock positions.
Corwin admits. Indeed, of the drawing, In true physical extent, this Virgo Clus-
Lord Rosse himself says, “Found the ter member is about 60,000 light-years
objects as in sketch, positions being put across, seen 20 from edge on, and shines
down very rudely.” with a total luminosity of about 8 billion
Nevertheless, Corwin was able to iden- Suns. In 2005, J. Christopher Mihos (Case
tify all the objects Rosse sketched with Western Reserve University, Ohio) and
known NGC galaxies, except for the one colleagues presented deep optical imaging
Dreyer lists as NGC 4443. (The other gal- of the inner ~1.5 1.5 of the Virgo clus-
axies in the sketch (listed from east to west ter to search for diffuse intracluster light
across the center of the Virgo Cluster) are (ICL). They found an intricate web of it
NGC 4305, 4306, 4374 (M84), 4387, 4388, with several long (>300,000 light-year) tidal
4406, 4402, 4425, 4435, and 4438.) Corwin streamers, as well as a myriad of smaller-
notes, however, that, while there is nothing scale tidal tails and bridges between the
in the exact position of NGC 4443, NGC galaxies in the region – including one that
4461 is not too far away. “It is certainly stretches to NGC 4461 and NGC 4458. The
not a big stretch to this galaxy,” Corwin researchers traced the very irregular, dif-
says, and its description is a relative fit fuse halo of M87 out to nearly 650,000
to the other galaxies. “Given the hurried light-years. They also detected significant
nature of the observations, though,” Corwin diffuse light around the M84/M86 pair.
explains, “it may be that Lord Rosse Several galaxies in the core are embedded
thought NGC 4458 to be a star. It is consid- in common envelopes, suggesting they are
erably smaller and fainter than its com- true physical subgroups.
panion, so this is a possibility. So, I’m Two long streamers can be seen
going to take NGC 4443 to be a duplicate extending to the northwest from M87:
discovery of NGC 4461, but with some One projects through our target (NGC
uncertainty.” 4461) and NGC 4458 and extends beyond,
In support of Corwin’s suggestion, I’d toward a group of galaxies to the north.
like to add that Lord Rosse also failed to From the point at which it emerges from
record NGC 4413, a small (2.20 ) 12th- M87’s stellar halo to where it fades into the
magnitude galaxy, near NGC 4425 and background, the streamer has total length
4388, which is of similar size and bright- of 580,000 light-years and a characteris-
ness to NGC 4458. tic width of 52,000 light-years. “Because
In images, NGC 4461 displays a very NGC 4458 and NGC 4461 have a very
small, very bright, diffuse nucleus. There’s a high velocity relative to one another
slight brightening at the edge of the lens and (Dv ¼ 1,296 km/s),” the researchers say,
early thoughts had this classified as a barred “it is unlikely the streamer comes from any
lenticular galaxy. But now it is believed to be strong interaction between the pair; instead,
a lenticular galaxy with spiral structure stripping from one of the galaxies individu-
that can be traced counterclockwise from ally is more likely.”
The Secret Deep 249

58
The ICL is not radially sym-
N
metric around M87, the nom-
inal central galaxy of Virgo;
4419
much of the diffuse light is
centered upon the M84/M86
complex. “Rather than the ICL 4548
M91 M88
growing simply via smooth
accretion around a central 4459
galaxy,” the researchers con-
clude, “its distribution reflects Coma Berenices 4477
the substructure inherent in 4473

4458
the cluster.” NGC 4461 4435
To find NGC 4461, it’s best to Virgo 4438 M84
first locate 9th-magnitude E M86 W

M89
M86. Start by using the chart 4388
M87 4476
on page 247 to locate 5th- 4551
4550 4478
magnitude Rho (r) Virginis, a
which is easy to identify, since
M58 4371
it is the central bright star in a
0
30 -wide upside-down Y of
stars (oriented north–south). 4429
About 2 to the west you’ll find

6.5-magnitude 20 Virginis.
Now use the chart on this
page to make a careful sweep 1˚
20
2 north and a tad west until
S
you hit 8.5-magnitude M87,
just 200 northwest of an 8th-
magnitude sun (a). If you’re careful, you 20 -wide soft circular glow. With averted
shouldn’t miss M87, since it will be the first vision, the disk elongates, extending
bright galaxy to enter the field in your north–northeast-south-southwest. I could
sweep; in other words, there simply are not see NGC 4458 at this power. Indeed,
no other objects to confuse it with in the Luginbuhl and Skiff say that while NGC
sweep. M86 is the next brightest object 4461 is “easily visible” in a 6-inch tele-
you’ll encounter by moving your scope scope, NGC 4458 is “difficult to view,”

1¼ to the northwest. The Eyes (NGC being “much fainter and smaller.”
4435 and 4438) lie only 200 east, a tad north At 60 in the 50-inch, NGC 4461 is a very
of M86. And NGC 4461 is only about 200 pretty “spindle,” showing a bright central
northeast of NGC 4438. glow with a stellar core and two elliptical
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 4461 snaps extensions on either side of the major axis,
into view (even with direct vision) as a looking like the ghost image of Saturn seen
12th-magnitude “star” surrounded by a at low power when the rings are nearing

58
edge on. With care and patience, NGC
4458 did materialize as a very tiny puff of
pale light. NGC 4461 is best at 94,
though, when the galaxy looks like a beau-
tiful, though gently glowing lens of light
with a smooth elliptical center. Curiously,
the “starlike” core disappears at this
magnification. NGC 4458 is also much
easier to see at this power; its circular form
becomes gradually brighter in the middle
to a small round core.
The Secret Deep 251

59
Secret Deep 59
(3C 273)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
3
6
E 20
Virgo W
3C 273 11
35
7
16

59
59
3C 273
Type: Quasi-Stellar Object (Quasar)
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 29.1m

Dec: þ02 03.10
Mag: 11.7–13.2
(Rating: 3.5–3.0)
Dim: –
Dist: ~2 billion l.y.
Disc: Listed as the 273rd object in
the Third Cambridge Catalogue of
Radio Sources, published in 1959
n g c : None.
When you look through your it’s like bringing a slice of the early uni-
telescope, have you ever wondered how verse into our backyards.
far your eyes can penetrate space? In prior It wasn’t until the 1950s, when radio
Deep-Sky Companions volumes, I’ve taken astronomy was first developed, that
you as far as 300 million light-years dis- astronomers realized some extragalactic
tant, to the elliptical galaxy NGC 4889 in objects emit massive amounts of radio
Coma Berenices (Caldwell 35). But you can energy. These early discoveries were being
see much further than that, even with a made with military surplus radio equip-
relatively small telescope. Our next Secret ment left over from the Second World
Deep target, 3C 273, is a quasar some 2 bil- War but converted to suit astronomical
lion light-years distant. applications. To match any optical coun-
Quasars are the highly energetic cores of terparts, radio astronomers used occulta-
remote active galaxies and the most lumi- tions of radio sources by the Moon to
nous objects known in the universe. 3C 273 pinpoint their exact locations. Some were
is the nearest and brightest of them. Most identified as galaxies, but others were
quasars lie much farther away (some 10 point sources whose radio intensities
billion light-years distant). They’re also varied and twinkled like stars, so they
relatively tiny objects (many are smaller became known as radio stars.
than the size of our own Solar System), One source, 3C 48 – the 48th object in
but they burn with a radiance that’s the Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio
brighter than hundreds of galaxies com- Sources, published in 1959 – was the first
bined. So finding 3C 273 is a special treat; discovered to have a small radio diameter.
The Secret Deep 253

59
When Alan Sandage observed 3C 48 with passed before astronomers had observa-
the Palomar 200-inch telescope, he tional evidence that they reside in galaxies.
expected to see a dim extragalactic disk Today we know that 3C 273 is at least
but instead found a peculiar, blue, point- about 2 billion light-years away, zipping
like object that not only varied in bright- away from us at one-tenth the speed of
ness but had “the weirdest spectrum I’d light, or about 48,000 km/sec. That we
ever seen,” with emission lines unlike can see it blazing so brightly in our back-
those from any known substance. yard telescopes is a direct result of this
In late 1962, Maarten Schmidt (Caltech) energetic object, with a mass of about
noticed that 3C 273 – the 273rd object 100 million Suns, radiating with a luminos-
in the Third Cambridge Catalogue of Radio ity of about about 2 trillion Suns.
Sources1 – showed a similar peculiar spec- 3C 273 was also one of the first extragal-
trum. By 1963, quasi-stellar radio sources actic X-ray sources discovered in 1970.
were a hot topic of research. That year Large ground-based and space-based
Schmidt realized that what made 3C 273’s images have revealed a 200,000 light-year-
spectrum so peculiar is that its lines were long jet of charged particles moving at
redshifted by an amazing 16 percent. relativistic speeds emanating from 3C
“I was stunned by this development,” he 273’s active nucleus. Most optical, radio,
said. “Stars of magnitude 13 are not sup- and early X-ray observations revealed this
posed to show such large redshifts!” powerful jet to consist of inconsistent,
Schmidt immediately informed
his colleague Jesse Greenstein
of his findings. When Green-
stein, who had been inspect-
ing the spectrum of 3C 48,
looked for this shift, he was
amazed to find known lines
redshifted by an even more
amazing 37 percent, implying
that this object was more than
3 billion light-years distant.
3C 273, then, became the
first known quasi-stellar radio
source – a name later
shortened to quasar, though
astrophysicists today more
appropriately refer to them as
QSOs, or quasi-stellar objects.
But at least two decades
1
The catalogue listed objects in order of right ascension, so, despite its high number, 3C 273 was among the first quasars
to be identified.

59
“lumpy” clouds of gas. But N
a Chandra image released
in 2000 reveals for the first
3C 273 a 16
time the presence of faint Virgo
X-ray emitting material
e
connecting the core of the
E b W
quasar to the jet, which 10’
c
may reveal why matter is
violently ejected from the
d
quasar’s core, then appears e
3C 273 1˚
to suddenly slow down.
S
The energy emitted from
the jet in 3C 273 probably
comes from gas that falls toward a super- then 4th-magnitude Eta (Z) Virginis about
massive black hole at the center of the 1¼ to its west-northwest, and finally
quasar, but is redirected by strong electro- 5th-magnitude 16 Virginis 4 to its north.
magnetic fields into a collimated jet. While Center 16 Virginis in your telescope at
the black hole itself is not observed dir- low power, then switch to the chart on this
ectly, scientists can discern properties of page. From 16 Virginis, make a little 300
the black hole by studying the jet. The hop east to 8th-magnitude Star a, then
formation of the jet from the matter that make a 350 hop to south-southwest to
falls into the black hole is a process that magnitude 8.5 Star b. Now move nearly
remains poorly understood. 550 to the east-southeast to the tight 9th-
In 2003, Hubble Space Telescope images magnitude double Star c, 300 away from
provided the clearest view yet in visible light which, to the south-southeast, is the more
of the nearby quasar 3C 273. Using the new obvious 7.5-magnitude Star d.
camera’s coronagraph to block the light from Now use the chart inset to pinpoint the
the brilliant central quasar, astronomers exact location of 3C 273, which is about 550
discovered that the quasar’s host galaxy is due east of Star d, and some 60 northwest
significantly more complex than had been of 10th-magnitude Star e; 3C 273 forms
suggested in previous observations. Features the eastern apex of a near-equilateral tri-
in the surrounding galaxy that are normally angle with two stars of near-equal magni-
drowned out by the quasar’s glow now show tude. The quasar is easily identifiable
up clearly. The image reveals a spiral plume because it has a close stellar neighbor
wound around the quasar and a red dust immediately to its west-northwest. But
lane. Material in the form of a clump and a beware. Don’t expect 3C 273 to always be
blue arc are shown in the path of a jet that obvious. Although its peak magnitude is a
was blasted from the quasar. reasonable 11.7, this quasi-stellar object
To find this distant denizen of our can fade to magnitude 13.2, making it
universe, use the chart on page 252 to find about 0.5 magnitude brighter than Pluto
2.5-magnitude Gamma (g) Virginis (Porrima), when it’s brightest. Good luck.
The Secret Deep 255

60 & 61
Secret Deep 60 & 61
(NGC 4473 & 4477)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
M88 3
NGC 4473, 77
6
M86
M87
E 20 W
Virgo
11
35
7

60 & 61
60
NGC 4473
Type: Elliptical Galaxy (E5)
Con: Coma Berenices
RA: 12h 29.8m

Dec: þ13 260
Mag: 10.2
Dim: 3.70 2.40
1784] Faint, round. (H II-114)
n g c : Pretty bright.
61
NGC 4477
Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy (SB(s)0)
Con: Coma Berenices
RA: 12h 30.0m

Dec: þ13 380
Mag: 10.4
Dim: 3.90 3.60
1784] Combined with H II-116
(NGC 4479). Two, both round.
n g c : Pretty bright, considerably

large.
n g c 4 4 7 3 a n d 4 4 7 7 a r e a b e au t i f u l more celebrated galaxies M91 and M98

galaxy pair in Coma Berenices, just a whis- in Coma Berenices, while NGC 4473 is
per away from the Virgo Border. NGC 4473 only 0.3 magnitude dimmer. They mark
is only 0.1 magnitude fainter than the the northeastern end of a great chain of
The Secret Deep 257

60 & 61
galaxies (the Markarian Chain) that arcs though NGC 4473 is 3 million miles closer,
away from the extragalactic dynamic duo, it still appears a tad smaller than its extra-
M84 and M86 in Virgo; the other members galactic neighbor from our viewpoint.
of the chain include Secret Deep members A giant elliptical, NGC 4473 is the more
NGC 4435 and 4438 (numbers 55 and 56, luminous of the two, shining with a bril-
respectively) and the dimmer duet: NGC liance of 19 billion Suns compared to 14
4458 (12.1 magnitude) and NGC 4461 billion for NGC 4477; thus the slight
(Secret Deep 58; 11.2 magnitude). brightness difference in favor of NGC 4473.
One has to wonder how Messier and NGC 4473 is also unusual in that it has
Méchain could have overlooked NGC been slightly flattened into a disk, which
4473 and 4477. Clearly, the “nebulous we see inclined 56 from face on. In a 2003
nature” of these objects must have been Astrophysical Journal, Jason Pinkney
near the threshold of visibility in their (University of Michigan) and his col-
modest instruments, especially during a leagues explain how their high-resolution
sweep of the sky. Indeed, in Messier’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observa-
description of M91 (magnitude 10.1; sur- tions suggest that NGC 4473 is indeed a
face brightness of 13.3), he says it is one of peculiarity, probably originating from a
13 objects in the Virgo region that “can be merger of two galactic nuclei with black
seen only under extremely good skies, and holes that coalesced.
close to meridian passage.” It’s possible Although the HST observations found no
Messier or Méchain might have seen the obvious evidence for a recent merger – no
bright cores of NGC 4473 and 4477 but counter-rotating stellar or gas system,
mistook them for stars. Then again, it’s no erratic dust, and no multiple nuclei –
also possible that the greater brilliance of the authors still believe it’s a good candi-
M84, M86, and M87 may have set a sub- date to explain the galaxy’s artificially
conscious precedent for the intensity of flattened core and account for its peculiar
objects in that specific region, thus draw- surface-brightness profile. A merger, they
ing attention away from any fainter say, could deposit dust that could mask the
curiosities. central nuclei from view. The resulting
Though not physically related (they’re inflow of gas could also form a stellar disk
not interacting), NGC 4473 and 4477 or torus that, in turn, makes detection of
belong to the Virgo Cluster of galaxies – the nuclei more difficult. HST found some
the nearest of the large galaxy clusters evidence for each of these scenarios.
and the gravitational hub of the Local Furthermore, by using HST and ground-
Supercluster, to which our own Milky Way based spectroscopic data to measure the
Galaxy and Local Group belong. The Virgo orbital motions of stars near NGC 4473’s
Cluster is centered about 50 million light- core, Douglas Richstone (University of
years distant and contains some 2,500 gal- Michigan) and his colleagues concluded
axies, around 150 of which are large. that the stars orbit a supermassive black
NGC 4477 is the larger of the two, being hole of roughly 50 million to 100 million
some 62,000 light-years in extent com- solar masses. Since radiation and high-
pared to NGC 4473’s 56,000, thus, even energy particles released by the formation

60 & 61
and growth of black holes are the domin- and bright starlike nucleus nestled inside
ant sources of heat and kinetic energy for a well-defined bar that terminates well
star-forming gas in protogalaxies, such as inside the disk. The surrounding lens has
NGC 4473, it’s possible that they are linked a sharp edge (reminiscent of a ring struc-
to the formation and evolution of galaxies. ture) bracketed by two external spiral
As evidence, Richstone notes that all, or arms. High-resolution images also reveal
nearly all, galaxies with spheroidal distri- weak and ill-defined spiral structure
butions of stars (including bulges in threading the disk. In this way, NGC 4477
spirals) appear to have massive black resembles the mixed lenticular galaxy
holes. And the mass of these objects seems NGC 2655 (Hidden Treasure 48) in
to correlate with the mass of the central Camelopardalis.
part of the host galaxy. But the connection To find the pair, start by using the star
between the massive black hole and the chart on page 256 to find 5th-magnitude
galaxy also poses the “chicken-and-egg” Rho (r) Virginis, which is easy to identify,
dilemma of which came first.
If the supermassive black hole
at the heart of NGC 4473 N
formed first, it could have
acted as a gravitational “seed” 4419
to attract the gas and dust that

give birth to a galaxy’s stars. 4548
M91 M88
Richstone says we may
already see evidence of this –
4459
in a more universal sense – in
quasars, which are believed to Coma Berenices NGC 4477
develop well before most star NGC 4473
formation in galaxies. “The 4435
4461
massive black holes now seen Virgo 4438 M84
in centers of galaxies are relics E M86 W
of these quasars,” Richstone M89
4388
explained in a 2000 University M87 4476
4551
4550 4478
of Michigan press release, “so
a
these black holes must have
been present at the height of M58 4371
the quasar epoch when the
universe was about one billion 4429
years old.”
NGC 4477’s structure is
equally interesting, being an
early-type lenticular galaxy
20 1˚
with a smooth oval disk
(inclined 26 from face-on) S
The Secret Deep 259

60 & 61
since it is the central bright star in a 300 -
wide upside-down Y of stars (oriented
north–south). About 2 to the west you’ll
find 6.5-magnitude 20 Virginis. Now make
a careful sweep 2 north and a tad west
until you hit 8.5-magnitude M87, just 200
northwest of an 8th-magnitude sun. If
you’re careful, you shouldn’t miss M87,
since it will be the first bright galaxy to
enter the field in your sweep; in other
words, there simply are no other objects
to confuse it with in the sweep. M86 is
the next brightest object you’ll encounter
by moving your scope 1¼ to the north-
west. M86 is partnered to the west by of light that seems to taper along its major
slightly fainter M84. NGC 4435 and NGC axis. These features are embedded in a
4438 (Secret Deep 55 and 56, respectively) larger ellipse of light that appears layered
lie only about 200 east-northeast of M86. at 94.
NGC 4473 is 400 northeast of NGC 4438 NGC 4477, on the other hand, appears
and just 100 west-southwest of a 10th- more textured at 60 than NGC 4473.
magnitude star. NGC 4477 is only about With averted vision, the galaxy has a
120 north and slightly east of NGC 4473. bright nucleus in an oval core, which is
At 33 in the 5-inch, both NGC 4473 and surrounded by a mottled and slightly
4477 appear as two circular hazes of irregular envelope. With averted vision
unequal size; NGC 4473 is about 10 across and 94, the rim of NGC 4477’s halo
and NGC 4477 is about twice as large. Both forms a weak ring that’s slightly out of
disks are uniformly bright and have tack- round. The ring’s perimeter is dappled
sharp stellar cores. Comparing the two with dim light, while the interior halo
with time and averted vision, though, seems layered like an onion, though this
NGC 4473 becomes more lens shaped. is just a visual suggestion. Looking at
At 60, NGC 4473’s core appears round these galaxies is like looking into a fog
with a tiny stellar nucleus. This round core and trying to make sense of the ethereal
is surrounded by a slightly less intense lens vapors.

62 & 63
Secret Deep 62 & 63
(NGC 4636 & 4665)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
3
Virgo
E 20
W
11
35
NGC 4536, 65 7
The Secret Deep 261

62 & 63
62
NGC 4636
Type: Elliptical Galaxy (E0-1)
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 42.8m

Dec: þ02 410
Mag: 9.5
Dim: 7.10 5.20

1784] Pretty bright, pretty large, irregularly
faint, resolvable. (H II-38)
n g c : Bright, large, irregularly round,

very gradually very much brighter in the
middle, resolvable (mottled, not resolved).
63
NGC 4665 = NGC 4664 = [NGC 4624 =
NGC 4636]
Type: Barred Lenticular Galaxy (SB(s)0/a)
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 45.1m

Dec: þ03 030
Mag: 10.5
SB: 13.4 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 4.10 4.10
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed April 30, 1786]

Considerably bright, pretty large, irregularly
round, gradually much brighter in the
middle. (H I-142)
n g c : Bright, pretty large, irregularly

round, much brighter in the middle,
magnitude 10 star south preceding.

62 & 63
n g c 4636 a n d n g c 4665 a re a v e ry How does NGC 4636 come into play?
interesting, though wide (400 separation) Well, Corwin says that during the same
pair of galaxies roughly 3 west-southwest sweep John Herschel made for NGC 4624,
of 3rd-magnitude Delta (d) Virginis – one of he made a 1 error in the polar distance for
the heaven’s “golden” stars. Not only is Delta NGC 4636, “an error that he himself sug-
the very navel of Virgo the Maiden, but its gested, and that Dreyer finally rectified for
golden color seems coincidentally appro- the NGC. Thus, NGC 4624 cannot be NGC
priate since Virgo is sometimes identified 4636 as suggested by Reinmuth1 and
with Ceres – goddess of the fields and agri- adopted by RNGC.” So, NGC 4624 is the
cultural activities, and nurturer of crops. same object as NGC 4665 but is not NGC
Our targets, NGC 4636 and NGC 4665, are 4636.
connected with an historical mystery con- Any low-power eyepiece should fit the
cerning the identities of NGC 4664 and two galaxies in the same field of view. But
NGC 4624, both of which do not exist. each deserves individual attention. Let’s
Hal Corwin at the NGC/IC Project (http:// start with NGC 4636, the brighter of the
www.ngcicproject.org) notes that NGC two galaxies by a full magnitude and also
4664 is one of William Herschel’s early dis- the one studied more copiously by
coveries with a large error in the position. astrophysicists.
“There is nothing at William Herschel’s NGC 4636 is a nearby, gas-rich elliptical
given position,” Corwin says, noting that it galaxy 52 million light-years distant in the
appears to be a simple digit error (100 error outskirts of the Virgo Cluster. The galaxy is
in declination) in his recording or reduc- 100,000 light-years in extent, and shines
tion. “Dreyer correctly convinced himself with a luminosity of 30 billion Suns. It’s
that it explains the missing NGC 4664 as a receding from us at 938 km/sec. In short
prediscovery observation of NGC 4665. The exposures, the galaxy appears circular, but
star 4.8 seconds preceding (mentioned in deep images show its faint elliptical envel-
both of William Herschel’s observations, ope at a position angle of 330 . The galaxy
according to Dreyer) is the clincher here.” not only also has an unusual gaseous ring
As for the missing NGC 4624, which extending asymmetrically around the
Herschel’s son John discovered, Corwin galaxy’s nucleus, but also irregular dust
suggests that owing to an error in right lanes, a large and luminous X-ray halo with
ascension, it is also most likely NGC 4665, a central hole, numerous globular star
which John Herschel described as “bright clusters, and a radio jet along the galaxy’s
and pretty large,” in two other sweeps. minor axis with a strong ridge of emission
“This,” Corwin says, “and the appearance lying on either side of the nucleus; the
of the bright bar of the galaxy, matches his ridge shows an S-shaped bend about 16
terse description for NGC 4624, ‘bright, light-years from the nucleus.
extended.’ In addition, his declination is In 2009, NASA released an amazing
correct for all three observations.” Chandra X-ray image of NGC 4636
1
His and Dorothy Carlson’s work at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1940 led to major corrections of NGC/IC.
See www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/Deep-Sky/deep-sky_e.htm.
The Secret Deep 263

62 & 63
showing extraordinary detail
in the galaxy, including spec-
tacular symmetric arm-like
arcs of hot gas extending
25,000 light-years into a huge
cloud of multimillion-degree-
Celsius gas that envelops the
galaxy. At a temperature of 10
million degrees, the arms are
30 percent hotter than the sur-
rounding gas cloud. Each of
these features defines the rim
of an ellipsoidal bubble.
Another bubble-like feature
was found south of the north-
eastern arc. The temperature
jump together with the symmetry and Although NGC 4665 is dimmer than NGC
scale of the arms indicate that the arms 4636 by a full magnitude, it’s remarkably
are the leading edge of a galaxy-sized obvious, because it packs a lot of its light
shock wave that is racing outward from into a small area of sky (~40 ). The galaxy’s
the center of the galaxy at 700 km/sec. An bar is its most redeeming and interesting
explosion with an energy equivalent to quality – at least in photographs. If we
several hundred thousand supernovas accept its distance of 58 million light-years,
would be required to produce this effect. this barred lenticular system spans some
It’s believed that the bubbles were pro- 70,000 light-years of space and shines with
duced by shocks, probably driven by energy a luminosity of 9 billion Suns. (Both NGC
deposited off-center by jets. Indeed, the, 4636 and NGC 4665 lie in the southern
radio jets extend toward the bubbles from extension of the great Virgo Cloud of galaxies,
a weak X-ray and radio source, which are where we see them receding from us at 938
most likely the signs of active galactic and 785 km/sec, respectively.)
nuclei activity that was more intense in In deep images, NGC 4665 displays a
the past. Indeed, this eruption could be right round nucleus embedded in a lumi-
the latest episode in a feedback cycle of nous, slightly elliptical bulge, threaded by
violence that keeps the galaxy in a state of a prominent high-surface-brightness bar.
turmoil. The cycle starts when a hot gas Two faint, diffuse spiral arms emerge from
cloud that envelops the stars in the galaxy the ends of the bar and form a complete
cools and falls inward toward a central, pseudo-ring. There are also clear interarm
massive black hole. The feeding of the black features. The faint outermost regions of
hole by the infalling gas leads to an explo- the disk are clearly elliptical, at a position
sion that heats the hot gaseous envelope, angle ~45 away from that of the bar.
which then cools over a period of several In a 2007 paper, Xiaolei Zhang (formerly
million years to begin the cycle anew. of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) and

62 & 63
Ron Buta (University of Alabama) used the sky’s few naked-eye M-class red giants.
infrared light to infer characteristics of the Seen at a distance of 202 light-years, golden
gravitational field in NGC 4665, and con- Delta has a pretty, reddish, 11th-magnitude
cluded that NGC 4665’s well-defined bar K-type dwarf companion 800 distant.
pattern may extend beyond its own corota- The nineteenth-century Italian astronomer
tion radius (where the bar density wave Angelo Secchi called Delta Virginis bellis-
pattern and the underlying differentially sima, owing to its “most beautiful” banded
rotating disk matter rotate at the same spectrum. When spied through a telescope,
angular speed), a phenomenon which chal- Delta has a rich golden yellow hue, which,
lenges the conventional view that stellar when seen together with its more ruddy
orbits in galaxies cannot support a bar out- companion, could take on a slight shade of
side their corotation. “Since it is by now green (the complementary color). Stellar
well-established that a spiral pattern can astronomer James Kaler tells us, if the K-type
extend beyond its co-rotation radius,” the dwarf is a true companion to Delta (and that’s
researchers say, “and since bars are density uncertain since it lies about 5,000 times the
wave patterns just like the spirals apart distance from the Earth to the Sun from
from the fact that they appear at the central Delta), it would take more than 200,000 years
regions of galaxies, one naturally suspects to complete an orbit. If you were transported
that a bar might be able to extend beyond to a planet orbiting Delta, Kaler notes, its
its own corotation radius as well.” companion would shine twice as brightly as
Nevertheless, in a private 2010 communi- Venus does in our skies and appear four
cation, Buta stresses that the issue of bars times brighter than our full Moon.
extending beyond their corotations is very From Delta, use binoculars to find 6.5-
contentious. “The argument in the case of magnitude 35 Virginis, a little less than 2
NGC 4665 is that there must be some wave to the west and slightly north. Center 35 in
material outside the bar’s corotation to your telescope at low power, then switch to
receive the emitted energy and angular the chart on this page. NGC 4665 is about
momentum from inside
corotation. Thus, some part N
of the bar itself could lie out-
side corotation to serve this 35
Virgo
purpose, since there is very
little other structure outside NGC 4665 a
the bar ends, only a very NGC 4636 4527

weak spiral.” E W
b
To find these galaxies,
4533
use the chart on page 261
4536
to locate Delta Virginis,
which is about 6 northeast 4643 FW
of Gamma Virginis. But be

1˚
sure to take some time to
S
appreciate Delta – one of
The Secret Deep 265

62 & 63
500 southwest of 35 Virginis, about 180 east a diffuse starlike knot at the center of the
of 9th-magnitude Star a and 1.50 northeast north–south trending lens of light, appearing
of an 11th-magnitude star. as a very bright patch with an intense core
When you look for NGC 4665, think that intensifies inward to a starlike center.
“small” and “fuzzy pair” (like M40), in your The fainter halo diminishes with higher
search – that’ll be the galaxy and the 11th- powers and is best seen in my scope at 33.
magnitude star nearly kissing, which The galaxy definitely appears as a spindle in
together will look like a larger extended the north–south direction, though I could
object oriented northeast to southwest. At not resolve the bars from the core. Larger
33, NGC 4665 can be a complicated view. scopes may be able to do so. Good luck.
Depending on how dark your sky is, the NGC 4636 lies 400 further to the south-
galaxy may at first appear simply as a west. At 33, it’s a big amorphous glow, like
well-condensed, 20 -wide circular glow. But a comet just beginning to shine. It gradually
with averted vision and time, I saw one brightens toward a dim circular core with
bright north–south oriented lens nested no nucleus. With averted vision, the 20 -wide
in an equally long, though much fainter disk appears quite elongated, oriented
(extremely hyperfine, almost imaginary), northwest–southeast, like an egg. At 60, a
east–west extended halo; the true halo in tiny drop of light appears at the core with
deep images is actually oriented northwest– averted vision, even then it’s somewhat diffi-
southeast, but what I saw could be hints cult to detect. The galaxy takes power well
of the pseudo-ring formed by the arms and at 94 all the features thus described
looping out from the (unseen) bar. become more apparent: a drop of light at
At 60, the galaxy displays a tight core that the nuclear region nested in a circular core
seems oddly warped toward the companion that elongates slightly with averted vision,
star (yet another clearly fascinating illusion; surrounded by a larger ellipse of light. The
the star just seems to suck the light of the galaxy is nicely framed inside a triangle of
galaxy toward it!). With time I could resolve roughly equal dim stars.

64
Secret Deep 64
(NGC 4753)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
3
E 20
Virgo W
11
35
7
16
NGC 4753
The Secret Deep 267

64
64
Dust Devil
NGC 4753
Type: Irregular/Lenticular Galaxy
(I/S0 peculiar)
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 52.4m

Dec: 01 120
Mag: 9.9
Dim: 4.10 2.30
22, 1784] Considerably bright, very
large, irregularly faint, very gradually
brighter in the middle. (H I-16)
n g c : Considerably bright, large,

very little extended, very gradually
a little brighter in the middle.
n g c 4 7 5 3 i s a r e a s o n a b ly b r i g h t American astronomer Edwin Hubble

and obvious, though peculiar, galaxy 2¾ (1889–1953), whose observations proved
east-northeast of Gamma (g) Virginis – in that galaxies are “island universes,” classi-
the southern boundary of the Virgo cluster. fied NGC 4753 as a barless peculiar lenticu-
The galaxy is peculiar because its classifi- lar (S0 pec) because, if the many irregular
cation is a matter of great curiosity. Early filamentary dark lanes that partly hide the
plates revealed its nuclear region crossed galaxy’s small but extremely bright nucleus
by complex dark lanes, which appear to be were removed, the galaxy would resemble
on the near side below the nucleus, and an S01-type.
on the far side above it. One interpretation A decade later Gerard de Vaucouleurs
of this form was that of the near end-on classified it as an I0 galaxy, but the consen-
view along the bar and lens of an armless sus today is that NGC 4753 is probably
barred lenticular galaxy (like NGC 5195 outside the classification sequence. In
(Secret Deep 67)), though it could also The Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies (Carnegie
be an irregular system – one with poorly Institution of Washington, vol. 1, 1994)
defined structure, which falls outside the Alan Sandage and J. Bedke say, “If we force
categories of disk or elliptical galaxies. It it into the classification we do so on the
may, in fact, be similar to the way in which same basis used by Hubble. If the

64
absorption lanes were removed, the under- 350,000 Suns, respectively. Since the mass
lying luminosity distribution would loss from red giants in this roughly 1- to
approximate an S0 form.” 10-billion-year-old galaxy is expected to be
Modern images show the galaxy, which about 1800 Suns (with a factor of 2 to 3
spans nearly 80,000 light-years across in uncertainty), the researchers argue that the
true physical extent, in much finer detail. origin of NGC 4753’s interstellar dust could
The disk, which is strongly twisted, has be due to either galaxy–galaxy interaction
complex dust lanes that are very thin, deli- (or a merger) or an internal process.
cate, and continuous over traceable long A substantial amount of dust within NGC
arcs. Although, at a glance, they appear to 4753, they add, exists in the form of cirrus,
show no rotational symmetry (as is common which are sufficiently dense so that they are
to dust lanes in the disks of spirals), Thomas not destroyed by ionizing radiation or by
Y. Steiman-Cameron (NASA/Ames Research supernova-driven blast waves.
Center, California) and colleagues argue To find this dusty wonder, which is whizz-
that the twisted dust can be explained by ing away from us at 1,239 km/sec, use the
an accretion event. As described in a 1992 chart on page 267 to to locate Gamma (g)
Astronomical Journal (vol. 104, p. 1339), they Virginis. Center the star in your telescope at
find the galaxy’s twisted disk inclined by 15 low power, then switch to the chart on this
relative to NGC 4753’s equatorial plane. page. From Gamma Virginis, move 300 east-
The twisted disk, they propose, is a southeast to 6th-magnitude Star a. Next,
product of an accretion event and the dust make a gentle 1 sweep to the northeast, to
from the merger has been wrapped several a pair of 8th-magnitude stars (b). Now move
times around NGC 4753’s center. “This 300 northeast to 8th-magnitude Star c, then
demystifies what previously looked like a drop 450 southeast to 8.5-magnitude Star d,
complicated galaxy,” the researchers say, which has a 10.5-magnitude companion
“and shows that yet another apparently about 40 to the northeast. A short hop 250
peculiar object can be understood as an further to the southeast will bring you
otherwise normal galaxy which has experi- to 7.5-magnitude Star e. NGC 4753 is only
enced an accretion event.” about 150 south-southeast of Star e.
In a 1999 issue of the
Astronomical Journal (vol. N
118, p. 785), Gulab Chand c
4666
Dewangan (Tata Institute 4653
4668
of Fundamental Research, d b
e
Mumbai, India) and col- Virgo
leagues say that optical E NGC 4753 W
observations made with the
Vainu Bappu Telescope and
far-infrared observations a
with the Infrared Astrono- 1˚

mical Satellite (IRAS) sug-
S
gest a dust mass of 150,000–
The Secret Deep 269

64
At 23 in the 4-inch, NGC 4753 is a
bright, multi-layered oval glow about 30
wide. With averted vision the nuclear
region pops into view, appearing extremely
bright – a small starlike bead nestled in a
faint lens. With a glance, the galaxy looks
circular, but averted vision quickly rectifies
that view, revealing it as a nice ellipse with
a circular core. The galaxy simply becomes
suddenly much brighter in the middle.
At 60, NGC 4753 displays what appears
to be a sharply defined nuclear region,
consisting of a starlike nucleus in a ring
of light with a bright outer boundary. The
disk beyond is a dappled tapestry of milky collared by a larger dappled elliptical disk.
light, with bright patches midway along Although I could not trace the dust veins
the major axis aligned east–west The ansae that appear in images of the galaxy, I “felt”
seem somewhat ill-defined. their presence in the mysterious dappled
The galaxy is more simple at 94: A tiny tapestry before me. The galaxy has been
circle of light surrounds a starlike nucleus host to two supernovae: SN 1965i and
that’s nested in a small lens of light and SN1983g.

65
Secret Deep 65
(NGC 4762)
N
26 2
5 60
Coma Berenices 93
24 11
Leo
3
41
a
NGC 4762
Virgo
E 20
W
11
35
7
The Secret Deep 271

65
65
Paper-Kite Galaxy
NGC 4762
Type: Lenticular Galaxy (S0 special)
Con: Virgo
RA: 12h 52.9m

Dec: þ11 040
Mag: 10.3
SB: 13.4 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 9.10 2.20

1784; combined with H II-74 (NGC
4754)] Two, nearby and parallel, the
preceding pretty bright, nearly
round. The following [NGC 4762]
pretty bright, very much extended,
8 or 100 in diameter. (H II-75)
n g c : Pretty bright, very much

extended in position angle 31 ,
3 bright stars south, following
of two.
n g c 4762 i s a s m a l l , s t u n n i n g ly in the vertical, but from its superior bright-

thin, yet reasonably bright, edge-on galaxy ness in the south, or upper end, it rises
about 2 west and slightly north of 3rd- while gazing from the dumpy egg-shape to
magnitude Epsilon (ε) Virginis. It forms a that of a paper kite: over it is an arch formed
noninteracting pair with less-exciting (and by three telescopic stars the symmetry
dimmer) NGC 4754, though the two can be of which is so peculiar as to add to that
quite stunning in large telescopes, espe- appearance.”
cially from a dark sky. But our target is a Although it’s hard to tell how much of
special one. It is, in fact, the flattest galaxy what Smyth saw was indeed mental sug-
known in the heavens. gestion, deep images of the galaxy today
We see NGC 4762 perfectly edge on. And do show long warped extensions to the
interestingly, despite its intense needle-like main disk – but they appear of near-equal
appearance in images, Admiral William brightness and do not favor a brighter
Henry Smyth saw more to it than that. southern portion. Yet, I like Smyth’s
“This is a fine object,” he says, “trending description, so I have decided to honor
south preceding and north following, nearly him by calling this galaxy the Paper-Kite,

65
because, who knows, you might experi- a small satellite galaxy with 10 percent of
ence a similar view. the host galaxy’s mass; the companion,
NGC 4762 belongs to the Virgo Cluster then, could have could settled inside the
of galaxies and is receding from us at 984 host’s disk – distributing its stars partly in
km/sec. If we accept its distance of 65 million the galaxy’s thin central disk and partly in
light-years, the galaxy spans 170,000 light- the thick disk (which formed by thermal
years across and shines with a luminosity of heating during the merging). NGC 4762
nearly 1.5 billion Suns. Most peculiar is that consuming a small companion would also
images fail to reveal any dust along the explain the mysterious warping seen in the
galaxy’s razor-sharp edge. This aspect led disk’s extensions. A merger would also
astronomers early on to classify it as an explain the blue color of NGC 4762’s lens,
armless edge-on lenticular (S01) – one con- as the interaction may have triggered star
sisting of a very small, very bright nucleus formation there. “NGC 4762 is thus not a
in a narrow, high-surface-brightness, flat galaxy with a flat edge-on bar,” Wozniak
central disk (1.70 0.10 ) with faint, twisted concludes.
(S-shaped), brush-like extensions. These To find this perfect edge-on system, use
details are surrounded by a quite asymmet- the chart of page 271 to locate Epsilon
ric thick disk (lens) of gas. Virginis. Now use binoculars to find 6.5-
Some astronomers suspected that the magnitude 41 Virginis 2½ to the north-
galaxy may hide a bar in its perfectly flat west. Center this star in your telescope,
inner disk. Indeed, some sources classify then switch to the chart on this page. From
NGC 4762 as the prototype SB0 galaxy of 41 Virginis, make a careful sweep 1 south-
the flat-bar variety. But in a 1995 Astron- east to 7th-magnitude Star a. NGC 4762
omy Letters and Communications (vol. 31,
pp. 165–167), Herve Wozniak (Geneva N
Observatory, Switzerland, and Marseille
Observatory, France) argues that such a
system should have a “thick bar,” while 41
NGC 4762 has only a thin central structure.
He also notes that the galaxy’s very lumi-
nous bulge is too small for a galaxy classi- Virgo
fied as an “early type.” And why, Wozniak
asks, is the galaxy’s outer lens “bluer” than
E W
the central “bar”? (Observations of lenses
around stellar bars in early-type galaxies
show that their colors are the same.) a 4754
What’s more, in face-on galaxies, bars and
lenses have almost the same major axis NGC 4762
length, but NGC 4762’s bar is almost 50
percent the length of the lens! 1˚
To explain these anomalies, the author
suggests that NGC 4762 has cannibalized S
The Secret Deep 273

65
is 400 southwest of Star a, between two
9.5-magnitude stars.
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 4762 is a tiny
little wisp of light, a sharp needle 40 long,
oriented northeast to southwest, jutting
into a pretty cap of three suns. At this
power, the galaxy is best seen with averted
vision, as it is inconceivably thin. The
galaxy becomes much more obvious at
60, though it still appears as a waif of
light, but with an obvious brightening at
the core – a hyperfine bead of gently
glowing light that looks somewhat like a
milkweed seed with opposing threads.
Averted vision brings out some “girth” to light that gradually fades away from the
the “threads.” center.
I found 94 to provide the best com- I could not see any difference in bright-
fortable view in my small scope. At this ness along the needle-like extension as
power, the core appears slightly lens Smyth did. But Luginbuhl and Skiff found
shaped with a faint circular, “starlike” the galaxy to shine with a silvery light in a
core. An elongated bead flanks the core 10-inch telescope. In a 12-inch, they traced
on either side along the major axis, which the spindle to a length of 7.50 and found
gives way to a hyperfine extension of the ends to taper to “sharp points.”

66
Secret Deep 66
(NGC 5033)
N
4
2
57
NGC 5033
55
14 Ursa Major
Canes Venatici
46
61
62
Leo
Minor
E 14 W
17 12 4
54
7 Leo
8
2 60
Coma Berenices 5 93
The Secret Deep 275

66
66
Waterbug Galaxy
NGC 5033
Type: Spiral Galaxy (SA(s)c)
Con: Canes Venatici
RA: 13h 13.4m

Dec: þ36 360
Mag: 10.2
SB: 14.4 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 10.50 5.10
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed May 1,
1785] Very bright, pretty large,
extended, nearly milky, easily
resolvable, much brighter in the
middle. (H I-97)
n g c : Very bright, pretty large,

extended toward position angle
167 , suddenly much brighter in
the middle to a very bright nucleus.
n g c 5 0 3 3 i s a m o d e r at e ly l a r g e Hinkley Allen explains in his 1963 book

and bright galaxy about 3 east-southeast Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning
of the fine 3rd-magnitude double star Alpha (Dover, New York), the suggestion came
(a) Canum Venaticorum (Cor Coroli) – the from the court’s physician, Sir Charles
brightest star in the celestial Hunting Scarborough, who said that the star had
Dogs between Boötes and Ursa Major, shone with special brilliancy on the eve of
which lies only 110 light-years distant. the King’s return to London on May 29,
Sometimes called the Puppies, the constel- 1660. Thus, in some old star charts, the star
lation is usually depicted as two Grey- is rendered as a heart-shaped figure sur-
hounds held by a leash in the hands of mounted by a crown.
Boötes, the Herdsman, ready to chase Our target, NGC 5033 is but a fuzzy flea
the Great Bear around the North Celestial on the hound’s back. But in true physical
Pole – a depiction that resurrects Hevelius’ extent it’s a whopping 180,000 light-years
original idea that Boötes was a hunter. Cor in length. NGC 5033 is just ½ southeast of
Caroli marks the southern hound’s collar, its telescopic “twin,” NGC 5005 (Caldwell
but was later set apart in 1725 by Astron- 29). Both galaxies are relatively close,
omer Royal Edmond Halley. As Richard residing in the Canes Venatici Spur of

66
galaxies, and are Seyfert galaxies, receding meaning that it is not as energetic as other
from us at nearly 900 km/sec. active galactic nuclei (AGN); still, LINERs
In deep images, NGC 5033 displays a emit X-rays and vary in brightness. About
small, but very bright, diffuse nucleus in a half of all galaxies studies are of this type.
bright bulge. They also reveal a spiral pat- Interestingly, Thean et al. did not find
tern of intricate, thin dark lanes, which are any evidence for a central bar or noncircu-
seen best in silhouette against the evident lar motions in NGC 5033’s central region.
near side of the bulge. These lanes help These observations counter the theory that
define several partially resolved, filamen- links large-scale bars to Seyfert fueling
tary arms with branches. (One observer mechanisms. Also surprising, the Seyfert
likened the sprawling “pincers” to thick nucleus appears to have no effect on the
insect-like arms, and I agree, though molecular hydrogen within a few thousand
I liken them to those of a water strider, light-years from the galaxy’s nucleus.
one of those graceful water bugs that skate, But in a 2003 Publications of the Astro-
skimmer, and scoot across the surface nomical Society of Japan (vol. 55, p. 103),
of ponds and slow-running streams.) Kotaro Kohno (University of Tokyo) and
Although many small HII regions exist in colleagues tell how their near-infrared
the arms, the star-formation rate in the observations of the galaxy’s near-nuclear
arms is moderate. Giant star-formation region “clearly suggests the presence of
regions, however, clearly trace the spiral a small (the semi-major axis of about
arms out to at least 40 radius. 1200 –1500 or 1.1–1.4 kpc) nuclear bar (or oval
We see NGC 5033’s disk inclined by 68 structure) in the center of the ‘non-barred’
from face on at position angle 352 , but galaxy.”
due to warping, these figures fall to 64 Many Seyfert galaxies do display many
and 342 , respectively, for the galaxy’s qualities of quasars and almost certainly
outermost reaches. As A. H. C. Thean produce the bulk of their energy output
(University of Manchester, UK), and col- in the same way – through the gravita-
leagues note in a 1997 Monthly Notices of tional influence of a supermassive black
the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 290, hole at the heart of the AGN. Radio obser-
pp. 15–24), they have found some evidence vations by M. A. Pérez-Torres (Instituto de
for a previous tidal encounter. Although Astrofı́sica de Andalucı́a, Granada, Spain)
the galactic disk is perturbed, it’s also and colleagues, and presented in a 2007
well-ordered, suggesting that any inter- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
action has been relatively weak. Society (vol. 379, pp. 275–281), revealed a
This Seyfert galaxy’s nuclear region is core-jet structure.
extremely luminous. It’s conspicuously The researchers also note that radio and
brighter in the near-infrared than at far-infrared emission from NGC 5033 are
visible wavelengths, suggesting that dust dominated by a starburst that during the
significantly obscures the nuclear region. last 10 million years produced stars at a
Like its extragalactic neighbor, NGC 5005 rate of 2.8 million solar masses per year,
(Caldwell 29), NGC 5033 is a LINER (low- yielding about one supernova event every
ionization nuclear emission-line region), 22 years. They also found evidence for a
The Secret Deep 277

66
radio spur in NGC 5033, which, they say,
“could have been due to a hot superbubble
formed as a consequence of sequential
supernova explosions occurring during
the lifetime of a giant molecular cloud.”
NGC 5033 has been an active supernova
producer, with events occurring in 1950
(SN 1950C), 1985 (SN 1985L), and 2001
(SN 2001gd).
To find this Seyfert galaxy, use the chart
on page 275 to locate Alpha Canum Vena-
ticorum, which is a little less than 15
southwest of Eta (Z) Ursae Majoris, the
easternmost star in the Big Dipper’s
Handle. Now use your unaided eyes or NGC 5033, because it lies just ½ southeast
binoculars to locate 5th-magnitude 14 of its telescopic “twin,” NGC 5005.
Canes Venaticorum about 3 to the south- Through telescopes of all sizes, it has a
east. Center 14 Canes Venaticorum in your bright core. Under a dark sky the core can
telescope at low power, then switch to the be seen in 7 50 binoculars with averted
chart on this page. From 14 CVn, make a vision. At 33, NGC 5033, though larger,
slow and careful sweep 1 east-northeast appears less conspicuous than NGC 5005,
to the 8th-magnitude eclipsing binary star but its bright core (which can be seen with
RS CVn. (The star varies between 8th- and direct vision) helps it to stand out in the
9th-magnitude every 4.8 days.) NGC 5033 field. With averted vision, the galaxy swells
is about 500 northeast of RS CVn, and a magnificently to a moderately large (50 )
little less than 200 south of 6.5-magnitude elliptical haze with a bright round core that
Star a. Take care, though, when identifying lies in a diffuse lens. The bright nucleus
forms the northeastern apex of an isos-
N celes triangle with two roughly 11th-
magnitude suns. At 60, the galaxy is a
Canes Venatici b
fine lens-shaped object that becomes
increasingly more condensed and round
5005
a toward the center. With time, I spotted
what appeared to be two enhancements
E NGC 5033
W along the galaxy’s major axis, which trans-
formed into two arcs of diffuseness at 94.
These appear to be two HII-rich enhance-
RS
ments in the galaxy’s inner arms. The
14 galaxy’s outer diffuse elliptical halo also
1˚
appears fractured with an S-shape, though
S
I cannot make out any distinct arms.

67
Secret Deep 67
(NGC 5195)
Draco
Ursa Major
E W
60
24 NGC 5195 65 56
M51
Canes Venatici 67
The Secret Deep 279

67
67
A Justifiable Replacement for M102
NGC 5195
Type: Peculiar Barred Spiral
(SB0? Pec)
Con: Canes Venatici
RA: 13h 30.0m

Dec: þ47 160
Mag: 9.6
Dim: 6.40 4.60

1787] Considerably bright, pretty
large, round or little extended, very
gradually brighter in the middle, 30
north preceding the 51st of the
Connaissance des Temps [M51].
(H I-186)
n g c : Bright, pretty small, little

extended, very gradually brighter
in the middle, involved in M51.
Astronomy is full of historical popular versions of his catalogue. These

quirks and curiosities. One of the most were added posthumously in the twentieth
famous is the case of M102 – the “mysteri- century; inclusion was based on the discov-
ous” non-Messier object. First, as a ery of notes and letters by Méchain and
reminder, Charles Messier did not discover Messier, as well as annotations found
all of the objects in his now famous cata- penned by Messier in his original printed
logue of 110 nebulae and clusters.1 His was catalogue and on an engraving.
a compilation of previously known objects, Of the original 103 objects, four were,
objects he discovered, and objects dis- until modern times, considered missing:
covered by his contemporaries, most M47 in Puppis, M48 in Hydra, M91 in
notably Pierre Méchain (1744–1805). Coma Berenices, and M102 in Ursa Major.
Messier also did not include the last seven All have been reasonably identified except
objects we recognize in many of today’s for, some say, M102. But this is not true.
1
Deep Sky Companions: The Messier Objects, Stephen James O’Meara (Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press;
Cambridge, MA, USA, Sky Publishing, 2000).

67
As I describe in Deep-Sky Companions: with a simple three-and-a-half-foot refractor.
Hidden Treasures, the story of M102 can be Nearby there is an eighth-magnitude star.”
briefly told: Méchain communicates to Messier makes no mention of any other
Messier a list of new objects. Messier con- “nebula” in the field, and a 7th-magnitude
firms all but three of them before he sub- star does lie roughly 200 to the east.
mits his work for publication. In haste, Harvard historian Owen Gingerich
Messier appends the three unconfirmed notes, however, that in the 1784 Connais-
objects to his work and introduces an sance des Temps, Messier appended his ori-
error. Méchain notices the mistake and ginal catalogue description of M51 to
immediately publishes a letter of correc- include these words: “It [M51] is double:
tion. In that letter Méchain explains, “This both parts have bright centers, and they
is nothing but an error. The nebula is the are 40 3500 apart. The two atmospheres are
same as the preceding No. 101. In the list in contact; one is much fainter than the
of my nebulous stars communicated to other. Observed several times.”
him M. Messier was confused due to an Despite what may be falsely implied,
error in the sky-chart.” Messier didn’t discover M51’s companion;
With that mystery solved – at least to Méchain did – a fact unearthed by French
those willing to accept the preponderance astronomy popularizer Camille Flammar-
of evidence over speculation2 – the Messier ion (1842–1925), who owned an original
catalogue truly does contain an unsung copy of Messier’s 1784 manuscript of his
(unlabeled/numbered) discovery that could catalogue. In it, Flammarion found a
justifiably fill the M102 gap. The story is one margin note – in Messier’s handwriting
of how history, in its annotated form, can (accompanied with “a little sketch”) –
hide some interesting and enlightening stating that “M. Méchain” saw M51 as
facts about discovery. I’m referring specific- “double.” He then transcribed Méchain’s
ally to Messier’s discovery of M51, the Whirl- original notes: “March 20th, 1781, saw this
pool Galaxy in Canes Venatici, and the nebula; effectively it is double. The center
subsequent and unsung discovery of its of each is brilliant and clear; distinct and
companion, NGC 5195. Messier discovered the light of each touches each other.”
M51 on October 13, 1773, “when observing After receiving Méchain’s discovery
the comet that appeared in that year.” After notes, Messier must have gone out and
making a refined observation of it on Janu- measured the separation of the two
ary 11, 1774, he described the object in his objects, thus explaining the noted separ-
expanded catalog, which appeared in the ation and his comment that he observed
French almanac Connaissance des Temps them “several times.” Some might argue
for 1783 (published in 1780). He called it a that, like most astronomers of his day,
“Very faint nebula without stars,” noting Messier believed that nebulae were clouds
that it could be seen “only with difficulty of matter from which stars were born – so
2
Today, some still dispute Méchain’s claim, believing instead that Méchain discovered NGC 5866, a bright lenticular
galaxy in Draco, discovered by William Herschel in 1788. See Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures, Stephen James
O’Meara (Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, MA, USA, Sky Publishing, 2007).
The Secret Deep 281

67
it would be not surprising that, like M78 in be brave, and tick off NGC 5195 as an
Orion, he would treat M51 and its com- unsung Méchain missive. (Important note:
panion as a single object. Remember, I’m not suggesting that NGC
But Messier didn’t see M78 as a “double” 5195 is M102; I’m suggesting it can be used
nebula. He and Méchain (who discovered to replace a nonexistent M102.)
the object) described it as a cluster of The importance of giving some spotlight
stars involved with nebulosity, which had to NGC 5195 is evidenced by the many
two bright nuclei – a very different descrip- careful visual observations of it. In images
tion than what was penned for M51 taken with large telescopes, the galaxy is a
and its companion. Each of these objects, marvel unto itself, especially as it is inter-
Méchain said, has a “distinct” center. In acting with M51 (Arp 85) – one of the
other words, he did not see two nuclei grandest examples of a spiral galaxy in
embedded in a single nebulosity but two the sky.
objects, clearly identifiable, yet touching. NGC 5195 most likely passed closest to
When William Herschel encountered M51 some 70 million years ago and is now
M51’s companion during a sweep of the on the far side of M 51, receding from
heavens on May 12, 1787, he might not us with a radial velocity of 465 km/sec.
have been aware of its existence (especially Indeed, high-resolution images reveal a
if he was using the 1783 Connaissance des vast swath of dust in M51’s northeast arm
Temps), which would explain why he felt slicing across the eastern face of NGC
justified in giving the companion an inde- 5195, lending visual proof of the pair’s rela-
pendent catalog number: H I-186 (now tive placement with respect to us.
NGC 5195). Otherwise, NGC 5195 appears as a dif-
Gingerich concludes, “While it’s safe to fuse disk galaxy, inclined 46 from face on,
assume that Herschel believed he had dis- with numerous internal dust lanes that
covered a new object, Méchain is NGC appear on the galaxy’s west side. The
5195’s rightful discoverer, and Messier galaxy is small, measuring only about
was the first to include it in a catalog.” 55,000 light-years in extent. If you could
Thus, it seems totally reasonable that take a broom and sweep away that dust,
anyone who wants to flesh out the Messier we might see NGC 5195 as an SB0 type
catalogue – so that it includes 110 objects galaxy, with peculiarities induced by tidal
rather than 109 (the 110 objects of modern interactions with M51. But no one is cer-
times minus M102), can replace M102 with tain of the true classification of the system
NGC 5195: It’s an object mentioned in (thus the question mark in the table
Messier’s original catalogue; it was dis- above); for now it’s all guess work. The
covered by Pierre Méchain, whom Messier description in the Hubble Atlas suggests
erroneously credited with the discovery of that the morphology has similarities to
M102 (a nonexistent object); it’s a distinct the Amorphous class, including M82.
object (a peculiar barred spiral galaxy, While M82 is a starburst galaxy, NGC
well worth one’s attention); and no one 5195 appears to be a post-starburst galaxy,
can argue the credibility of its discovery as evidenced by its warm thermal emis-
or of its existence. So, go ahead, be bold, sion deduced from IRAS measurements.

67
Curiously, no star-formation regions have
yet been found. In a 1996 Astronomy &
Astrophysics article, Olivier Boulade
(CEA/DSM/DAPNIA/Service d’Astrophysi-
que, Saclay, France) and his colleagues
suggest the infrared emission most likely
results from dust heated by the evolved
starburst population. “It is clear that NGC
5195 has undergone a starburst,” the Bou-
lade team argues, “that this starburst has
ceased.” The team also notes that very few
stars younger than B5 exist in NGC 5195,
thus leading them to believe that the
thermal emission comes from the evolved
stellar population.
In 2006, Korean astronomers Narae
Hwang and Myung Gyoon Lee (Seoul
National University) announced how they
had used mosaic images taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope to discover about
50 faint, fuzzy, star clusters around NGC
5195 with effective diameters of about 46
light-years, which is more than 45 Big Dipper’s Handle. Now use your
times larger than typical globular star clus- unaided eyes or binoculars to find 5th-
ters. The clusters are about 100,000 times magnitude 24 Canum Venaticorum, which
more massive than our Sun and older than is 2¼ west-southwest of Eta Ursae Majoris.
1 billion years. Most of these new clusters After centering 24 Canum Venaticorum
are scattered in an elongated region almost in your telescope at low power, use the
perpendicular to the northern spiral arm more detailed chart on page 284 to make a
of M51, slightly north of NGC 5195’s slow and careful 1½ sweep southwest to a
nucleus. In contrast, NGC 5195’s normal 400 -wide equilateral triangle (a) of 7th-
compact red clusters are located around magnitude suns. NGC 5195 is 200 west of
the bright optical body of the host galaxy. the southernmost star in Triangle a, a little
Hwang and Lee suggest that at least some less than 50 north of M51’s nucleus.
faint fuzzy clusters are experiencing tidal At 33 in the 4-inch, NGC 5195 is a
interactions with the companion galaxy brilliant 30 -wide circular glow, with an
M51 and must be associated with the tidal intense core that’s brighter than M51’s! It
debris in the western halo of NGC 5195. shines like a 9th-magnitude comet (sans
To find this little marvel, you, of course, tail) with a bright nucleus, intense inner
want to first locate M51. Use the chart on coma and a diffuse outer coma. It all but
page 279 to locate 2nd-magnitude Eta (Z) joins M51; with averted vision and a care-
Ursae Majoris, the easternmost star in the ful gaze, I can see a thread of darkness
The Secret Deep 283

67
N
Canes
Venatici
24
E W
a
NGC 5195
M51
object out of the field of view; then, with
1˚
the clock drive off, he waited patiently for
S the object to drift back into the field of
view – all the while waiting with averted
vision, until he saw the faintest breath of
light enter the field. Thus, he would record
between them. At 60, the two galaxies are the object’s dim outer extensions.
a marvel. The gulf separating the two can With averted vision, the view at 60
be clearly seen, except on the eastern side, shows NGC 5195 appearing more oval
where M51’s arm lances NGC 5195. This shaped, oriented east to west. A bright
protruding arm is a subtle revelation, how- nebulous “star” shines at the galaxy’s core,
ever, even in the 5-inch under dark skies; which is surrounded by a circular collar of
and it requires a bit of gentle tube tapping snowy white light, which is, in turn,
or making tiny, slow sweeps back and forth nestled in a diffuse and slightly elliptical
(from east-to-west), so the galaxies drift outer halo. At 94, the galaxy’s core looks
across the field of view, causing light to irregular with faint extensions bleeding off
continuously sweep over the eye’s many to the west from the galaxy’s northern and
rod cells (those sensitive to dim light), southern tips; the core (like a stubby bar
stimulating awareness. oriented north–south) also appears to
As I describe in Deep-Sky Companions: bulge in that direction, as if it were impreg-
The Messier Objects, this sweeping of the nated with matter. The core’s overall
telescope is akin to an old trick employed appearance is that of a capital sigma (S).
by the nineteenth-century astronomer With time, much attention, and averted
George Phillips Bond (1825–1865) at Harvard vision (almost to the point of straining),
College Observatory in Cambridge, Massa- I can see some diffuse material just north
chusetts. When using the great 15-inch of NGC 5195, appearing as a dim patch of
Merz and Mahler refractor to observe dif- feeble light separate from NGC 5195. The
fuse objects, he would, at times, place the views were consistent enough for me to

67
put faith in the fact that this was light from I brought my eye to the eyepiece and saw
the tidal plumes so apparent in larger M51’s spiral wonder with one long arm
telescopes. embracing NGC 5195. Defaced with dust,
Indeed, it’s hard to say just how beau- “arms” contorted into wide-sweeping
tiful M51 appeared when I observed it nebulous arcs on the galaxy’s northern
from the the Texas Star Party one year and southern edges, NGC 5195 burned
through Larry Mitchell’s 36-inch reflector. forth with imperial light. And without
Seeing it so high in the sky required much need for averted vision, I saw wide
standing in peril high atop a 20-foot-tall plumes of gaseous matter “sweeping off”
ladder near the top rungs and holding on the galaxy to the north and spreading into
to the telescope’s truss supports as a pre- a glorious wash of wispy tendrils that
caution against demonic wind gusts that seemed to flow away like ash blown by a
continually threatened my existence. Feet gust of wind – the beauty that is the hobby
braced, hands clutching, heart-pounding, of astronomy captured in a single view.
The Secret Deep 285

68
Secret Deep 68
(NGC 5466)
Canes
Venatici
Bootes
E
NGC 5466
a W
11
9
12
CrB
Arcturus

68
68
Snowglobe, Ghost Globular
NGC 5466
Con: Boötes
RA: 14h 05.4m

Dec: þ28 320
Mag: 9.0
Diam: 90
Dist: ~52,000 l.y.

1784] A cluster of extremely [faint]
and compressed stars 6 or 70 in
diameter, many of the stars visible,
they are so [faint] as to appear
nebulous. (H VI-9)
n g c : Cluster, large, very rich, very

much compressed, stars
11th-magnitude and fainter.
n g c 5 4 6 6 i s a b e au t i f u l g l o b u l a r spanning 20 light-years. In a 2004 Astro-

cluster almost 10 north-northwest of nomical Society of the Pacific Conference
0-magnitude Alpha (a) Boötis (Arcturus). Series (vol. 327, p. 284), Michael Oden-
It’s in one of those inconspicuous regions kirchen and Eva K. Grebel (Max Planck
of sky that, save for globular star cluster Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg,
M3 in Canes Venatici some 5 to the west, Germany) noted that the cluster’s internal
is largely devoid of any notably bright properties, then, are very similar to those
deep-sky objects for 20 or so on a side. of the low-mass halo cluster Palomar 5,
But the globular is very much worthy of which was recently found to have long tails
your attention. of tidal debris.
NGC 5466 is one of the Galaxy’s metal- Interestingly, in 2007 Michael Fellhauer
poor globulars; its stars have, on average, (Universidad de Concepción, Chile) and
only about 1/166 as much iron (per unit of his colleagues discovered that NGC 5466
hydrogen) as does the Sun. It’s also one of also has a tidal tail – currently the longest
the less luminous, having a mass of about on record for a globular cluster in the
50,000 Suns spread across nearly 140 light- Milky Way. Unlike with Palomar 5, the
years of space. Its core is also large, researchers suggest that NGC 5466 may
The Secret Deep 287

68
be the remnant core of a now
dispersed dwarf spheroidal
galaxy cannibalized by the
Milky Way. Fellhauer et al.
note that Sloan Digital Sky
Survey data show this roughly NGC 5466
1½ -wide stream extending
across 45 of sky – from Boötes
to Ursa Major. The tail, they
presume, is the result of tidal
forces ripping the cluster apart
as it passed the closest point
to the Galactic center as it
Sun
crossed the Milky Way’s disk.
The effect was a slow dissol-
ution of NGC 5466, accounting Galactic Plane
for about 60 percent of its
mass to be lost over the course
of its evolution.
Today, NGC 5466 lies about
as distant from the Sun as it
does from the Galactic center, as it is now Galactic center. Odenkirchen and Grebel
above the plane of the Galaxy (~52,000 argue that since the position angle of
light-years). But as Odenkirchen and the cluster’s halo is about þ30 and the
Grebel demonstrate, the cluster lies on a direction position angle of the Galactic
highly eccentric orbit that brings it as far center–anticenter is þ43 , this “provides
away as about 130,500 light-years from the first evidence for a possible tidal perturb-
Galactic center. (We see it approaching ation of the cluster and eventual mass loss
in its high arc at a velocity of about 120 because the Galactic tidal field will drag
km/sec.) But about 50 million years ago, stars away from the cluster along the
the cluster was passing through the Milky Center–Anticenter line.” Thus, each time
Way’s disk at a distance of only about the cluster passes through the Galaxy’s
26,000 light-years from the Galactic center. disk, it robs low-mass stars from the clus-
Thus, the researchers say, the cluster prob- ter (because they tend to lie at the cluster’s
ably received a tidal shock, which, due to periphery) while stretching out the cluster
the low mass and low concentration of the like a comet’s tail.
cluster, might have led to a significant loss While it’s known that globular star clus-
of stars. ters contain some of the oldest stars
In deep images, NGC 5466’s halo known, some cluster cores are found to
appears elongated towards the southwest have stars that are bluer and brighter than
and northeast, so the stars are seen prefer- other cluster members – as if, somehow,
entially near the directions towards the they were born more recently than their

68
binoculars to find 5th-
magnitude 12 Boötis (about 6
to the north-northwest). Now
look 4 northwest for 5th-
magnitude 9 Boötis. Center 9
Boötis in your telescope at low
power, then switch to the chart
on this page. From 9 Boötis,
make a gentle 1 sweep east-
southeast to 6.5-magnitude 11
Boötis. Next, move 300 east-
northeast to 7th-magnitude
Star a. A 400 sweep to the east-
northeast will bring you to
8th-magnitude Star b. And a
roughly 450 swing to the
north-northeast takes you to
7th-magnitude Star c. NGC
5466 is only 200 northwest of
Star c.
siblings. These “blue stragglers” remained In a small telescope under a dark sky
a mystery for about half a century. NGC 5466 will look like the diffuse head
Now astronomers believe they’re formed of a 9th-magnitude comet with little cen-
either when the stars in a binary system tral concentration. But any light pollution
slowly merge or when two unrelated stars will ruin the view. In the 5-inch at 33
collide. Hugh C. Harris and his colleagues under a dark sky, it’s a roughly 80 -wide
found nine blue-straggler variable stars glow, round and uniform, like a tailless
in NGC 5466: six are
dwarf Cepheids and three N
are eclipsing binaries, the
Canes Venatici
latter being the hottest
blue stragglers known. NGC 5466
c
The researchers postulate
that all the blue stragglers
in this cluster have under- E W
gone mass transfer in
b
close binary systems.
To find this delicate and Bootes a
mysterious object, use the 9

11
chart on page 286 to locate 1˚
Alpha Boötis. Next, use
S
your unaided eyes or
The Secret Deep 289

68
comet with no central condensation. With
averted vision, the globular’s fringe looks
irregular and somewhat frazzled. When
I spend time looking at the cluster with
low power and averted vision, faint stars
pop in and out of view; it reminds me of
an old snowglobe (minus the model land-
scape) that’s been vigorously shaken.
At 60, the cluster remains a large and
uniform, low-surface-brightness glow that
transforms into a fractured spread of very
dim stars, like a fog suddenly shattered by
the wind. With time and concentration,
I can see some stubby starfish-like arms
that extend from a ring of stellar clustering of the central ring seen at 60) oriented
at the core. north–south and extending perhaps 40 .
At 94 (the most magnification this low- The cluster’s brightest stars, which hover
contrast cluster will take comfortably) with around 14th magnitude are but ephemeral
the 5-inch, the globular breaks up into dim waifs of light that sparkle briefly in and
mottled patches with some irregularities. out of view, mainly throughout the core,
Most apparent are two parallel rows of whose horizontal branch magnitude is a
stars at the core (the brightest framework dim 16.5.

69
Secret Deep 69
(NGC 5033)
M5
10 110
84 78
109
5
Serpens Caput
NGC 5846
µ
11
16
E Virgo
Libra
W
89
Hydra
The Secret Deep 291

69
69
NGC 5846
Type: Elliptical Lenticular Galaxy
(E1/S01?)
Con: Virgo
RA: 15h 06.4m

Dec: þ01 360
Mag: 10.0
Dim: 3.00 3.00
24, 1786] (H I-128)
n g c : Very bright, pretty large, round,

pretty suddenly brighter in the middle
to a nucleus, faint star involved south,
partially resolved, some stars seen.
n g c 5 8 4 6 i s a s m a l l b u t r e l at i v e ly Deep list to accommodate this wonderfully

conspicuous elliptical lenticular galaxy bright elliptical – one nearly 0.5 magnitude
near 4th-magnitude 110 Virginis in the far brighter than the faintest Messier galaxies.
eastern reaches of the Maiden near the The galaxy belongs to the Virgo–Libra
western border of Serpens Caput. It’s also cloud of galaxies and is receding from us
only about 3 west-southwest of the great at 1,714 km/sec. We see the galaxy tilted
globular star cluster M5. 31 from face on, 130 million light-years
The galaxy appears charted in my 1966 distant, making it span 110,000 light-years
Norton’s Star Atlas (Sky Publishing Corp., of space and shine with a total luminosity
Cambridge) but I had never hunted it down of 62 billion Suns. NGC 5846 is also the
until I tackled the Herschel 400 list, of brightest member in the NGC 5846 group,
which it is a member. Even through my which includes other nearby splendors
4-inch Tele Vue Genesis refractor, the galaxy such as 12.7-magnitude NGC 5839 (about
was a 20 -wide and relatively obvious fuzzy 280 west-northwest), 12.5-magnitude NGC
patch, yet I rated it only as a “3,” meaning 5845 (about 80 west-northwest), magnitude
it’s only moderately impressive. But this 10.8 NGC 5850 (about 100 southeast), and
fact changed when I serendipitously turned 12.8-magnitude NGC 5846A only 3500
my 5-inch Tele Vue refractor on it in May south, with which it forms a noninteract-
2010. Upon seeing its obvious form at low ing pair. The NGC 5846 group is the third
power, I immediately altered my Secret most massive aggregate of early-type

69
galaxies after the Virgo and Fornax clusters condensed out of a cooling gas flow, or
in the local universe. As of 2005, altogether, from mass loss of late-type stars within
324 candidate members have been identi- the galaxy, they argue that the dust and
fied, and 83 have been confirmed optical nebulosity seen in the galaxy are
spectroscopically. materials donated during a recent inter-
NGC 5846 was initially classified as a giant action with a small, gas-rich, neighboring
elliptical (E1) galaxy, but modern studies galaxy, probably of the Magellanic type.
argue that claim. The galaxy’s classification As for NGC 5846’s non-interacting com-
as an elliptical was largely based on early panion (NGC 5846A), it has a redshift dif-
white-light photos of NGC 5846, which ference of 554 km/sec which, although
showed it to possess a bright diffuse nucleus large, is not uniquely so for close pairs. If
surrounded by a smooth lens of little defin- the pair is a binary at the given distance,
ition – typical of an elliptical system. the projected linear separation would be
But NGC 5846 is a fascinating X-ray galaxy only about 23,000 light-years, supportive
with a complex, filamentary morphology – of the large velocity difference. However,
one that extends over more than 30 , almost there is no evidence for a physical bridge
to the limits of the optical galaxy. X-ray between the galaxies.
images reveal two “spiral arms,” directed to As reported in a 2006 Astronomy & Astro-
the southeast and southwest and a weak physics (vol. 455, p. 453), Brazilian astron-
hard X-ray nucleus coincident with a radio omer A. L. Chies-Santos and colleagues
source detected by the Very Large Array. used archival Hubble Space Telescope
Some astronomers argue that the galaxy’s images to survey the galaxy’s well-studied
extended envelope and lens is not charac- globular-cluster system. The team detected
teristic of an elliptical system, but is proto- two dozen previously unknown candidates
typical of a lenticular S01 type. Others say in the central regions. Their typical effect-
that NGC 5846 is an example of a giant ellip- ive radii are in the range 10–16 light-years.
tical with a very low (but present) rotation They also found seven compact X-ray
and a high central dispersion.
physics (vol. 330, pp. 123–135) N
Paul Goudfrooij (Space Telescope 5838
110
Science Institute) and Ginevra
a
Trinchieri (Brera Astronomical NGC 5846
Observatory, Milan, Italy) pre- 5859
sented new optical imagery and 5839

ROSAT X-ray imagery of NGC E 5813 W
5846, which revealed a filamen- 5846A
Virgo
tary dust lane with a dust mass 5859
of about 7,000 Suns in the few
central thousand light-years of 1˚
the galaxy. The astronomers say
S
that while the feature could have
The Secret Deep 293

69
counterparts to globular clusters, most of
them in the central region. These are
among the most luminous X-ray sources
in NGC 5846.
To find NGC 5846, use the chart on
page 291 to locate 110 Virginis, which is
4 east-northeast of 109 Virginis. Center
110 Virginis in your telescope at low power,
then switch to the chart on page 293.
From 110 Virginis, move about 350 east-
southeast to 8th-magnitude Star a. NGC
5846 is just 300 southeast of Star a.
Under a dark sky in the 5-inch at 33,
NGC 5846 is a 20 -wide and immediately
obvious diffuse circular glow, very con-
densed, that brightens to a core. With star projected on the galaxy’s outer halo.
averted vision, it appears trapped between Although condensed, the main galaxy’s
two stars. I feel the galaxy is obvious sole nucleus is somewhat diffuse, not star-
enough to be readily visible with a small like. The view is much clearer at 94, when
telescope from a suburban location. all these features are well resolved. I was
At 60, my eye was immediately caught still especially taken by the prominence of
by the obvious dual nature of the core, NGC 5846A and how compact and stead-
which at times even seemed triple along a fast it appeared. The 11th-magnitude
north–south line, making the galaxy appear galaxy NGC 5850 can also be seen 100 to
elongated in that direction. But the southern the southeast as a larger and fainter
part of the “core” was the nearly 13th- ghostly glow, but in CCD images, like
magnitude companion NGC 5846A! I was Mario Motta’s that opens the section, it’s a
startled at that little galaxy’s obvious appear- much more remarkable sight than NGC
ance. The northern component was a faint 5846!

70
Secret Deep 70
(NGC 5907)
Camelopardalis
Draco
24
1,2
Ursa Minor
23
E W
Draco
76 37
NGC 5907
T
75
70
a 74
Bootes Ursa Major

Canes Venatici
The Secret Deep 295

70
70
Splinter, Knife-Edge, Cat Scratch
Galaxy
NGC 5907
Con: Draco
RA: 15h 15.9m

Dec: þ56 200
Mag: 10.3
Dim: 11.50 1.70
w. h e r s c h e l [Observed May 5,
1788]: Pretty bright, faint near the
middle, 8 or 100 long, 1.20 wide.
(H II-759)
n g c : Considerably bright, very large,

very much extended toward position
angle 155 , very gradually, then
pretty suddenly brighter in the
middle to a nucleus.
n g c 5 9 0 7 i s a m o d e r at e ly l a r g e about 2 from edge on. Consequently,

and extremely thin edge-on galaxy in strong, opaque dust lanes all but hide its
Draco only about 1½ northeast of the tiny nuclear bulge. In the late nineteenth
more famous edge-on lenticular galaxy century, the Third Earl of Rosse detected
NGC 5866, which some like to think may and drew a “ray, very much extend, parallel
be M102 (see also Secret Deep 67). Com- to [NGC 5907], and close preceding it.”
monly called the Splinter or Knife-Edge Although Dreyer gave it a separate NGC
Galaxy (I call it the Cat Scratch Galaxy), number (5906), the “ray” is nothing more
NGC 5907 will be a challenge for small- than the side of NGC 5907 just to the west
telescope users who are not under a dark of the dust lane.
sky. But I’ve glimpsed the galaxy in a In true physical size, NGC 5907 is a
4-inch from Hawaii, and it’s an impressive splendid system: Spanning about 120,000
sight in larger instruments. light-years in length and having a mass of
A relatively close neighbor, the early 230 billion Suns, the galaxy is one of the
spiral galaxy resides in the Draco Cloud of largest edge-on systems visible on the sky.
galaxies, where we see it inclined only Its outermost spiral arms can be seen at

70
either end of the spindle, with the northern
one opening toward the observer and the
southern one going away. Spectroscopic
observations show that the south end of
the spindle is approaching, indicating that
the galaxy’s arms are trailing. Radio obser-
vations indicate that the rotation velocity
of the galaxy increases steeply in the cen-
tral ~1000 (~1,600 light-years). After that, the
rotation curve is almost flat until 65,000
light-years, beyond which it gradually
declines. The galaxy as a whole is receding
from us at a velocity of 780 km/sec.
Unlike many large spiral galaxies that
have equal populations of giant and dwarf
stars in their halos, that of NGC 5907
appears to be delinquent in giant stars. As
reported in a 1999 University of California,
Berkeley, press release, astronomers using
the Hubble Space Telescope to image the
extended halo of NGC 5907 found it highly
deficient in giant stars. They expected to see
more than 100 giants, but instead only
turned up one candidate; the halo dwarfs
outshine the giants by a factor of 20. While around NGC 5907. Their deep images,
it’s been proposed that just such a popula- from a small robotic observatory in New
tion of dwarfs could be a constituent of the Mexico, reveal for the first time a large-
dark matter making up galaxy halos, a group scale complex of arcing loops, which they
of French astronomers suggested the giant say is an “excellent example of how low-
depletion was the result of a long-ago colli- mass satellite accretion can produce an
sion with a companion elliptical galaxy, interwoven, rosette-like structure of debris
which eventually merged with NGC 5907. dispersed in the halo of its host galaxy.”
HI observations have shown a large disk of The arcing structures, which form tenu-
interstellar gas, which is warping in the ous loops extending more than 150,000
outermost regions of the galaxy, which light-years from the galaxy, probably rep-
could be a sign of a previous merger. resent the ghostly debris trail of a dwarf
New evidence came in a 2008 Astrophys- galaxy that once orbited NGC 5907 but
ical Journal (vol. 689, pp. 184–193), where was gradually ripped apart. Over the
David Martı́nez-Delgado (Instituto de course of some 4 billion years, the scat-
Astrofı́sica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain) tered remains ultimately merged with
and colleagues present evidence for an NGC 5907, leaving behind only faint traces
extended stellar tidal stream wrapping (the ghostly loops) of the cannibalistic
The Secret Deep 297

70
event. “The findings confirm N
that halos of spiral galaxies in
NGC 5907
the local universe may still
Draco
contain a significant number
of galactic fossils from their
c
hierarchical formation,” the
researchers say. Indeed, the 5866
finding supports the theory b

5905 5862
suggesting that large spiral 5870
5908
galaxies such as NGC 5907
E W
and our own Milky Way
formed by cannibalizing and
accreting smaller neighbors.
Their model of the tidal dis- 5874
Bootes
ruption demonstrates that
most of the tidal features a
observed in NGC 5907 can be

1˚
explained by a single accretion
event. The findings are inter- S
esting because NGC 5907 has
long been considered a proto-
typical example of a warped spiral galaxy north of Star a, and 100 northeast of 7.5-
in relative isolation. “The presence of an magnitude Star b. From NGC 5866, move
extended tidal stream,” the researchers 550 east-northeast to 7.5-magnitude Star c.
argue, “challenges this picture and sug- NGC 5907 is 300 further to the northeast.
gests that the gravitational perturbations I tried to spy it in binoculars but failed.
induced by the stream progenitor must I wasn’t certain either if I spied it in my
be considered as a possible cause for the antique telescope; if it was, it certainly was
warp.” at the limit. But at 33 in the 5-inch under
To find this beautiful galaxy, I suggest a dark sky, NGC 5907 is a 100 -long
first finding NGC 5866 – a moderately phantom sliver of light (oriented north-
sized and highly condensed lenticular northwest to south-southeast). With time
galaxy about 4 southwest of 3rd- and averted vision this magnificent needle
magnitude Iota (i) Draconis. Use the chart looks like a tiny tear in the fabric of space.
on page 295 to first find Iota Draconis, (That’s why I call it the Cat Scratch Galaxy.)
then look for 5th-magnitude Star a just At 60, the needle seems to swell insig-
about 5 southwest. Use binoculars if you nificantly in the middle, while the arms
have to, but Star a should be easy to iden- appear slightly uneven in brightness. The
tify, since it is the brightest star in the northwest side of the galaxy appears
region. Center Star a in your telescope at sharper and brighter than the southeast
low power, then switch to the chart on this side. I believe the former feature may be
page. NGC 5866 is just a little more than 1 Lord Rosse’s mysterious “ray.”

70
At 94, the bulge stands out more prom-
inently as a flattened oval that gradually gets
brighter toward the center to a starlike
nucleus, which appears extremely sharp
with averted vision. When I run my eyes
along the razor-sharp edge of the disk, I can
see hyperfine wisps of dust lining it. The
faintly glowing disk stretches out on either
side of the dust, and appears fractured in
places, particularly near the ansae, which is
where the furthest spiral arms open. The
sight is quite mesmerizing and I’m certain
its ghostly visage will impress you.
The Secret Deep 299

71
Secret Deep 71
(IC 4593)
42
74 52
Hercules
a
M13
Corona
Borealis
E W
51
49 Ser
Ophiuchus
29
IC 4593 Serpens

71
71
White-Eyed Pea
IC 4593
Con: Hercules
RA: 16h 11.7m

Dec: þ12 040
Dim: >1200
Dist: ~3,400 l.y.
Disc: Williamina Paton Fleming,
1907
w. h e r s c h e l : None
i c : Planetary, stellar
i c 4 5 9 3 i s a l i t t l e s t e l l a r p l a n e t- to “The weather and the effect of heavenly

ary nebula in southwestern Hercules, bodies on natural phenomena.”
about 9 northeast of 3rd-magnitude Alpha But IC 4593 lies just over the northeast-
(a) Serpentis (Unukalhai) – the neck of ern border of Serpens, in a stellar desert of
the Snake (Serpent) and possibly the luci- Hercules – a neglected and obscure stretch
dus Anguis (bright Serpent) in Virgil’s of space, just beyond the hazy splendor of
Georgics: I. 204–7: the Milky Way. Yet this little gem has an
11th-magnitude central star visible in large
Furthermore we farmers should pay as much binoculars, and even the smallest of tele-
attention to Arcturus, the times of the Kids
scopes will show the tiny nebula’s pale
and the bright Serpent as do those who,
greenish pallor – if your eyes are sensitive
sailing homewards over stormy seas, attempt
to color.
the Pontus and the straits of oyster-bearing
Abydos.
Our target is another discovery over-
looked by all the great observers until
Thus we see yet another reference to our Williamina Paton Fleming found it in
astronomical ancestors’ reliance on the 1907 while surveying glass plates taken
stars to predict the weather. In Roman with Harvard College Observatory’s 8-inch
times, for instance, the Hyades (Caldwell 41) f/5.5 Bache refractor, which was equipped
were known as Sidus Hyantis, the Rain- with an objective prism to record spectra.
Bringing Stars, and in his Natural History, In her scans, she had noticed that this
Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) devotes a section object in Hercules displayed the peculiar
The Secret Deep 301

71
bright lines of a “gaseous
nebula,” a phrase commonly
used back then to describe
planetary nebulae.
Harvard College Observa-
tory director Edward Charles
Pickering announced her dis-
covery in the observatory’s 1908
Annals (vol. 60, pp. 147–194).
Subsequently, John Louis Emil
Dreyer included it in his 1908
Second Index Catalogue of
Nebulae and Clusters of Stars,
which contained objects
found in the years 1895 to
1907. IC 4593 was one of 43
objects Fleming ultimately
added to the Index Catalogue.
(For a more descriptive write-
up of Fleming’s work, see
Secret Deep 27 (IC 2149).) interpret. Some of the work that has been
In his 1918 summary of 762 nebulae and done on the nebula is described below.
clusters photographed with the 36-inch Seen in color, the HST image shows the
Crossley reflector at Lick Observatory (Pub- nebula glowing with a greenish hue,
lications of Lick Observatory, vol. 13, pp. making it look like some form of ectoplas-
9–42), Heber D. Curtis described IC 4593 as mic wonder from the movie Ghost Busters.
a “Central star . . . surrounded by a disk of The nebula’s most pronounced features
bright matter . . . fading out a little toward are two inner shells out to 1000 , the outer-
the edges . . . bright wing at north . . . and a most one of which is clearly elliptical.
smaller and fainter projection opposite this.” In a 1996 Mexican Journal of Astronomy
Modern images of IC 4593 (including the and Astrophysics, J. Bohigas and L. Olguin
Hubble Space Telescope image above (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de
right) reveal it to be a striking asymmet- Mexico) argue that the morphology of IC
rical planetary nebula, consisting of a 4593 may be due to different forms of
complex system of shells with clearly mass loss from the central star and not
defined ansae and condensations that caused by supersonic motion into the
extend to in excess of 10 (1 light-year) from interstellar medium, which had been
the roughly 11th-magnitude variable cen- earlier proposed.
tral star. (Note that the diameter listed in The inner shell has a high-density inner
the table above is only for the bright inner rim 2.500 from the central star. This appears
shells.) The origin of IC 4593’s different to be the result of the interaction between
morphological structures is difficult to the nebula and a fast (1,600 km/sec) hot

71
wind from the central star. While the two light-years, with the best estimate being
shells themselves are perhaps related to around 3,400 light-years.
different episodes of mass ejections from To find this lovely emerald nebula, use the
the central star; similar structures are seen chart on page 300 to locate 4.5-magnitude
in NGC 6543 (Caldwell 6) in Draco and IC Omega (o) Herculis. You’ll want to use your
418 (Hidden Treasure 28) in Lepus. binoculars to now locate 6.5-magnitude
The inner shell also has a highly asym- 49 Serpentis 3 to the west-southwest;
metrical system of low-ionization bright 49 Sepentis (now in Hercules) marks the
knots to the southwest, which resemble northern tip of a nearly 200 -wide triangle
outward-facing bow-shocks. These are with two roughly magnitude 8.5 suns. Once
located at different position angles and lie you confirm it, switch to the chart on this
at different distances from the central star. page, center 49 Sepentis in your telescope,
In a 1997 New Astronomy (vol. 2, p. 461), then look about 450 south-southwest for
Romano L. M. Corradi (IAC, La Laguna, 7th-magnitude Star a, which has an
Tenerife, Spain) and his colleagues note 8th-magnitude companion about 120 to the
that these features also have low radial south-southwest. IC 4593 is about 450
velocity tails pointing to the central star, further to the south-southwest, about 100
as well as enigmatic extensions in the north-northeast of 8.5-magnitude Star b –
outer regions of the nebula. It’s possible, actually a tight double star Struve 2016 with
the astronomers argue, that the observed a 10th-magnitude companion 700 distant.
features are the result of multiple collimated Before searching for this object, I was
outflows propagating from the central star. astutely aware that many amateurs have
The inner shell is bounded by an outer had trouble locating it. This seems surpris-
inner shell that is strongly brightened to ing, since an 11th-magnitude “star” can be
the northwest, forming an intriguing arc-like seen in a telescope as small as a 2.5-inch
feature with a noticeable bulge. This appears
to be associated with opposing, collimated
N
outflows, culminating at about 1200 (0.2 light-
year) from the central star with bright knots 49 Ser
at each ansa. The ansae are reminiscent of
those in NGC 7009 (Caldwell 55), the Saturn
Nebula in Aquarius. Serpens
The two inner shells are nested within a a
nearly spherical and highly excited halo,
E W
which is most likely entirely dominated
by photo-ionization from the central star. Hercules
Indeed, the nebula’s 11th-magnitude type
IC 4593
O central star is still heating the nebula
b
with a current relatively low temperature
of 40,000 K. It should also be noted that the 1˚
distance to the nebula is vague, with deter-
S
minations ranging from 3,000 to 10,000
The Secret Deep 303

71
refractor. The problem appears to be that it
is so bright that it’s hard to believe that the
“star” one is seeing at its position can actu-
ally be a planetary nebula. What’s worse is
that even through my 5-inch telescope
(and I know others with much larger tele-
scopes have all had the same experience)
the nebula remains starlike until you
reach magnifications of at least 70 and
depending on the seeing conditions per-
haps even 100.
One night when I went out to study it,
I found it virtually starlike at a power
of 94. What you’re seeing, of course, is
the nebula’s 11th-magnitude central star!
Higher magnification is required to resolve and halo were clearly defined. I could make
the tiny ~1000 nebulous disk from the star. out a cross-shaped inner ring surrounded
But this is doable. The nebula has an by a more diffuse and irregularly round
extremely high surface brightness, so it halo. The details wafted in and out view,
can handle all manner of power. I found and it was a challenge to keep tracking
that the nebula just starts to show well at the nebula with my driveless scope in
180. A power of 282 shows the bright such a small field of view, but the effort
stellar core surrounded by a very fine, was worth the detail seen. Give it a try.
though tight, halo of bright light. My most And remember, in the corrupted verna-
astounding view came at 495 – that’s a cular of TV’s U.S.S. Starship Enterprise
magnification of virtually 100 per inch of engineer Scotty, “You’ve got to give it more
aperture! At that grand magnification, the star power!”

72
Secret Deep 72
(NGC 6144)
N
Serpens Cauda 20
Libra
48
NGC 6356
a
58
Ophiuchus
51
Sagittarius 44 NGC 6293
NGC 6144
36 M4
E 13 W
45
Scorpius Lupus
1
2 1
µ2
G
µ1 2
Corona
Australis µ
Ara Norma
µ
s
The Secret Deep 305

72
72
NGC 6144
Con: Scorpius
RA: 16h 27.2m

Dec: 26 010
Mag: 9.0
SB: 13.3 (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 90
Dist: ~27,700 l.y.

1784] A very compressed and
considerably large cluster of the
[faintest] stars imaginable, all of a
dusky red colour. The next step to an
easily resolvable nebula. (H VI-10)

much compressed, gradually brighter
in the middle, well resolved,
n g c 6144 i s a p r e t t y s e c r e t regions to the Sun. In photographs, the

globular cluster about 400 northwest of cloud is a complex web of wonder, a vast
the ruby heart of the celestial Scorpion – scrim of colorful reflection and emission
1st-magnitude Alpha (a) Scorpii (Antares) – nebulae, washed through and through
and about 1 northeast of the much more with dark, serpentine forms of cold
famous and dazzling globular star cluster molecular matter. Here is arguably one of
M4 (the Cat’s Eye Cluster). All three are a the most magnificent celestial landscapes
sight to see in a rich-field telescope that in the heavens.
gives a comfortable 2 field of view. But so To those keen enough, and who have
brilliant is Antares, and so magnificent and fields wide enough, the region can also
large is M4 (rivaling a full Moon’s apparent inspire a sense of visual dread, as if one
size), that they upstage lowly NGC 6144, is visually crossing a desert at night. “For
thrusting it into the shadowy backdrop of many years this part of the sky troubled
this dark and dusty realm of the Milky Way. me every time I swept over it in my
Dusty indeed! This cluster lies on the comet seeking,” Edward Emerson Barnard
other side of the bleak Rho (r) Ophiuchi revealed in a letter to George Ellery Hale
dust cloud. At a distance of only 450 light- dated January 29, 1895; “though there
years, it’s one of the nearest star-forming seemed to be scarcely any stars here, there

72
yet appeared a dullness of the field as if the deeper again – so far behind the cloud that
sky were covered with a thin veiling of it lies a mere 8,500 light-years from the
dust, that took away the rich blackness Galactic center. Note how Herschel, who
peculiar to many vacant regions of the must have been peering at this object so low
heavens.” in the sky, perceived the reddening of local
This very region was one of William extinction, describing its stars (the faintest
Herschel’s “holes in the heavens,” a “Loch imaginable) “all of a dusky red colour.”
im Himmel,” an unfathomable vacancy The dust in the region dims the cluster
“though which we seem to gaze into an by nearly half a magnitude. Without it,
uninterrupted infinity.” Herschel went so NGC 6144 would shine at 8.5-magnitude
far as to suppose that, since these voids and be just as bright as globular cluster
appeared near the richest star clusters, M80 in Sagitta, or M56 in Lyra. As it
they would “almost authorize a suspicion stands, at 9th-magnitude, NGC 6144 is still
that the stars of which it is composed, were 0.2-magnitude brighter than the dimmest
collected from that place, and had left the Messier globular cluster, M72 in Aquarius.
vacancy.” Proof, perhaps, that Antares’ glare hid
William Sheehan in his must-read auto- the cluster from view of Charles Messier
biography of Barnard, The Immortal Fire or his contemporary Pierre Méchain (and
Within (Cambridge University Press, others), who would have arguably
1995), adds how, when Barnard photo- snatched it up before William Herschel.
graphed the region for the first time in In true physical extent, NGC 6144 is rela-
March 23, 1895, he found “a vast and mag- tively small, about 70 light-years across,
nificent nebula, intricate in form and making it somewhat similar in size to
apparently connected with many of the NGC 6712 in Scutum (Hidden Treasure
bright stars of that region including 95), which is 0.8-magnitude fainter and
Antares and Sigma Scorpii [one that] has about 5,000 light-years closer, and is
scarcely an equal for interest in the entire moving 190 km/sec in approach. It’s of a
heavens.” low-to-intermediate metal abundance,
And it is here, between Antares and with its members containing, on average,
Sigma Scorpii that our target lies, in a about 1/56 as much iron (per unit of
remote corner of that well of darkness, hydrogen) as does the Sun – a value
looking as if NGC 6144 had constructed matching that of the nearby Messier
itself from whatever scraps of stars M4 globular cluster M80 in Scorpius. If NGC
could not grasp from the region. Of course, 6144 has an age similar to that of other
the idea is just fancy. When you look moderately metal-poor clusters, it may be
at the distances of these objects, the true around 10 billion years old – near the min-
three-dimensional expanse becomes awe- imum age for the oldest Galactic globular
somely apparent. Antares lies only 150 clusters; the maximum age for globulars
light-years behind the Rho Ophiuchi veil of lies somewhere between 13 and 13.7 bil-
dust; M4, the closest globular cluster to the lion years.
Sun, is 6,650 light-years farther away. But Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble
NGC 6144 is a dizzying 21,000 light-years Space Telescope observations found six
The Secret Deep 307

72
X-ray sources within NGC 6144, four of
N
which appear to be background sources.
At least one, and perhaps two, of the
sources are likely to be cataclysmic vari- Scorpius
ables. These stars are most likely binary
systems consisting of a white-dwarf primary
and a red or orange main-sequence giant NGC 6144
secondary that shows a sudden and dra-
E W
matic increase in brightness. The outbursts
are believed to occur when gases stripped
from a red giant star by a closely orbiting Antares
and massive white-dwarf star, accrete into
a disk (emitting X-rays in the process)
that eventually “overloads” and explodes in 1˚
a thermonuclear reaction, which we see as a
flaring of the star. Unlike with a supernova S
event, however, which can totally destroy
a star, a cataclysmic variable remains becomes visible before sunrise in the east
untouched, giving it a chance to repeat the to the time it departs the sky after sunset in
process. The Chandra and HSTobservations the west); when Mars is closest to Earth, its
did, in fact, confirm that one source in NGC color shifts to a cooler yellow.
6144 is an active binary, based on both its Antares is indeed cool, being an M-type
X-ray and optical properties. red supergiant star with a surface tempera-
Again, locating NGC 6144 is easy. Simply ture of only 3,600 K. (Ever hear the saying,
use the chart on page 305 to locate brilliant “Red giants aren’t so hot!”) But the star is
Alpha Scorpii. Center that star in your tele- nevertheless magnificent, 10,000 times
scope at low power, then switch to the more luminous than the Sun in visible
chart on this page to ferret out the dim wavelengths, and 60,000 times brighter
glow about 400 to the northwest. than the Sun in the infrared. It’s also
But first, take the time to enjoy reddish extremely large. The star, which is 15 times
Antares, popularly known as the Rival of more massive than the Sun, has an equa-
Mars. The name Antares is, in fact, derived torial diameter of nearly 400 million miles,
from the Greek ant- Ares, meaning “like its body would stretch from our Sun out to
Mars.” Through a telescope, though, the the orbit of Jupiter; a hypothetical planet at
star’s reddish hue to the unaided eye Earth’s distance would be consumed by the
appears more sunburst orange. Keen sky- star’s tenuous outer atmosphere. Antares
watchers of ancient times noticed that is a semi-regular variable that varies in
Antares is only the rival of Mars when the brightness by several tenths of magnitude
planet appears most red to the unaided over a period of years. As is the fate of all
eye – which happens either early on, or red supergiants, Antares is now nearing the
late, in its apparition (defined by the end of its life and is expected to go super-
period of time when the planet first nova sometime in the dim future.

72
As I write this sentence, Antares is clusters in the heavens, and can be easily
forging iron in its core. Unable to create mistaken for a ghost image of a star. As
any further heavier elements, the star will the late deep-sky expert Walter Scott
stop releasing energy, forcing the star’s Houston appropriately noted, “In the
core to collapse. In a matter of a few pre- open sky this would be a most easy
cious seconds, the massive giant’s surface object, but Antares must be out of the
will shrink to a sphere 6 miles across (the field of view if any success is to be
size of Manhattan Island); the rest of expected.”
the star will violently collide into that core Actually, in the 5-inch at 33, I found
before rebounding a quarter second later NGC 6144 quite visible with Antares in
as a cataclysmic supernova explosion, the field, appearing as a pretty little uni-
spewing matter across space at speeds of form glow, the brightest part of which
several thousand kilometers per second. measures about about 50 across. With
Those watching from Earth will see the star averted vision I could sense an irregular-
shine with the light of a billion Suns – ity to its form and a mottling across its
though, thankfully, seen from a distance face, but these glimpses are corrupted
of 600 light-years. by the light of Antares, which continually
As the ejected matter flees into space, it tries to steal attention. At 60, the globu-
will collide with interstellar material, lar is weakly resolved into little patches
heating it up and causing it to glow. The of faint light. A 12th-magnitude star
collisions will also seed the interstellar bursts forth on its western side looking
material with gold, silver, and other heavy like a nova. At 94, the globular shows a
metals. Indeed, your mother’s wedding slightly brighter core, about 30 in diam-
band, and the silverware you use to eat, eter, surrounded by an irregular halo
are made of elements forged in a super- peppered with dim suns (or bunches of
nova explosion – the one that gave birth to them). A star of about magnitude 13
our Solar System! joins the 12th-magnitude star to the
There’s something else you should try to southwest.
detect with your telescope. Antares has a
little “green” companion – a result of sim-
ultaneous contrast, but fantastic to see
nevertheless. You’ll find the magnitude
5.5, type B companion star only 300 to the
west. The two orbit one another once every
2,500 years or so, so don’t expect to see it
move. A very steady atmosphere is
required to see it in small telescopes, and
I suggest looking in the twilight.
Once you’re done admiring Antares,
start your search for NGC 6144. As
I said, NGC 6144 is one of the most over-
shadowed and overlooked globular
The Secret Deep 309

72
At 180, the cluster shatters into various less to the north. The pair of stars to the
ill-defined clumps of stars that seem to west seem to cut off the cluster’s fainter
scintillate with dimmer suns. Averted light, making it seem slightly out of round
vision shows its brighter core sliced by a and extended more to the northwest. All
row of stars oriented northeast–southwest, this detail rests on a dim glow of unre-
and another dimmer band jutting more or solved suns.

73
Secret Deep 73
(NGC 6207)
N
6229
42
a
74 52
Hercules
6207
M13
a
Corona
Borealis
E W
51
Ophiuchus
Serpens
The Secret Deep 311

73
73
NGC 6207
Con: Hercules
RA: 16h 43.1m

Dec: þ36 500
Mag: 11.6
SB: 12.8 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 3.00 1.10
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed May
16, 1787] Pretty bright, pretty
small, extended south preceding
north following, very gradually
much brighter in the middle.
(H II-701)
n g c : Pretty bright, pretty large,

extended roughly toward position
angle 45 , very gradually much
n g c 6207 i s a t i n y s p i r a l wo n d e r Yet I know many observers who say they’ve

hiding in the “shadow” of M13, the great enjoyed seeking out NGC 6207, which
globular cluster in the Keystone of Hercules, really is a surprising little gem, especially
which is why I include it in the Secret Deep since it is paired with such a grand spec-
catalogue. In the summer of 2002, I was a tacle as M13. These pleasant reactions
guest at Starfest (Canada’s largest annual star confirm my belief that we not only enjoy
party) enjoying a striking view of M13 seeing deep-sky objects paired but also
through a large Dobsonian telescope. But less obtrusive ones that go unnoticed
the owner wasn’t aware that in the same field owing to the unfortunate circumstance of
of view, just 300 from the cluster’s core, was a being so near a celestial celebrity; every-
small extragalactic lens of light nearly 70 one likes an underdog to shine! I know
million light-years beyond the farthest reach how I felt when I first saw this gem through
of the great globular’s arms. So I showed it the 9-inch refractor at Harvard College
to him. His reaction of delight inspired me Observatory, because my observing part-
to spotlight the galaxy in this book. ner Peter Collins had done to me what
I don’t blame the owner for not being I had done to the Canadian observer men-
aware of NGC 6207, which is one of the tioned above; and my reaction was much
most understated spirals in the heavens. the same: delightfully surprised.

73
Professional studies of NGC 6207 are
N
particularly anemic. The S-shaped spiral
belongs to the Draco Cloud of galaxies Hercules
and is receding from us at a speed of 62

km/sec. If we accept the distance of 69 NGC 6207
million miles, it has a diameter of 60,000
light-years and a luminosity of 10 billion
Suns. The lens-shaped disk, which we see E W
inclined 18 from edge on, has three obvi-
M13
ous (albeit small), crinkled arms rich in HII
regions. Two of the arms sweep out to the
southwest, the other is more open on the
1˚
opposing side.
The character of NGC 6207’s spiral arms S
and the high surface brightness of its central
lens is similar to that of the 7th-magnitude,
mixed spiral galaxy NGC 2403 (Caldwell 7), 2004A is believed to have expanded into
which lies only 14 million light-years distant space with a velocity of 12,000 km/sec,
in the direction of Camelopardalis. Indeed, scattering heavy elements, like iron, into
as I describe in Deep-Sky Companions: the surrounding interstellar medium.
The Caldwell Objects, NGC 2403’s face To find the little jewel, use the chart on
“explodes” with clumps of starlight, one of page 311 to locate M13, which is about 2½
which is larger than any HII region known in south of 3.5-magnitude Eta (Z) Herculis;
our Milky Way. under a dark sky, M13 can be seen as a
NGC 6207’s nuclear region may seem of fuzzy, 5th-magnitude star with the unaided
special interest because it appears strik- eye. Center M13 in your telescope at low
ingly starlike, but as Daniel W. Weedman power, then use the chart on this page to
(Dyer Observatory) and Robert F. Carswell star hop to NGC 6207, which is only about
(Steward Observatory) report in a 1974 300 northeast of M13’s core.
Astrophysical Journal, that apparent Remember, the galaxy is small, so
nucleus is a foreground object in our I recommend using moderate magnifica-
own galaxy with a spectrum of an early tions to find it, which may still require
F star. use of averted vision. Once you find it,
On January 9, 2004, Koichi Itagaki of you can always change to low power to
Yamagata, Japan, discovered on CCD see if you can detect it, which may
frames taken with an 11-inch f/10 reflector require advance knowledge of its appear-
a magnitude 15.7 supernova 2200 west and ance at moderate magnification and
1700 north of NGC 6207’s center. Known as knowing exactly where to look. Under
Supernova 2004A, it is probably a Type II dark skies, I have seen NGC 6207 in a
event, which is due to the core collapse of 4-inch telescope; at 74, it appeared as
a massive star leading to a powerful explo- a weak 20 -long ellipse that popped into
sion of the star; the blast from Supernova view with averted vision. Under the same
The Secret Deep 313

73
nevertheless considering M13 is in the
same field of view as a bright and brash
spectacle of glittering starlight.
At 60, the galaxy is quite apparent,
appearing as a little foggy ellipse 30 long
(oriented northeast to southwest) with a
fuzzy central lens; it’s that simple. The
galaxy’s core is quite concentrated,
though, so it holds up well with magnifi-
cation. At 94, the star at the heart of
the central lens stands out well, as do
two arcs of light, like ears, framing the
northeast and southwest edges of that
lens. The remaining disk is just a struc-
skies through the 5-inch, the galaxy’s tureless elliptical wash of light, all beau-
core is visible at 33 as a dim puff of tiful in its simplicity, like freshly fallen
light only about 10 in extent – awesome snow.

74
Secret Deep 74
(NGC 6229)
NGC 6229
42
a
74
52
Hercules
6207
a
M13
Corona
Borealis
E W
51
Ophiuchus
Serpens
The Secret Deep 315

74
74
“Prize Comet” Globular
NGC 6229
Con: Hercules
RA: 16h 46.9m

Dec: þ47 320
Mag: 9.4
SB: 12.7 (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 4.50
Dist: ~100,000 l.y.

1787] Very bright, round, 40 in
diameter, almost equally bright with
a faint round margin. (H IV-50)

large, round, disc and faint border,
resolved.
n g c 6229 i s a s m a l l bu t v e ry the fact that an orange star lies very close

conspicuous globular cluster about 1½ to it to the southwest.
north-northwest of 5.5-magnitude 52 Smyth also elaborates on the cometary
Herculis, between the left heel and the nature of this object, inferring that the
right knee of the celestial Strongman. great comet hunter Jean-Louis Pons
When William Herschel discovered it in (1761–1831) mistook it for one in 1819,
1787, he classified it as a planetary nebula, which he offered as a “prize comet” to his
owing to the object’s fantastically round patron, her Majesty Maria Louisa of
structure. What’s more, the nineteenth- Bourbon. In that year, Maria Louisa had
century British observer Admiral William appointed Pons director of the new obser-
Henry Smyth said it was not only round vatory at the Villa Reale di Marlia near the
but that it also shined with a “lucid pale- city of Lucca in Tuscany. As “her Majesty’s
blue hue.” One has to wonder if this was astroscoper,” Pons was to receive 100
merely a visual suggestion brought on by dollars from the royal purse for every new
the knowledge that many planetary nebu- comet he discovered. “But the establish-
lae shine with blue-green shades. If true, ment, though commenced under consid-
it is evidence that the mind has a “say” in erable pomp and circumstance, only
what we see. Then again, the blue color lingered about four years, and was then
might be a color-contrast illusion, due to formally abolished,” Smyth says.

74
NGC 6229’s nature began to unravel in That same year, Helen Davis used
1856, when Heinrich Louis d’Arrest 60-inch-telescope plates of the cluster to
identified it as a “very crowded cluster.” discover its first variable star – the second
A decade later, William Huggins noted, in brightest star in the cluster when at max-
an 1866 Philosophical Transactions paper imum magnitude.
titled “Further Observations on the Spectra NGC 6229’s nature was a bear to label
of some of the Nebulae,” that the object’s because it’s one of the most remote globu-
spectrum was unlike that of a gaseous lar clusters known in our Galaxy, lying
nebula, but continuous, like that of a star about 100,000 light-years from the Sun
cluster. The object’s identity was still and the Galactic center. Studies of it are
uncertain in 1908, when, in an Annals important, then, as they can help astron-
of Harvard College Observatory (vol. 60, omers better determine the halo’s property
p. 199), Solon Irving Bailey included NGC and history. Several studies have shown
6229 in his “Catalogue of Bright Clusters NGC 6229 to have a mildly poor metalli-
and Nebulae,” identifying it as a question- city, with about 1/15 as much metal (per
able globular cluster. He also noted that unit hydrogen) as does our Sun.
was “extremely condensed” and “not In a 1999 Astronomy & Astrophysics
resolved” on a 10-minute exposure made (vol. 343, pp. 813–824) Jura Borissova
with the observatory’s 24-inch Bruce (University of Valparaı́so, Chile) and col-
telescope. leagues found that NGC 6229, whose inte-
In 1912, Heber D. Curtis at Lick Obser- grated spectral type is F7, has about the
vatory identified NGC 6229 only as a same metal content as M5, a typical halo
“small, greatly condensed cluster,” based cluster 26,000 light-years distant; though M5
on its appearance on plates taken with has a very eccentric orbit that takes it far from
the 36-inch Crossley reflector. The cluster’s the Galactic plane. They also found the two
identity remained uncertain until 1917, clusters to have nearly identical ages, roughly
when Harlow Shapley, in his “Descriptive 13 billion years, give or take 1 billion.
Notes to Nine Clusters,” published in a Their color–magnitude diagram of the
Publications of the Astronomical Society of cluster’s crowded core shows an entire
the Pacific (vol. 29, p. 185), says that NGC giant branch in addition to its relatively
6229, “whose type is recorded as uncer- blue horizontal branch. The horizontal
tain,” is a “globular cluster, very much con- branch is also peculiar in that it is bimodal.
densed.” The identity was made possible Oleg Y. Gnedin (University of Michigan)
by examining a 69-minute exposure of and colleagues note that globular cluster
NGC 6229 taken with the 60-inch at Mount systems in most large galaxies display
Wilson, on which he and Francis Pease bimodal color and metallicity distribu-
counted 1,540 stars in the cluster out to tions, which are frequently interpreted as
an “extreme diameter” of 50 ; the cluster’s indicating two distinct modes of cluster
mildly concentrated core was measured formation. In an invited talk at a 2009 IAU
to be only 1.50 . The counts, Shapley says, Symposium in Rio de Janeiro, Gnedin’s
“show a trace of ellipticity, notwithstand- team argued that if all globular clusters
ing the small number of stars involved.” form only during mergers of massive
The Secret Deep 317

74
gas-rich protogalactic disks, their metalli- N
city distribution could be statistically con-
sistent with that of the Galactic globulars.
NGC 6229
They therefore suggest that bimodality b
arises naturally as the result of a small
number of late massive merger events.
All globular clusters are dominated by
Hercules
aged red-giant stars. Those not particularly
metal rich usually contain RR Lyrae stars.
Thus, Borissova and colleagues also made E a W
an extensive CCD survey (the first of its
kind on this cluster), in which they
obtained periods for 36 previously known/
suspected variable stars and 12 newly
discovered variables – including 15 RR 52
Lyrae pulsators and one eclipsing binary
(Algol-type). In fact, NGC 6229’s confirmed
1˚
variable-star population is mostly com-
posed of RR Lyrae stars. The cluster may S
also contain two Population II Cepheids
of the W Virginis type.
Mixed in with the cluster’s old stars
are some “youngsters” known as blue
stragglers. Borissova’s team identified 22
blue-straggler candidates in the cluster,
the fraction of which is similar to that of
M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules.
To find this distant wonder, use the chart
on page 315 to find 52 Herculis, which is
about 7 north-northeast of 3.5-magnitude
Eta (Z) Herculis. It also forms the north-
eastern apex of a near-equilateral triangle
with the 4th-magnitude stars Sigma (s)
and Tau (t) Herculis. Center 52 Her in your
telescope at low power, then switch to the At 33, NGC 6229 is a very bright and
chart on this page. From 52 Herculis, move relatively condensed (~10 ) glow that I find
400 north-northeast to 7th-magnitude Star a. beautiful in its purity of light. As Pons
Now make a slow sweep 1 northwest to believed, the cluster looks like a comet
a pair of 8th-magnitude stars (b), oriented flaring into view. Making the view all the
north-northwest to south-southeast and more dramatic is that the cluster forms
separated by 50 . NGC 6229 is only 50 east- the eastern vertex of a 50 -wide right tri-
northeast of Pair b. angle with two 8th-magnitude suns, the

74
southwestern of which shines with a lovely pinpoint the exact location of these
orange hue. The cluster is bright enough features, which cause the eye to jump
and condensed enough to be seen with a randomly about. At powers ranging
direct gaze, which only shows the core. between 180 and 282, the cluster’s
The object swells to twice the core’s extent core is definitely mottled with a promin-
with averted vision, the extension being ent clump to the northwest. Otherwise,
fainter but equally round. the object is a circular globe comprising
At 60 and 94, the cluster takes on a a tight core and faint outer halo of unre-
mottled appearance, but I find it hard to solved starlight.
The Secret Deep 319

75
Secret Deep 75
(NGC 6293)
N
Serpens Cauda 20
Libra
48
NGC 6356
a
58
Ophiuchus
51
Sagittarius
44 NGC 6293 NGC 6144
36 M4
E 13 W
45
Scorpius
Lupus
1
2 1
G
µ2
µ1 2
Corona
Australis µ
Ara Norma
s µ

75
75
NGC 6293
Con: Ophiuchus
RA: 17h 10.2m

Dec: 26 350
Mag: 8.2
Diam: 7.90
Dist: ~27,400 l.y.

1784] Another miniature cluster like
the preceding [NGC 6284] but rather
coarser. (H VI-12).

large, round, pretty suddenly
clearly consisting of stars, stars of
magnitude 16 and fainter.
n g c 6 2 9 3 i s a s m a l l b u t n i c e ly implication was, as Herschel had specu-

condensed globular star cluster less than lated in his famous 1785 paper, “On the
1¼ west of 4th-magnitude 36 Ophiuchi – Construction of the Heavens,” that when
nearly midway between it and the brighter globular and open clusters formed, they
(magnitude 6.8) and much more popular robbed the nearby heavens of stars, leaving
globular cluster M19 between the Scorpion’s behind “great cavities or vacancies by the
back and the Serpent Bearer’s left foot. retreat of the stars toward the various
This is in the region that the nineteenth- centers which attract them . . .”
century British observer Admiral William Although we now know that Herschel’s
Henry Smyth says affords “a grand concep- theory doesn’t hold starlight, globular clus-
tion of the grandeur and richness even of ter studies have evolved into an important
the exterior creation; and indicate[s] the area of research that’s helping astronomers
beauteous gradation and variety of the figure out the construction of our Galaxy.
heaven of heavens. Truly has it been said, Although much progress has been made,
‘Stars teach as well as shine.’” questions associated especially with the
He also noted that this region is near the formation and early evolution of our
large opening or hole, about 4 broad, in Galaxy remain unanswered.
the Scorpion’s body that William Herschel In 1993, Robert Zinn argued that the
found almost destitute of stars. The bulk of the old halo globular clusters
The Secret Deep 321

75
formed during a monolithic dissipative (vol. 132, pp. 2171–2186), that the most
collapse, while the young halo globular notable result of their study is that both
clusters formed independently of the NGC 6293 and NGC 6541 are about 14 bil-
Galaxy and later accreted into our Galaxy. lion years old, or about the same age as M92
But the most accepted scenario (the (which lies 31,000 light-years from the Gal-
inside-out theory) today is that the Galaxy actic center); the relative age difference
formed as a result of small density perturb- between the two clusters is less than 0.5–
ations in the early universe that cooled, 1 billion years. This finding suggests that
condensed, and grew by gravitational globular cluster formation must have
attraction into a larger system over time. started everywhere at about the same time
Whether the Galaxy formed from a single in our Galaxy. But with a sample of two,
collapsing and fragmenting gas cloud, or Carney says, it’s hard for them, or anyone,
was built up from smaller clouds that to conclude firmly that star formation began
coalesced, astronomers agree that the rapidly everywhere. “It is consistent with
most metal-poor stars in a region should such a model,” Carney says, noting that the
be the oldest. Thus, as Richard Larson research is an important contribution.
(Yale Astronomy Department, New Haven, Lee and Carney also found NGC 6293 to
Connecticut) says, globular clusters are have a well-developed blue horizontal
“almost certainly fossil remnants of the branch, particularly in the central part of
early star-forming subsystems from which the cluster. Indeed, this type F3 globular
galaxies were built.” is a post-core-collapse cluster with blue
To find out how rapidly star formation stragglers in its central region (2.50 ), which
began throughout the Galaxy
and its then more numerous
proto-Galactic fragments,
Young-Wook Lee (Yonsei Uni-
versity, Seoul, South Korea) and
Bruce W. Carney (University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
used the Hubble Space Tele-
scope to explore the relative
ages of NGC 6293 – the second
most metal-poor globular
cluster within 10,000 light-
years from the Galactic center;
it lies 3,900 light-years from
that point – and NGC 6541
(Caldwell 78) in Corona
Australis, another old inner
halo globular cluster.
The researchers report, in
a 2006 Astronomical Journal

75
N
Ophiuchus
6355
E W
NGC 6293
38 36
a b
1˚
is reddened by varying degrees – from 0.2 southwest to similarly bright Star b. NGC
to about 0.4 magnitude. This reflects its 6293 lies a little less than 400 northwest of
metal-poor status, having only 1/98 as Star b.
much iron (per unit hydrogen) as does At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 6293 is an
our Sun. easy sight – a nicely condensed globe of
The researchers found quite a few blue- light, about 40 in diameter, with a bright
straggler candidates in the HST data. Dis- core surrounded by a mottled halo. With
covered more than half a century ago, blue averted vision, the core looks very irregu-
stragglers – stars that appear mysteriously lar, like lumpy mashed potatoes, while the
younger than their cluster comrades (as if halo appears softly dappled. Since the
they were somehow born later than most cluster’s core is so well defined, I bumped
of the cluster’s stars) – are now thought to up the power to 94, which revealed a three-
be formed when the stars in a double tiered structure: an intense disk of light at
system slowly merge or when two unre- the core surrounded by a diamond-shaped
lated stars collide in the compact confines
of these core-collapse clusters, as shown in
the HST image on page 322.
To find this interesting cluster, use the
chart on page 320 to locate 36 Ophiuchi,
which is about 2 southwest of 3rd-
magnitude Theta (y) Ophiuchi. Center 36
Ophiuchi in your telescope, then switch to
the chart on this page. You can either make
a direct sweep 1¼ west to nab the cluster,
or you can make a series of short hops.
From 36 Ophiuchi, move a little more than
250 southwest to 7th-magnitude Star a.
Now make a roughly 300 hop west-
The Secret Deep 323

75
inner halo of fractured starlight within an east-northeastern flank. At 180, the core
irregularly round outer halo that sizzled remains fantastically compact; the inner
with packs of suns on the verge of halo becomes elongated (like a warped
resolution. bar) stretching from the north-northwest
The cluster’s brightest stars shine at to south-southeast; it also bulges promin-
magnitude 14.3, so they are within reach ently to the east toward the dim sun. The
of modest-sized telescopes, though its cluster’s outer halo continues to simmer
horizontal (RR Lyrae) branch magnitude with little suns, which blossom into
is 16.5. A moderately dim star lies off its flower-petal shapes.

76
Secret Deep 76
(NGC 6309)
N
Serpens Cauda 20
NGC 6309
Libra
48
NGC 6356
a
58
Ophiuchus
51
Sagittarius 44
E 36 M4
W
13
45
Scorpius
Lupus
1
2 1
G
µ2
µ1 2
Corona
Australis µ
Ara Norma
s µ
The Secret Deep 325

76
76
Box Nebula, Exclamation Mark
NGC 6309
Con: Ophiuchus
RA: 17h 14.1m

Dec: 12 550
Dim: >1600
Dist: ~7,700 l.y.
Disc: Wilhelm Tempel, announced
in 1878
w. t e m p e l : [Astronomische
Nachrichten, vol. 178, no. 2122]
A bright little nebula; stands midway
between two very close stars in a
line, but can be recognized easily
in the middle as a nebulous star.
Position very uncertain. (GC 5851)
n g c : Bright, small, between 2 stars

very near.
Alt h o u g h s m a l l , n g c 6309 i s Tempel was an astute and prolific obser-

another rewarding planetary nebula that ver. He would ultimately be credited with
encourages the judicious use of high the discovery of 123 true nebulae, including
power. The tiny nebula escaped notice Tempel’s Nebula (NGC 1435) in the Pleiades.
until the late nineteenth century, when He also discovered or codiscovered 21
Wilhelm Tempel (1821–1889) discovered comets (including 55P/Tempel–Tuttle, the
it visually with the 11-inch Amici refractor parent body of the Leonid meteor shower,
at Arcetri Observatory in Florence. The and 9P/Tempel, into which NASA smashed
German-born astronomer included the its Deep-Impact probe in 2005).
object in a list of 56 new nebulae he dis- Four years after Tempel discovered NGC
covered, which was published in an 1878 6309, Harvard College Observatory dir-
Astronomische Nachrichten (vol. 178, no. ector Edward C. Pickering determined
2122). John Luis Emil Dreyer of Armagh its true nature. In an 1882 Astronomische
Observatory included it in his 1878 A Sup- Nachrichten (no. 2454, p. 95), Pickering
plement to Sir John Herschel’s General announced that Tempel’s object is a plan-
Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, etary nebula, “detected by means of its
bestowing upon it the GC designation 5851. spectra as seen through a direct vision

76
prism.” Curiously, Pickering noted that be expected from jet-like ejecta. Instead,
Tempel’s description of the nebula being NGC 6309 appears to be a quadrupolar
“between two stars” did not seem applic- nebula with two pairs of bipolar lobes
able. Instead, he said, the nebula is whose axes are oriented at position angles
“oblong” with a “small star just below.” 40 and 76 . The knotty lobes or cavities
Actually, both Tempel and Pickering are seem to protrude from the extremes of the
correct. NGC 6309 does lie between two internal ring instead of the nucleus – in
stars in a row, and there is another star 1918, Heber Curtis at Lick Observatory
“beneath” it. Perhaps, since that latter star assigned magnitude 13 to the central star,
is the second brightest in the field, and is but in 1974, S. J. Czyzak and Lawrence
not in a line with the nebula and the H. Aller reported that the central star is
brighter star above it, Pickering thought much fainter than that. HST imaging
Tempel’s description inappropriate. revealed the central star to be a binary
Today we know NGC 6309 as a little with a main-sequence companion less
wonder 19,000 light-years from the Galactic than 100 away.
center and 2,000 light-years from the The lobes are expanding at velocities of
Galactic plane. Ground-based and HST ~40 km/sec, which is typical of those
imaging reveal it to be a high excitation found in other bipolar planetary nebulae.
nebula with an ionized mass of 0.07 Sun. The authors also found evidence for the
HST images show the nebula’s rich internal presence of a faint halo, possibly related
structure to be a deformed torus that is to the envelope of the asymptotic giant
expanding at about 25 km/sec. The ring is branch (AGB) star progenitor. These jets
tilted 70 with respect to the plane of the carved the bipolar lobes in the previous
sky and (assuming it’s a circle) 72 with AGB wind; their remnants are now
respect to our line of sight. Accepting a observed as the point-symmetric knots
distance of 7,700 light-years, the ring spans tracing the edges of the lobes.
only 0.75 light-years across. The authors conclude that NGC 6309
The ring is surrounded by a mass of was formed by a set of well-collimated
amorphous detail. Most interesting are bipolar outflows (jets), which were ejected
two, faint, S-shaped arms, which “spiral” in the initial stages of its formation as a
away from the ring in a perpendicular dir- planetary nebula some 3,700 to 4,000 years
ection. Such “point-symmetric” morph- ago. Thus NGC 6309 is of a similar age and
ology is usually believed to result from the stage of evolution as IC 2149 (see Secret
consequence of the episodic ejection of Deep 23).
material in a two-sided jet that “wobbles” To find this tiny beauty, use the chart on
or rotates. But in a 2008 Astronomy & Astro- page 325, and set your sights on 2nd-
physics (vol. 481, pp. 107–116), Roberto magnitude Eta (Z) Ophiuchi (Sabik), part
Vázquez (Instituto de Astronomı́a, UNAM, of the Serpent Bearer’s skirt. Next locate
Ensenada, Mexico) and his colleagues say 3rd-magnitude Nu (n) Serpentis nearly 4
that this appears not to be the case. to the northeast. Center Nu in your tele-
The point-symmetric structures, the scope at low power, then use the chart on
authors say, do not emit in [NII] as would page 328 to find NGC 6309 about 1½ west,
The Secret Deep 327

76
N
Ophiuchus
E c W
a NGC 6309
Serpens
1˚
and slightly south of Nu. From Nu, hop across, with a clear central cavity filled
about 550 west-southwest to 8th-magnitude with gauze-like light. The ellipse is angled
Star a. NGC 6309 is about 450 further to north-northwest–south-southeast and is
the west-northwest, just ~180 southeast of nonuniformly illuminated. With averted
another 8th-magnitude sun (b), and 100 vision and 282 the rim’s northwestern
due east of a magnitude 9.5 Star c. end looks broken into three nebulous
In the 5-inch at 33, the nebula is imme- knots. A fainter bead lies midway along
diately apparent as a fuzzy double star in a the eastern rim, though, at times,
rich field of stars. Actually, the fuzzy double I wondered if this were not the central star.
is the combined light of NGC 6309 and an In images, the central star does hug the
11.5-magnitude sun ~2500 to its north. Close eastern inner lip of the ring, which we see
and faint double stars (such as M40 in Ursa at an angle. At 495 and averted vision, the
Major) have a tendency to trick the eye into
believing that the stars are surrounded by
nebulosity, and the same applies here. Thus
the glow I saw at 33 was half illusory. At
60, the nebula stands out well from its
northern neighbor. Consequently, in the
mind’s eye, the nebula appears to shrink
dramatically – since the illusory “glow”
around the nearby star disappears. The
nebula now stands alone as a small and
softly glowing orb. The view doesn’t change
much at 94.
The best views I had were between 282
and 495. At the lower range, the nebula
appears as a well-defined gray oval ~2000

76
details remain the same, though the inner As seen at low power, the nebula lived up
lip of the torus runs along the nebula like a admirably to its local name: the Exclam-
fine thread. The ring’s dimmer, southern ation Mark, “appearing at first glance very
extremity seems to flare to the south. much like a highly elongated rectangle
At no point did I detect the fainter stars aimed NW toward the magnitude [11.5]
that Tempel and Pickering noticed, star that is the ‘dot.’” But at 245 with the
though I did not try for them. In other UHC-filter, “the bizarre shape of this plan-
words, they aren’t readily visible in a etary started to become conspicuous.”
5-inch at a glance. It’s amazing, though, Gramer got a strong impression that the
what one can miss seeing when one’s northwest half of the nebula was clearly
concentration is fully focused on a par- somewhat brighter and larger than it was
ticular object or detail. to the southeast. While at 460, Gramer
As reported online at www.visualdeepsky. had this to say:
org, in June 2003, Massachusetts amateur
The Exclamation Mark suddenly presented a
Lew Gramer observed NGC 6309 with a
whole new wealth of detail! What had looked
25-inch f/3.5 Dobsonian set up at The like a very thin rectangle, now resolved in to
Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston’s successive lobes or ‘pulses’ of nebulosity,
Britton Clubhouse and Milon Observing three of them in fact! . . . Even more intri-
Field in Westford, Massachusetts. The guing, fainter wisps of nebulosity could be
nebula, he said, was barely noticeable as seen stretching out from the northwest lobe
a blue-green “blip” in the telescope’s of the planetary nebula, arcing southward
80-mm finder. He then went on to study to a point maybe 500 due west of the midpoint
it using powers ranging from 110 to 460 of the main nebula.
(as well as, at times, with ultra-high- May your own views of this southern
contrast and OIII filters). marvel be just as glorious!
The Secret Deep 329

77
Secret Deep 77
(NGC 6356)
Serpens Cauda 20
Libra
48
NGC 6356
a
58
Ophiuchus
51
Sagittarius
44
NGC 6144
M4
36
E 13 W
45
Scorpius
Lupus
1
2 1
G
µ2
µ1 2
Corona
Australis µ
Ara Norma
s µ

77
77
NGC 6356
Con: Ophiuchus
RA: 17h 23.6m

Dec: 17 490
Mag: 8.2
Diam: 100
Dist: ~49,600 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed June 17,

1784] Bright, large, round, gradually
brighter in the middle, easily
resolvable. (H I-48).

considerably large, very gradually
very much brighter in the middle,
well resolved, clearly consisting of
stars, stars of 20th magnitude
and fainter.
n g c 6 3 5 6 i s a n i c e ly c o n d e n s e d be confused with comets. NGC 6356 is

and reasonably bright globular cluster the 93rd object in his combined list of
about 4 southeast of 2nd-magnitude Eta 152 objects, which he referred to as
(Z) Ophiuchi. It’s also about 1½ northeast “shades of Messier.”
of the more popular, magnitude 7.8 globu- NGC 6356 is a very metal-rich globular
lar cluster M9, which robs it of attention – cluster, having about half as much metal
mainly because of its inclusion in the (per unit hydrogen) as does the Sun,
Messier catalogue, though it is nearly making it intermediate between 47 Tucanae
0.5-magnitude brighter than NGC 6356. (1/6) and NGC 6528 (Secret Deep 80). Our
Still, I have to wonder how Charles Messier target, then, is among the most metal-rich
and his contemporary Pierre Méchain Galactic globular clusters visible from the
missed this one. Northern Hemisphere.
In 1969 and 1974, the late Jack Bennett It’s a distant system, twice as far from us
of South Africa (discoverer of C/1969 Y1 as M9 (remember this when you compare
(Comet Bennett), the Great Comet of the two) and nearly three times farther
1970) created his own lists of deep-sky away than 47 Tucanae. In fact, one novelty
objects, which, like Messier, could easily of observing this cluster is that you’re
The Secret Deep 331

77
looking at an object on the other side of masses of gas and some 0.1 to 1 solar mass
the Galaxy, projected against the dusty of dust in the cluster. In their search for
Galactic bulge 25,000 light-years from the intracluster dust grains in the core of NGC
Galactic center and nearly 10,000 light- 6356 with the James Clerk Maxwell
years out from the Galactic plane, making Telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, they
it not only part of the metal-rich disk found a dust mass of about 0.004 to 0.017
system of globular clusters but also one of Sun – values well below those expected. To
the farthest from the Galactic plane. explain the deficiency, the researchers pro-
Owing to its great distance (49,600 light- pose that some fraction of the dust has been
years) and dusty line-of-sight placement, destroyed or ejected from the cluster envir-
the cluster is reddened by about 0.2 mag- onment after formation, or alternatively,
nitude. And though it will appear small that its formation is somewhat inhibited.
through your telescope, the cluster is quite Regardless, their findings support previous
large, measuring some 145 light-years conclusions that globular clusters are ser-
across in true linear extent, which is twice iously lacking in intracluster dust grains.
as large as M9! This moderately condensed cluster has
While it’s not actually known, a guesti- an integrated spectrum of G3/4, and its
mate based on the height of NGC 6356 color–magnitude diagram shows a stubby
above the Galactic plane shows that the red horizontal branch and a giant branch
cluster may have last crossed the Galactic with an extremely low slope. While no RR
plane 500 million years ago. In a 1998 Lyrae stars have been observed in NGC
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical 6356 (nor would any be expected in such
Society (vol. 301, pp. L30-L32) Madelaine a highly metal-rich cluster), it does harbor
Hopwood and Nye Evans (Keele University, five Mira-type stars and one irregular vari-
UK) and colleagues note that this is suffi- able. If these variables prove to be cluster
cient time in which the globular cluster members, then NGC 6356 contains more
stars are able to produce and eject circum- than one-third of the Mira stars with
stellar material into the intra-cluster known periods that belong to globular
medium. When a globular cluster passes clusters in our Galaxy.
through the plane of the Galaxy, the To find this distant marvel, use the chart
researchers say, any interstellar material it on page 330 to find Eta Ophiuchi. Now use
contains will be removed tidally and by your unaided eyes or binoculars to find
ram pressure. Subsequently, the interstel- 1½ -wide Triangle a, about 4 to the south-
lar medium of the globular cluster will be east; it is composed of three roughly 6.5-
replenished with material since a large magnitude suns. Now switch to the chart
fraction of the stars within the cluster will on page 333. You want to center the north-
have progressed to a post-main-sequence ernmost star (b) in the Triangle a, in your
evolutionary stage and therefore ejected telescope at low power. NGC 6356 is a little
matter into the intracluster medium. more than 500 east and slightly south of
If each evolved star loses a mass of about Star b. Note that similarly bright M9 lies
0.3 Sun, the researchers say, then they would about the same distance to the south-
expect to detect some 100 to 1,000 solar southwest of Star b.

77
N
b
NGC 6356
a
E M9
W
Ophiuchus
c
6342 outer region seems mottled. At 94, which
gives the best and most comfortable view
1˚
in my telescope, the cluster’s core is less
S intense, like a soft wad of cotton or a
comet that has lost its nucleus and is
beginning to fade. Averted vision shows
the outer region breaking up into foggy
At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 6356 is a very patches, while the core becomes a blizzard
bright and highly condensed (about 30 of stellar snowflakes. These are, no doubt,
across) knot of light, appearing almost as star clumps and some of the cluster’s
prominent as M9 when seen with averted brightest members, which shine around
vision. At 60, the cluster displays a very 15th magnitude. The brightest stars in the
intense and starlike core surrounded by a cluster shine at 15th magnitude. But
diaphanous circular glow of unresolved clumps of them condense to form a
starlight; with averted vision and time, this mottled haze.
The Secret Deep 333

78 & 79
Secret Deep 78 & 79
(NGC 6522 & NGC 6528)
N
2 1 Scutum Serpens Cauda
2
µ
Capricornus
NGC 6522, 28
E
W
Sagittarius Scorpius
Corona
Australis

78 & 79
78
NGC 6522
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 03.6m

Dec: 30 020
Mag: 8.3 (Rating 3.5)
Diam: 9.40
Dist: ~20,000 l.y.

1784] Bright, pretty large, bright in the
middle, resolvable (mottled, not
resolved). (H I-49)
n g c : Globular cluster, bright, pretty

large, round, gradually very much
clearly consisting of stars, stars
from 16th magnitude downwards.
79
NGC 6528
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 04.8m

Dec: 30 030
Mag: 9.6 (Rating 3.5)
Diam: 3.70
Dist: ~25,800 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed, June 24,

1784] Faint, pretty small, resolvable
(mottled, not resolved), unequally
bright. (H II-200)
n g c : Globular cluster, pretty faint,

considerably small, round, gradually
clearly consisting of stars, stars from
16th magnitude downwards.
The Secret Deep 335

78 & 79
n g c 6522 i s a m o d e r at e ly l a r g e relation that allows astronomers to use
and surprisingly obvious globular cluster them as reliable distance indicators. Using
near 3rd-magnitude Gamma (g) Sagittarii these stars, Baade estimated 27,000 light-
in the Large Sagittarius Cloud. The fainter years as the distance to the Galaxy’s
globular star cluster NGC 6528 joins it only center – a value comparable to one
about 200 to the east. In small- to modest- recently published in 2006 by Ming Shen
sized backyard telescopes, just about any and Zi Zhu (Nanjing University, China)
low-power eyepiece will show the two in based on proper motion studies of NGC
the same field of view. For that reason, 6522’s stars.
I like to call them the M81 and M82 of NGC 6522 and 6528 are not only seen
globular star clusters. against the Galactic bulge, but both lie
On June 24, 1784, William Herschel within it. Studies of globular clusters in
discovered both clusters, cataloging NGC the Galaxy’s bulge are difficult, because
6522 as a “bright nebula” (a class I object) their stars mingle with bulge stars of simi-
and NGC 6528 as a “faint nebula” (a class II lar magnitudes, blurring member identifi-
object). His actions are understandable, cation and making color–magnitude
since both clusters contain dim stars seen diagrams – which say much about the age
projected against the Milky Way. and evolution of the cluster’s stars –
The view of them at low power in a formidable to analyze. As early as 1964, Sir
rich-field telescope is a sight to behold, Richard Woolley (Royal Greenwich Obser-
especially since they lie only about 4 south vatory), in discussing the region of NGC
of the Galactic center, trapped between 6522 at an IAU Symposium in Canberra,
two 3rd-magnitude stars (Gamma and said, “It requires the eye of faith to see at
W Sagittarii) where myriad suns congregate all the familiar [Hertzsprung–Russell] pat-
to form a dynamic stellar backdrop against tern of a globular cluster showing amongst
which loom long rivers and tiny islands of the field stars.”
dark dust. One might expect the clusters to But today’s astronomers don’t need
be highly reddened, but they’re not; both faith, just superior optics and instrumen-
clusters lie in what’s known as a “Baade tation. In 2004, for instance, Swedish
Window” – a region of sky in the direction astronomer Sofia Feltzing (Lund Observa-
of the Galactic bulge with relatively low tory) and Rachel Johnson (Cambridge, UK,
amounts of interstellar dust. and ESO, Chile) used HST to image NGC
Baade Windows allow astronomers to 6528 and obtain proper motions for all the
study stars deep within the Milky Way’s stars in the field. The data were then used
heart. Indeed, the German born American to separate the bulge stars from the cluster
astronomer Walter Baade (1893–1960), for stars. Thus, for the first time, they created a
whom these “Windows” are named, used color–magnitude diagram of NGC 6528
one to observe RR Lyrae stars in the bulge free from background stars. Based on their
region near NGC 6522. These yellow or findings, the researchers estimate NGC
white giant pulsating variable stars (often 6528 is probably 11 billion years old.
found in globular star clusters or elsewhere If we accept the distances in the table
in the Galactic halo) obey a period–luminosity above, NGC 6528 spans 28 light-years,

78 & 79
while NGC 6522 is twice as large in true most likely due to the fact that NGC 6522 is
physical extent. NGC 6528 has an inte- probably a very massive cluster, which is
grated spectral type of G3 and has often remarkable considering that since its forma-
been compared to the G4 cluster 47 tion it has probably lost a lot of its stars.
Tucanae (Caldwell 106). But Feltzig and Indeed, NGC 6522 is one of the most
Johnson’s study also revealed that the stars compact globular clusters known. Clusters
in NGC 6528 are much more metal rich that pass within a few hundred parsecs of
than those in 47 Tucanae, having about as the Galactic center are likely to be
much iron in each star as there is in our “shocked” by strong gravitational tugs
Sun. Beatriz Barbuy (Universidade de São between the bulge and inner disk. As evi-
Paulo, Brazil) says that NGC 6528 appears dence, NGC 6522 is one of the Galaxy’s 20
to be the most metal-rich cluster known; or so core-collapse clusters, meaning that
by comparing the red-giant branch of the its brightness increases steadily and dra-
most metal-rich clusters, Barbuy and her matically straight to the core; M15 in Pega-
colleagues found NGC 6528 to be the red- sus and M30 in Capricornus are other
dest, which, they believe, is due to the examples of core-collapse clusters. During
cluster’s high metallicity. such intense tidal interactions, not only
In contrast, Barbuy and colleagues would stars have been stripped away from
(2009) found that NGC 6522 is metal-poor, NGC 6522’s outer halo, but stars at the core
having only about 1/10 as much metals in would have experienced a tidal compres-
each of its stars as in our Sun. Indeed, NGC sion, speeding up a core collapse that
6522 was the first metal-poor globular forces heavier stars at the cluster’s center
cluster identified in the bulge by Baade. to interact with less massive companions
At nearly 14 billion years old, it is, Barbuy further out, drawing them in.
et al. note, among the oldest globular clus- As part of an ongoing program studying
ters in the Galaxy – perhaps a relic dating the stellar content of globular cluster
to the formation of the Galactic nucleus, cores, M. M. Shara and colleagues used
which we see now as a relatively metal-poor the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Planet-
globular star cluster. Bulge metal-poor clus- ary Camera to study NGC 6522. As the
ters, such as NGC 6522, may be important authors explain in a 1998 Astrophysical
tracers of the early chemical enrichment Journal, they found strong evidence
of the Galaxy. that the cluster’s core has a dearth of red
In a 2009 Astronomy & Astrophysics, Barbuy giants but an interesting population of
and her colleagues position NGC 6522 at a suprahorizontal-branch (SHB) stars. The
distance of some 20,00 light-years from the SHB stars may be evolved blue horizontal-
Sun and some 6,500 light-years from branch stars, the tidally stripped cores of
the Galactic center, placing it slightly in the red giants, or evolved blue stragglers – all
foreground to the majority of metal-rich stars products of core collapse.
found in the Galactic bulge, yet still within the To find these interesting objects, use the
bulge. The sharp difference in the visual view chart on page 334 to locate Gamma (g)
of the two clusters – with NGC 6522 appearing Sagittarii (Alnal) – the tip of the Archer’s
more distinct and of greater brightness – is arrow. Center that star in your telescope at
The Secret Deep 337

78 & 79
much smaller than NGC 6522. In a more
N
romantic sense, the two clusters seen
Sagittarius projected against the rich background of
Milky Way look like beads on a snow-
W covered sweater.
At 60, NGC 6522 is a fine object,
appearing as a fuzzy knot of light roughly
30 across with a tight 10 bead of light at the
cluster’s core. The cluster’s halo appears
E NGC 6528 6522 W neatly circular with direct vision and a bit
tattered with averted vision. A roughly
12th-magnitude sun kisses the halo toward
the northeast, and a similarly bright sun
lies a tad farther away to the south-
southwest. At 94, the core appears slightly
elongated (northwest to southeast) and
1˚ mottled. Indeed, the cluster’s brightest stars
are not 16th and fainter, as noted in the
S NGC description, but rather 14th and
fainter. So do not be afraid to use higher
low power, then switch to the chart on this powers and averted vision to see the
page. Before moving on, take some time to dappled face of the cluster – though, as
admire Gamma, an orange class K0 giant the professional astronomers have noted,
96 light-years distant with a marigold it’s difficult to judge which stars belong
sheen. NGC 6528 is about 250 north- to the Milky Way and which stars to the
northwest of Gamma, while NGC 6522 is cluster.
a little less than 200 west, and a little north, At 33, NGC 6528 is a dim patch of light
of NGC 6528. (a tiny, isolated glow only about 10 in
Through the 5-inch, the view is glorious
at 33. The two globulars seem to bob in a
flood of Milky Way that rushes between
Gamma and W Sagittarii. Under a dark
sky, dark rivulets of obscuring matter
trickle through the flood forming three
diverging branches, like crow’s feet; the
dustiest region flows around Gamma.
The globulars themselves avoid one dense
patch of darkness, appearing just to the
north of it. Indeed, a bleak black spot (Bar-
nard 298) lies only about 120 southeast of
NGC 6528 – dimmer of the two clusters
by more than a magnitude; it also appears

78 & 79
extent) appearing as a fuzzy star with an scintillate nervously with erratic flashes
almost insignificant halo that quickly fades of dim light. This is most likely a visual
into the rich Milky Way background. I find illusion owing to the multitude of stars
that NGC 6528’s halo swells to greater sig- seen projected against its face, since
nificance if I look at NGC 6522 but direct the cluster’s brightest stars shine at only
my averted vision to NGC 6528. At 60 magnitude 15.5.
and 94, the view of NGC 6528 does not By the way, W Sagittarii is a Cepheid
improve much. But its core does seem variable star that fluctuates between mag-
bifurcated, while the entire halo seems to nitudes 4.3 and 5.1 every 7.59 days.
The Secret Deep 339

80
Secret Deep 80
(NGC 6563)
N
2 1 Scutum Serpens Cauda
2
µ
Capricornus
E W
NGC 6563
Corona
Australis

80
80
Southern Ring
NGC 6563
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 12.1m

Dec: 33 520
Mag: 11.0 (Rating 4)
Dim: 5000 3800
Dist: ~7,600 l.y.
Disc: James Dunlop, included in his
1828 catalogue
j . h e r s c h e l : Planetary nebula,
little elliptic, hazy at borders, seen as
last night. (h 3734)
n g c : Planetary nebula, faint, large,

considerably extended, hazy border.
n g c 6 5 6 3 i s a b e au t i f u l p l a n e ta r y (d) Sagittarii is the elephant’s head;

nebula about 2½ east-northeast of 2nd- Gamma (g) Sagittarii marks its lowered
magnitude Epsilon (ε) Sagittarii (Kaus trunk; Epsilon is the mammal’s rear flank;
Australis) – a beautiful A-type blue giant, while Eta (Z) Sagittarii is its tail. NGC 6563,
145 light-years distant, which marks the then, would be a digested peanut in the
southern part of the Archer’s bow (or the elephant’s stomach.
lower right star in the famous Teapot aster- James Dunlop discovered the nebula
ism). Ironically, Epsilon, not Alpha, is the during his sweeps of the southern heavens
brightest star in the Archer; evidence from his home in Paramatta, New South
that Johann Bayer (1572–1625) did not Wales, Australia. It is the 606th object listed
always stick to any specific ruling (such in his 1828 A Catalogue of Nebulae and
as ordering stars according to brightness) Clusters of Stars. Of its appearance through
when he alphabetized a constellation’s a 9-inch reflector (with a focal length of 9
stars. feet) he wrote: “A faint nebula, about 1¼0
Sagittarius is more than an Archer; he is long and 3000 or 4000 broad, with a consider-
a Centaur, a “monster” with the torso of a able brightness near each end, and faint in
man (from head to loins) and the legs and the middle, resembling two small nebulae
body of a horse. But not all people saw the joined.” John Herschel concurred; in his
stars in this region in that way. In India, for second observation of it, he described it
instance, Epsilon was part of a smaller as a “large, faint, oval, planetary nebula,
constellation depicting an elephant: Delta about 10 long, 50 arcseconds broad, or 55
The Secret Deep 341

80
arcseconds; considerably hazy, or rather star’s red giant phase to a planetary
indistinctly terminated at the borders, nebula. Cox et al. found that NGC 6563’s
but not brighter in the middle; a magni- CO emission forms a fairly complete ring
tude 6–7 star precedes it, just 1 diameter of around the nebula’s minor axis, or waist,
the field and nearly in the parallel.” while the structure is much more open
The object is clearly a hidden treasure; along the major axis. NGC 6563, then,
had I encountered it earlier, I certainly appears very similar in form to M51, the
would have included it in my Deep-Sky Ring Nebula in Lyra, which has a main
Companions: Hidden Treasures. Alas, little ring-like structure with a pair of coaxial
is mentioned about it. Fortunately, in bipolar cones.
August 2009, I was cruising around Sagit- The researchers also note that the ring
tarius with my telescope, checking objects appears fragmented, with the CO emission
that appear on Wil Tirion’s Sky Atlas coming from discrete, though unresolved,
2000.0, when I noticed NGC 6563’s tiny clumps within it. This may be indicative of
symbol near Epsilon and decided to “check asymmetrical mass-loss processes starting
it out.” I’m glad I did; the view delighted early at the asymptotic giant branch phase.
me so much that I immediately enlisted it Planetary nebula are believed to form from
as a member of the Secret Deep. the remnants of circumstellar envelopes of
In optical images, NGC 6563 (also AGB stars, which represent the very last
known as PK 358–7.1) is a pretty standard phase of normal stellar evolution. The
elliptical planetary nebula with, as Dunlop clumps could have formed as energetic
noted, brightening at the ends of the minor winds rushed out from the dying star caus-
axis. We see it oriented in the sky east- ing shocks within the circumstellar shells.
northeast to west-southwest. In three- NGC 6563 is highest in the sky during
dimensional space, its major axis is mid-August around 9 p.m., the perfect
inclined 75 to our line of sight. time for summer stargazers at mid-
P. Cox (Marseille Observatory, France) northern latitudes to turn their telescopes
and colleagues, in a 1991 Astronomy & to the south. The planetary’s declination of
Astrophysics, note that their observations 33 520 places it almost 1 further north
of NGC 6563 with the 1.5-meter Swedish than open cluster M7 in Scorpius, the most
European Submillimeter Telescope at La southerly Messier object. To find it, start by
Sille, Chile, show that it has intense and using the star chart on page 340 to find
extended molecular emission. Epsilon (ε) Sagittarii. Center that star at
It’s now believed that molecular gas rep- low power in your telescope, then use the
resents a substantial part of the total mass chart on page 343 to star hop to your
of planetary nebulae. These molecules target.
must have been formed within, and were First make a careful and rough 1½ sweep
ejected by, the star. Mapping carbon west-northwest to the 6th-magnitude vari-
monoxide (CO) emission is particularly able star RS Sagittarii – an eclipsing binary
valuable since it can be used to trace that fluctuates between magnitude 6.0
the more highly excited gas produced in and 6.5 every 2.4 days. Another rough 1½
the poorly understood transition from the sweep to the west-northwest will bring you

80
N At powers of 165 and
330, the ring is a beautiful
Sagittarius sight – a clear annulus lying
inside a warped pentagon of
uneven starlight. A dim star
a can also be seen nudging
RS NGC 6563 the southwestern flank of
E W
the ring (though in high-
resolution photographs,
this “star” is actually two
stars; I was obviously seeing
their combined light).
1˚
The center of the nebula
S is not dark but filled with
misty light less intense than
that of the surrounding ring.
to 6th-magnitude Star a, which is the north- At this power it is also clear that the central
ernmost member of a 200 -long triangle star I detected at lower power was an illusion
with two 7th-magnitude stars. NGC 6563 created by the combined glow of two dim
is about 150 east-southeast of Star a, almost stars within the ring; the true central star
due north of the southernmost star in the shines at a dim magnitude 18.3, making it
triangle. well beyond the grasp of small- to moder-
At 33 in the 5-inch, the nebula is just ate-sized telescopes. The ring also appears
barely visible as a tiny (<10 ) round haze slightly brighter at the northwest and south-
next to Star a; the entire field is beautiful, west edges. Overall, it’s quite a noble sight!
being rich in milky starlight. At 60, the
nebula stands out well as a condensed
circular glow of uniform light with what
appears to be a hint of a central star. The
nebula is so small and condensed that it
takes power well, so don’t be afraid to
crank up the magnification. At 94, I can
start to see the ring structure framed by
three bright field stars to the north, north-
west, and west-northwest. The annulus
also appears brighter on the southwest
end of the ellipse, which is oriented east-
northeast–west-southwest.
The Secret Deep 343

81 & 82
Secret Deep 81 & 82
(NGC 6589 & 6595)
N
2 1
Scutum Serpens Cauda
1 M24
NGC 6595
2
NGC 6589
2
µ
1
Capricornus
E W
Corona
Australis

81 & 82
81
NGC 6589
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 16.9m

Dec: 19 470
Mag: – (Rating 3.5)
Dim: 50 30
Dist: ~5,540 l.y.
Disc: Lewis Swift, 1885
l . s w i f t : Another double star in

center of an extremely faint, pretty
large nebulosity; north preceding of 2.
Except the inequality of the stars and
the excessive faintness of the nebula,
it would resemble the preceding [see
NGC 6590 below]. (No. 63 Swift’s Cat. II)
n g c : Double star in centre of extremely

faint, pretty large nebulosity.
The Secret Deep 345

81 & 82
82
NGC 6595 = NGC 6590
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 17.1m

Dec: 19 520
Mag: – (Rating 3.5)
Dim: 40 30
Dist: ~5,540 million l.y.
Disc: John Herschel, 1830
j . h e r s c h e l : Faint; pretty large;

considerably extended; double star
involved. (h 2002)
l . s w i f t : [Observed in 1885] A nebulous

double star; pretty faint; south following
of 2. A double star in center of a pretty
faint, pretty large circular atmosphere
each star of the 8.5
magnitude and about 2000 distant.
A wonderful object, not difficult.
(No. 62 Swift’s Cat. II)
n g c 6590: Double star in centre of

pretty faint, pretty large, round nebulosity.
n g c 6595: Faint, pretty large, clearly

elongated, double star involved.
n g c 6589 a n d 65951 a re t wo s ma l l Actually the two nebulae lie immediately

but reasonably bright reflection nebulae in southwest of a larger HII region: IC 1284
the maddening crowd of stars, dust, and gas (or Sharpless 2–37), discovered photo-
that populate the Galactic plane in Sagittar- graphically by Edward Emerson Barnard
ius, just off the southeastern lip of the Small on May 31, 1892; though he later found it
Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24). They’re per- on an image he took of the region in 1889.
fect examples of how little things of interest Barnard describes the discovery in an 1892
can be overlooked because larger celestial Astronomische Nachrichten (vol. 130, p. 77),
wonders nearby steal our attention. writing that he tried to see this 150 -wide
1
NGC 6589 and 6595 are also known as the reflection nebulae van den Bergh 118 and 119 (vdB 118 and 119), respectively,
so, by sighting them, you can add two more van den Bergh objects to your growing list of obscure nebulae, Secret Deep 1
(van den Bergh 1) being the first.

81 & 82
nebula through the Lick Observatory’s 12- continues, “Barnard is also responsible
inch refractor but he “could not be certain for a mistake of his own which makes the
of seeing the nebulosity” on account of the identity with IC 4690 probable.”
brightness of a magnitude 7.6 star embed- In a private 2010 communication
ded in it. Corwin adds that NGC 6590/95 is probably
Further investigation of the plate also also IC 4700. Barnard, he says, turned
led Barnard to notice a discrepancy in this up on a later plate at Yerkes. In a
Dreyer’s NGC catalogue. Aside from the 1908 Astronomische Nachrichten (vol. 177,
nebula he just discovered, he expected to p. 232), he wrote, “The two stars BD –19
see three other nebulae in the region: NGC 4881 and –19 4946 are closely and densely
6589, 6590, and 6595. But his investigation nebulous. The nebulosity about –19 4881 is
of the plate, coupled with visual observa- somewhat extended [north following] and
tions through the Lick 12-inch telescope, [south preceding].”
showed that Swift’s positions of NGC 6589 Corwin notes that Barnard’s first refer-
and NGC 6590 were off in right ascension ence to BD –19 4881 must actually be to
by about 45 seconds of time; he also noted BD –19 4940 (as I have suggested above).
that NGC 6590 and NGC 6595 were the He also believes that Barnard must also
same nebula. “The nebula 6590 is there- have been mistaken when he made BD –
fore to be stricken out,” he extolled, “as the 19 4881 extended, adding, “This descrip-
position of NGC 6595 is essentially the cor- tion fits –19 4946 very well. Given all that,
rect one.” the IC 4690 and IC 4700 numbers are
But the story doesn’t end there. In his clearly redundant.” In summary, Corwin
write-up, Barnard erroneously attributes says, “Yep, this Sagittarius field is enough
the discovery of NGC 6595 to Lewis Swift. to give one brain warp if we try to keep
Actually, indefatigable John Herschel dis- everything in mind and sorted out all at
covered that nebula while observing at once. Ouch!”
Slough in 1830, cataloging it as h2002. Of To add fuel to the fire, modern star
it Herschel wrote: “Faint; pretty large; con- charts reflect some of the confusion: Tir-
siderably extended; double star involved.” ion’s Star Atlas 2000.0, for instance, labels
Swift rediscovered the nebula in 1885 but IC 1284 as IC 1283,84 – though IC 1283 is a
published an incorrect position for it. minute nebula around a star in IC 1284
Dreyer’s catalogue also erroneously lists discovered photographically by Barnard;
NGC 6595 as a cluster, but no cluster it also shows NGC 6995 to be both a nebula
exists, only the nebula’s central double and a star cluster, erroneously labeling
star. them as NGC 6590,95. The Uranometria
Furthermore, as Hal Corwin writes on 2000.0 (Vol. II), repeats the IC 1283, 84
his NGC/IC website, NGC 6589 may also label listed above, as well showing NGC
be IC 4690. Swift’s position for NGC 6589, 6595 as a nebula and cluster; but it also
Corwin explains, is about 36 seconds of mislabels NGC 6589 as NGC 6589, 90. The
time off, a mistake corrected by Barnard, Millennium Star Atlas also uses the IC
and included in the 1908 Second Index 1283/84 label and clearly misidentifies
Catalogue’s Notes. “Ironically,” Corwin NGC 6595 as an open star cluster, with
The Secret Deep 347

81 & 82
the nebula NGC 6590 superimposed on it. three objects reside in an enormous hole in
And while NGC 6589 is labeled correctly in the molecular cloud.
the Millennium, the nebula is misplotted, In color photographs IC 1284 appears
showing it about 80 west, and slightly south, red – the color being due to the glow of
of its true position. The chart on this page hydrogen gas, which has been ionized by
shows the correct and current thinking: its central 7th-magnitude double star HD
your Secret Deep targets NGC 6589 and 167815 (both of spectral type B). NGC 6589
NGC 6595, and the large emission and and 6595 have rich bluish shades, the
reflection nebula IC 1284 to their northeast. result of light reflecting off interstellar
In his article “Star formation in Sagittar- dust. The B2 star HD 167638 illuminates
ius: The Lynds 291 Cloud,” which appears NGC 6589, while the B5 binary HD 313094
in the 2008 Handbook of Star Forming þ HD 313095 lights up NGC 6595.
Regions (Vol. II), published by the Astro- To find these intriguing nebulae, start by
nomical Society of the Pacific, University locating 4th-magnitude Mu (m) Sagittarii;
of Hawaii astronomer Bo Reipurth and his M24 is about 2½ north, but I suggest
colleagues summarize the history and centering Mu in your telescope at low
astrophysics of this region. power. Now switch to the chart on this page
NGC 6589 and 6595, together with IC and move 300 northeast to 5th-magnitude
1284 and a number of other interesting 15 Sagittarii, then 200 northward to 6th-
smaller nebulous features are part of the magnitude 16 Sagittarii. NGC 6589 lies
Lynds 291 (L291) Cloud – a major molecular nearly 450 north-northeast of it; NGC 6595
cloud complex in Sagittarius that stretches is 60 south-southeast of NGC 6589.
across four square degrees of
sky. In true physical extent, the
N
complex spans some 260 65 IC 1284
light-years and has a mass NGC 6589
exceeding 100,000 Suns;
although its distance is not
NGC 6595
accurately known, 5,500 light-
Sagittarius
years is commonly used in the
literature.
The entire L291 cloud is 16
E W
embedded in a larger ionized
region known as Gum 78,
15
which may be excited by the
Sgr OB1 Association – a very
active region of star formation. µ
The northwest corner of L291
abuts the side of the Small 1˚
Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24),
near which IC 1284, NGC S
6589, and 6595 lie. The latter

81 & 82
At 33 in the 5-inch, the two nebulae
attract attention because they at first look
like a pair of fuzz-collared stars 60 apart in
a dark river that separates two milky
looking star clouds. IC 1284 to the north-
east and Sharpless 2–35 to the southeast.
Seen together, the little glowing clouds set
against a dark veil of bleak gas draped
across the rich star fields of this molecular
complex are a sight to behold and worthy
of some time alone to take in the grandeur.
In extreme wide-field images, it’s apparent
that IC 1284 and NGC 6589 and 6595 are
visible through an enormous hole in the
surrounding giant molecular cloud.
In time, I find my eye is immediately star in quotes because visually, at least in
drawn to NGC 6595, because its central star the 5-inch, I can see a small 10 collar of
is actually a pair of 10th-magnitude suns, light surrounding the magnitude-9.5 star
oriented east-northeast–west-southwest, but not its eastern extension, which shows
separated by only 2000 . The reflection so magnificently in images. Again Mario’s
nebula around the stars is bright and quite image reveals NGC 6589 as a cloud equally
uniform, even at 66. The higher the mag- as large as NGC 6595, but one not centered
nification, though, the less grand the view. on the 9.5-magnitude star. Instead the
The roughly 30 nebula loses its luster and nebula appears bifurcated by dim dark
the overall scene becomes less dynamic. nebulosity, with one part centered on the
Photographs show NGC 6595 as a double magnitude-9.5 star and another part
tiered nebula: a bright ellipse of light hug- centered on a dim pair of stars to the east.
ging the double star surrounded by a In 1998, Jenni Kay, a Fellow of the Royal
fainter, irregularly oval halo of light; Astronomical Society and a member of
I cannot detect this effect visually, because Australia’s Canberra Astronomical Society,
the light from the central stars overpowers observed NGC 6589 in more detail using a
my eye; besides, close pairs of stars easily 12.5-inch f/5 Newtonian from Lobethal,
trick the eye into thinking they’re fuzzy (like South Australia: “[NGC 6589 is] a rather
M40 in Ursa Major). As Mario Motta’s beau- faint, relatively large, round hazy glow with
tiful photograph shows, NGC 6595 also has a double star of uneven brightness. . . Not
an interesting dark hole punched just seen at the lower power, however, is a
south-southwest of the central double star. second, faint round glow, east-southeast
By comparison, at 33, NGC 6589 is a of the first. The two round glows may be
less brilliant haze of light, one best seen bridged by a narrow strip of nebulosity, or
with averted vision. Its “central star” shines they are barely detached. Both hazy glows
at magnitude 9.5 and has a diminutive are similar in size and brightness. The first
companion about 10 away. I put central may have been more easily detected
The Secret Deep 349

81 & 82
having the prominent double star with a very irregular overall shape. There
involved. This second glow has a faint are about twenty stars ranging from 7.5–12
14 mag star at the centre, and could easily mag which are scattered across the nebula.
be overlooked if not given care and atten- The brightest 7.5 mag star, which lies near
tion. Both round, hazy glows are 1.50 in the centre of the nebula, seems to be
diameter. N6589, being made up of both wrapped in a soft, nebulous halo.”
nebulous patches, has an overall size of Through my 5-inch at 33, IC 1284 is
4.00 2.00 .” merely suspect. In other words, I do not
Kay also spied IC 1284, saying it required know if the “glow” I’m seeing is from the
averted vision and describing it as being nebula or whether it’s the “milkiness” of
“faint, very large, about 150 in diameter, unresolved starlight. See what you think.

83
Secret Deep 83
(NGC 6638)
N
2 1
NGC 6638
Capricornus
E W
Corona
Australis
The Secret Deep 351

83
83
NGC 6638
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 30.9m

Dec: 25 300
Mag: 9.2
SB: 13.5 (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 7.30
Dist: ~31,100 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed July 12,

1784] Considerably large, round,
very bright in the middle, easily
resolvable. (H I-51).
n g c : Globular cluster, bright,

small, round, well resolved,
n g c 6638 i s a v e r y s m a l l b u t undergone a high degree of condensation.

highly condensed globular star cluster . . . These clusters of stars are more con-
near 3rd-magnitude Lambda (l) Sagittarii, densed and brighter in the middle and
the tip of the celestial Teapot. This hidden the central brightness must be the result
gem suffers the unfortunate distinction of central powers. [A] Nebula that [is] com-
of being in the company of two of the posed of a thousand stars must arrive at
greatest globular clusters hunted down by the perfection of its form sooner than
amateur astronomers: M22, about 2 to another which takes in a range of a million
the northeast; and M28, about 1½ to the years.” In 1814, he wrote of the new object
west-northwest. as being a miniature of M53 in Coma Bere-
William Herschel, the cluster’s discov- nices and M69 in Sagittarius. Curiously,
erer, must have been impressed with the when his son John observed the object,
view, classifying it as a nebula (one easily he saw it as “barely resolved, a very deli-
resolved into stars). Herschel had a varying cate object, doubtless a globular.”
belief that all nebulae were resolvable into But NGC 6638 is a globular cluster with
stars, given sufficient aperture. But he later an integrated spectral type of G0. It’s a
thought of nebulae as star systems in vari- moderately metal-rich bulge cluster (see
ous states of evolution. “When round also Secret Deep 85 (NGC 6717)) 7,500
nebulae have a nucleus,” he imagined, “it light years from the Galactic center and
is an indication that they have already 31,100 light years from our Sun – making

83
it 66 light-years across in true physical that NGC 6638 has twice as many known
extent. In a 2005 Monthly Notices of the c-types variables as ab-types. Generally,
Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 361, there is a scarcity of c-type variables in
pp. 272–282) E. Valenti (University of globular clusters with similar metallicities
Bologna, Italy) and colleagues found that to NGC 6638.
the cluster has about 1/10 as much iron The researchers say that the abundance
(per unit hydrogen) as does our Sun and is of c-type variables in NGC 6638 can prob-
reddened by nearly 0.5 magnitude. ably be attributed to an unusual distribu-
NGC 6638 is relatively rich in RR Lyrae tion of stars on its horizontal branch – the
variables, which is not surprising, since part of the HR diagram of a typical globu-
more than 90 percent of variable stars lar cluster that shows the stage in a star’s
found in globular star clusters are of this life when it is fusing helium in its core and
variety. RR Lyrae stars are evolved, low- burning hydrogen in a shell around the
mass (~0.8 Sun) pulsating stars, burning core – which has a broad gap dividing it
helium in their cores and hydrogen in their into red and blue sections. “The blue com-
shells. Because RR Lyrae stars are unstable ponent extends into the RR Lyrae gap,”
(their evolutionary course depends on they say, “far enough to produce c-type
each star’s mass and chemical compos- RR Lyrae stars, whereas the part of the
ition, among other things) they are not instability strip [a nearly vertical region in
plotted on the Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) the HR diagram occupied by pulsating
diagram, leaving at their position a “gap,” variable stars] in which stars would pulsate
known as the RR Lyrae gap. as ab-type RR Lyrae stars must be particu-
What is surprising about NGC 6638’s RR larly devoid of stars.”
Lyrae stars, however, is that of the 15 vari- Smith also suggests that the cluster is
ables identified as members, 14 of them ripe for a new variable star search, espe-
are c-type RR Lyrae stars, the other one is cially with modern CCD methods. “Some
an ab-type RR Lyrae. This is odd because modern CCD searches are finding signifi-
most RR Lyrae stars (91 percent) are of the cant numbers of previously unknown
ab-variety. The difference between the two globular cluster variables,” Smith says,
classes is based on the shape of their light “although usually it is the low amplitude
curves: ab-type RR Lyrae stars have light RRc stars that are preferentially among the
curves with a steep rise in brightness; the undiscovered. A new variable star search
c-type RR Lyrae stars (9 percent) have might be able to confirm whether there
shorter periods and show a more sinus- really are very few RRab variables or
oidal variation. The differences are related whether they for some reason escaped dis-
to the interior mechanisms driving gas covery in the previous search. If they really
outflow and the stellar pulsations. do not exist, then the hypothesis that the
In a 1986 Publications of the Astronomical excess of c-type variables is owing to the
Society of the Pacific (vol. 98, pp. 453–456), peculiar distribution of stars on the horizon-
Horace A. Smith (Michigan State University) tal branch would be strengthened. The HST
and his colleagues say that such a prepon- color–magnitude diagram of NGC 6638
derance of c-type variables is unique, in by Piotto et al. (Astronomy & Astrophysics,
The Secret Deep 353

83
vol. 391, p. 945, 2002) does make me
wonder a bit whether there might be more
RRab variables for some reason undiscov-
ered so far.”
To find this hidden gem, use the chart
on page 351 to locate Lambda Sagittarii.
Center that star in your telescope at low
power, then switch to the chart on this
page. NGC 6638 is only about 400 east and
slightly south of Lambda. At 33 in the
5-inch, the globular is a tiny (20 ) fleck of
fuzzy light that swells with averted vision,
making it appear like a very condensed
9th-magnitude comet. You’ll find it as the
easternmost “star” in a 150 -long chain
densed glow with a bright starlike knot at
including two 8th-magnitude suns to the
the center, which I can see distinctly with
west. The cluster almost disappears with
direct vision. At 94, with averted vision,
a direct gaze. With attention and averted
the core stands out prominently sur-
vision, I can see a tiny core inside an
rounded by a tight and dense collar of
irregular halo.
mottled light nested in a larger outer halo
At 60, the cluster is a pleasing sight,
that scintillates.
appearing as a round and highly con-
The most fantastic shapes and forms
appear at 180, including looping foun-
N tains of knotty starlight to the east, north-
east, west, and south. These arms seem
Sagittarius almost flamboyant, as if bursting forth
through the cluster’s dense core and escap-
ing with wild abandon into the freedom of
outer space. The core fans out to the south,
forming a wedge bordered by a trine of
NGC 6638
“stars” – more likely clumps of stars.
E W The cluster’s brightest stars shine at
14th magnitude, and these can be seen
swimming around the halo at high magni-
fication and averted vision. Sweeping my
vision across the outer halo brought views
of faint arms extending radially away from
the core like fractured ripples. Quite an
1˚
interesting sight and one worthy of atten-
S tion for such a small object.

84
Secret Deep 84
(NGC 6664)
Vulpecula
7 5 Sagitta 110
9
4
111
13
Hercules
10
28
31
Ophiuchus
Altair
µ
E 19 W
22
Aquila
61
36
42
26
Scutum
NGC 6664
M26
The Secret Deep 355

84
84
Santa’s Sleigh, Teacup Cluster
NGC 6664
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Scutum
RA: 18h 36.5m

Dec: -08 110
Mag: 7.8
Diam: 120
Dist: ~4,900 l.y.

1784] A cluster of very coarse,
scattered stars. (H VIII-12)
n g c : Cluster, large, pretty rich,

very little concentrated.
I h av e t o a d m i t t h at n g c 6664 cluster is large and scattered, appearing

escaped my attention for several decades – as a dim and diffuse haze in binoculars,
until I swept it up in 2003 with my 4-inch which would have been easily washed out
refractor. I called it a “true hidden treas- from the city and suburban environments
ure,” penning, “I cannot believe how many from which I nova hunted.
times I must have passed over the cluster, Actually, despite its bashful appearance,
not knowing it existed.” I was especially NGC 6664 is the second brightest open
surprised to see it under dark skies through star cluster in Scutum; its two magnitudes
7 50 binoculars (once I knew where to fainter than similar sized M11 and a mere
look), because the cluster lies in one of my 0.2 magnitude brighter than slightly smaller
favorite nova-hunting regions in Scutum, M26, which is only about 2¼ away to
yet I never noticed it. the east-southeast. At first I wondered why
This shows the important role an Messier and Méchain, as well as other keen-
intensely focused mind plays when we eyed contemporary observers prior to the
seek out specific objects of astronomical cluster’s discovery by William Herschel in
interest (a nova would appear as a star, 1784, missed seeing it (because they were
not as a dim and diffuse object). But there’s looking for diffuse cometary forms), but
more to it than that. NGC 6664 lies only I think most of the reasons I cited above are
200 east of 4th-magnitude Alpha (a) Scuti, sufficient to explain the cluster’s elusiveness.
whose light overpowers the cluster, steal- If you have the opportunity to look at
ing attention away from it. Finally, the the positions of M11, M26, and NGC 6664

84
in a wide-field photograph, you’ll see that distinguish from its surroundings. On
they frame the Scutum Star Cloud – a blue plates, however, the cluster is quite
plump 5 -wide, pork-chop-shaped star obvious. He also found the cluster’s color–
cloud with dark nebulae biting into it magnitude diagram shows a clear main
along the north, west, and southern sides. sequence and a few red giants. In a 1982
“This, the gem of the Milky Way,” writes Astronomical Journal (vol. 87, p. 1197),
the pioneering astrophotographer Edward Edward G. Schmidt (University of Nebraska)
Emerson Barnard, “is the finest of the star found the cluster’s distance to be 4,900 light-
clouds. . . . In looking at this great cloud years and the foreground reddening to vary
one cannot imagine that it is anything from 0.5 to 0.6 magnitude across the clus-
but a real cloud in form, with a depth ter, which includes the bright Cepheid
comparable to its width . . . its serrations variable star EV Scuti with a period of
are probably due to dark obscuring 3.09 days, during which time it dips from
matter.” Barnard’s is a justifiable opinion. 10th magnitude to 10.3 magnitude and
A sweep of this rich stretch of Milky Way back. EV Scuti’s radial velocity indicates
through a wide-field telescope or large that it is likely a cluster member.
binoculars brings unfathomable starscapes In a 2003 Astronomy & Astrophysics
into view. (vol. 401, p. 661), Ukrainian astronomers
When we look in the direction of Scutum, Valery V. Kovtyukh, Sergey M. Andrievsky
we are along the Carina–Sagittarius spiral (Odessa State University) and colleagues
arms, between us and the Galactic center. report that EV Scuti is most likely not a
If we accept the outer-edge boundaries of spectroscopic binary as had been previ-
that arm adopted by Tatya P. Gerasimenko ously suggested but a non-radial pulsator.
(Astronomical Observatory of the Ural NGC 6664 is around 46 million years old,
State University) in 1993, NGC 6664 lies making it younger than the Pleiades. The
in the interarm gap just beyond the point cluster harbors three blue stragglers – hot,
where the arm curves inward. In other bright stars that appear to be younger than
words, we’re looking tangentially at the their siblings; these mystery stars are
arm’s curve and seeing the cluster near its much more common in globular clusters,
edge. (The same also goes for M11 and where stars at the tightly packed core can
M26, which are at similar distances and collide. Since open clusters are much more
Galactic longitudes.) Of course, the struc- loosely accumulated, the blue stragglers
ture of our Galaxy’s arms is not fully under- must result from dynamical interactions
stood. We do not know for sure if they in binary systems, which causes them to
are flocculent (feathery) or not. As the coalesce into a single hot and deceptively
researchers note, “We can say nothing youthful appearing star.
definite about the edges of the arm in To find this obscure and neglected clus-
Sagittarius at longitudes l ¼ 10 –30 [NGC ter, use the chart on page 355 to locate
6664 (l ¼ 23.95)].” Alpha Scuti. Again, NGC 6664 is just 200
In 1958, Halton Arp (Mount Wilson and east of that star. In the 5-inch at 33,
Palomar Observatories, California) found the cluster is a very pretty, yet subtle,
that in red light NGC 6664 is difficult to attraction, quite large and scattered across
The Secret Deep 357

84
120 of sky. At a distance of 4,900 light-years,
the cluster’s 60 or so members, which are
quite easily resolved, span a true linear
extent of 17 light-years. Trumpler classified
it as a type III2m – meaning it’s a detached
cluster with no discernible concentration,
in which the moderately bright stars are
more-or-less thinly but uniformly scattered.
About 20 stars are readily apparent at a
glance, and they seem to stand out against
a fainter backdrop of dimmer suns with
a bold L shape. Together the brightest
members and the dimmer suns appear
unevenly spread across the field, aligned
north-northeast to south-southwest, in his his website Wayne Schmidt (www.
the shape of a semicolon. The “semicolon” waynesthisandthat.com/stellarasterisms.
appears to be linked to Alpha Scuti by a htm) calls NGC 6664 “a 12-minute tall
chain of three roughly 10.5-magnitude teacup with a little tea still in it,” as viewed
suns. Alpha Scuti itself adds a rich golden through his 8-inch reflecting binoculars.
hue to the scene. Through his 11 tripod-mounted 3-inch
The cluster contains about 60 stars 9th binoculars in 1992, Auke Slotegraaf of
magnitude and fainter, and the possible Stellenbosch, South Africa, saw a “beautiful
double Cepheid EV Scuti (marked in the soft glow, round, upon a murky field.
photograph) is among the brightest. A delicate object, surprisingly large, like
For me, the view is best at 60. And percolated starlight, a slightly condensed
though the cluster does not have a clear milky-way star-patch, or a low surface-
central concentration of stars, look for a brightness globular cluster.” He also
small knot of starlight near the northwes- reminds us to nudge the field 2 to the
tern end. With imagination, the stars can west, where we’ll find a massive lightless
be seen, with west up, as a one-horse open void, over 3 degrees long.” See what you
sleigh, Santa’s sleigh, or a swan boat. On see . . . or don’t see!

85
Secret Deep 85
(NGC 6717)
N
2
1
2
µ
1
NGC 6717
Capricornus
E W
Corona
Australis
The Secret Deep 359

85
85
IC 4802 = Palomar 9
NGC 6717
Con: Sagittarius
RA: 18h 55.1m

Dec: 22 420
Mag: 8.4
Diam: 5.40
Dist: ~23,100 l.y.
August 7, 1784] Three very small
stars with suspected nebulosity.
(H III-143)
n g c : Faint, small, very round,

cluster and nebula.
n g c 6717 i s a s o f t ly g l ow i n g the object from England and South Africa,

globular cluster, in a beautiful field calling it “a very small clustering knot, with
between the Spoon and Teapot asterisms perhaps nebula. A doubtful object. I see
in the celestial Archer punctuated by 3 or 4 of the stars, but there is also a nebu-
two golden gems: Nu1 (n1) and Nu2 (n2) lous appearance.”
Sagittarii; NGC 6717, in fact, lies all but Around 1900, French astronomer
hidden in the glow of Nu2. This incon- Camille Guillaume Bigourdan (1851–1932)
spicuous gem, one well worth the hunt, complicated matters by giving the clump
also has a curious history. of stars its own designation (Big 434),
When William Herschel discovered it in which Dreyer listed as IC 4802 in his 1908
1784, he catalogued it as a faint nebula – Second Index Catalogue, describing it as a
seeing through his scope three dim stars in “[n]ebula with a 13th-magnitude star,
“suspected nebulosity.” No doubt, Herschel 1500 north following [H III-143 (NGC
was partially resolving the tiny “clump” of 6717)].” But as Brent Archinal and Steven
stars on NGC 6718’s northeastern flank, J. Hynes explain in their book Star Clusters,
which stands out against the glow of the Brian Skiff (Lowell Observatory) suspected
remaining cluster, which appears nebu- that Bigourdan’s object was the same as
lous. Herschel’s son, John, reiterated his Herschel’s, and Hal Corwin at the NGC/IC
fathers words when he later surveyed Project (www.ngcicproject.org) concurred,

85
saying IC 4802 “bears the same relation- Journal (vol. 556, L83) Duncan Forbes
ship to NGC 6717 as NGC 3189 does to (Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Australia)
NGC 3190, or NGC 5906 to NGC 5907: it’s and his colleagues note that there is now
part of the larger object.” “strong evidence that the metal-rich
Corwin also suspected that the proxim- globular clusters near the center of our
ity to 35 Sagittarii probably provided some Galaxy are associated with the Galactic
field glare that contributed to the “nebu- bulge rather than the disk as previously
losity” that the Herschels and Bigourdan thought.”
saw. While that’s certainly possible, Globular clusters in our Galaxy, they say,
I believe it’s simple enough to say that had been broadly divided into two classes
these observers saw the clump within the on the basis of their metallicity and/or
unresolved cluster as their “stars and kinematics: a metal-poor, nonrotating
nebulosity.” Nevertheless, it wasn’t until subpopulation (long associated with the
1931 that Per Collinder recognized NGC Galaxy halo), and a metal-rich system with
6717 for what it truly is: a globular star significant rotation (historically associated
cluster. with the disk). But Forbes et al. say that a
Interestingly, NGC 6717 is also known as view is now emerging that metal-rich
Palomar 9. In his 1955 Publications of the globular clusters within about 16,000
Astronomical Society of the Pacific paper, light-years of the Milky Way Galactic
“Globular Clusters and Planetary Nebulae center are associated with the bulge rather
discovered on the National Geographic than the disk. NGC 6717 is only about
Society–Palomar Observatory Sky Survey,” 8,500 light-years from that point.
George O. Abell obviously failed to notice The researchers say that globular cluster
Collinder’s identification of NGC 6717, systems share a similarity with elliptical
listing it as the 9th of 13 star clusters galaxies and spiral bulges. “By extension,”
“found on the survey photographs which they say, “this would suggest that bulges
appear to be globular.” It was one of seven and elliptical galaxies formed by a similar
clusters at low galactic latitudes that mechanism.” In the case of the Milky Way’s
“suffer considerable obscuration. They bulge, it appears to have formed by a rapid
appear to be globular on the survey plates, but clumpy collapse, though it could also
but confirmation is not yet available.” have been formed by mergers, “We still
Modern studies of NGC 6717 are sparse. don’t know for sure,” Forbes says.
We know it is a bulge globular, 23,100 light- NGC 6717 has an integrated spectral
years distant (making its true linear extent type of F6 and a blue horizontal branch
36 light-years across) with a possible post- magnitude of 15.6. Its brightest stars shine
core-collapse structure. around 14th magnitude, making it a good
The cluster presents a blue horizontal target for modest amateur telescopes, which
branch and is reddened by 0.2 magnitude. can achieve at least partial resolution.
Like other bulge globulars, NGC 6717 is Again, finding this globular cluster is
of high metallicity, having nearly 1/20 as easy. Just use the chart on page 359 to
much iron (per unit of hydrogen) as does locate 5th-magnitude Nu2 Sagittarii, then
our Sun. Indeed, in a 2001 Astrophysical use the chart on page 362 to pinpoint the
The Secret Deep 361

85
N
Sagittarius
1
E W
NGC 6717
1˚
cluster only 20 to the south. At 33 in the The cluster can just be seen with direct
5-inch, the cluster lies in a beautiful field vision at 94. With averted vision, the
punctuated by the twin Nu stars, which core is more distinct and appears broken.
shine forth like topaz gems among a scatter- The surrounding halo of light is angular,
ing of other dimmer suns, including a fine but this may be an illusion owing to its
open pair. NGC 6717 itself is but a breath of proximity to Nu2. The cluster holds mag-
light abutting Nu2; I couldn’t detect the clus- nification well, so I took the time to study
ter with direct vision, but it was most appar- it in varying degrees, from 165 to 282.
ent with averted vision, appearing as a shy The clearest and most comfortable views,
little ghost hiding in Nu2’s glare. though, are around 200. The cluster’s
Increasing the magnification to 60 core is definitely fragmented into tiny
shows the globular a bit better, but it still mottled beads with a distinct one, or a
shines like an afterthought of light. The large clump of little beads, to the north-
cluster now appears a little less “shy,” east (IC 4802) and another to the north-
having “stepped away” from Nu2 a bit. west. The faint outer halo of unresolved
With averted vision, I can make out a tiny starlight fades away rapidly with each
heart to the cluster, which is surrounded increase in power – at least through my
by a soft collar of light. modest scope.

86
Secret Deep 86
(NGC 6751)
N
Vulpecula
7 5 Sagitta 110
9
4
111
13
Hercules
10
28
31
Ophiuchus
Altair
µ
E W
Aquila Serpens
21
27
61
36
42
26
12 Scutum
NGC 6751
M26
The Secret Deep 363

86
86
Glowing Eye Nebula, Dandelion
Puff Ball
NGC 6751
Con: Aquila
RA: 19h 05.9m

Dec: 05 59.50
Mag: 11.9 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 2400
Dist: ~7,000 l.y.
Disc: Albert Marth, 1863
h e r s c h e l : [None].
n g c : Pretty bright, small.
n g c 6751 i s a n e g l e c t e d g e m d e e p the Mediterranean isle of Malta as an

in southwestern Aquilae. It lies a little assistant to William Lassell (1799–1880) of
more than 1 south of Lambda (l) Aquilae, Liverpool.
the 3rd-magnitude star marking the tail of In 1858, Lassell had erected at Starfield
Aquila, the Eagle, as depicted by H. A. Rey (near his hometown) his greatest telescope-
in his delightful 1952 book The Stars: making achievement: a 48-inch f/9 specu-
A New Way to See Them (Houghton Mifflin lum-metal Newtonian reflector. Two years
Co., Boston). In Rey’s depiction, the con- later, he had the monster scope dis-
stellation’s Alpha (a) star Altair and its two mounted and shipped to Malta, where he
fainter attendants (Beta (b) and Gamma (g) used it to survey the heavens. Marth joined
Aquilae) form the bird’s head. Delta (d), Eta him two years later. Through the 48-inch,
(Z), Theta (y) and Zeta (z), mark its wings, Marth found 601 new deep-sky objects
and Lambda its tail. (580 being credited to him), including
It’s surprising to me that William NGC 6751, which he discovered on July 20,
Herschel and his son John missed this little 1863. Most of these had avoided detection
marvel, especially since it lies only about by other observers. Marth listed our target
6 south of the Celestial Equator – the as the 397th object in his catalogue of
imaginary great circle on the Celestial objects found by him. He also determined
Sphere that divides the northern and the positions of these objects with a great
southern hemispheres and reflects Earth’s degree of accuracy – a remarkable feat
equatorial plane projected into space. considering the unwieldy instrument he
Instead, the discovery honor goes to Albert had to use. John Louis Emil Dreyer gave
Marth (1828–1897) a German-born astron- the new object the general catalogue
omer who, from 1863 to 1865, worked in number GC 5940.

86
Edouard Jean-Marie Stephan included
it in his 1883 list of objects discovered
and observed at Marseille, calling the
nebula “bright; small; round; with a
central condensation.” Thirty-five years
later, Heber Curtis identified NGC 6751 as
a true planetary based on its impression
on plates taken with the 36-inch Crossley
reflector at Lick Observatory. He described
the “rather faint” nebula as “Nearly round
[with] indistinct evidence of a very irregu-
lar ring formation.”
Note the distinct 14th-magnitude central
star. Its spectrum is dominated by strong
emission lines typical of a Wolf–Rayet star.
These stars are extremely luminous and hot
and shed mass at enormously high rates, in
many cases after passing through a super-
giant stage. NGC 6751’s central star has a
searing surface temperature of over 100,000 Cabramatta, New South Wales, Australia.
degrees Celsius and shines with a lumino- The contest, sponsored by the Australian
sity of 9,200 Suns. The star appears to be in Gemini Office, solicited high school stu-
its heating phase after losing its entire dents from across Australia to submit a
hydrogen envelope in a mass ejection. target and explain why it would make a
In a 1991 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 476, good image. As reported in a Gemini press
pp. 150–160) Y.-H. Chu and colleagues release, when Daniel saw this planetary
note that NGC 6751’s nebula did not online at the WorldWide Telescope (WWT,
1
attract much professional attention until a project of Microsoft ) he found, “its
1986, when spectroscopic data revealed a unique colour and structure made me want
bipolar mass outflow and a faint envelope to know more about it, and the name itself
outside the bright main nebula with faint caught my attention and started to reel me
filaments extending out to a radius of in.” The image, a result of his one hour’s
greater than 10000 . Some of the outer fila- observing time for multi-band optical
ments belong to a halo of NGC 6751, while imaging with the Gemini South Multi-
others are interstellar material ionized by Object Spectograph, shows in stunning
NGC 6751’s hot central star. detail the approximately 3,000-year-old
This can be dramatically seen in the Glowing Eye Nebula and the other wisps
Gemini South telescope image at above of gas in the interstellar medium (upper-
right. The image is the result of the winning left-hand corner of the image) being ion-
entry in the 2009 Gemini Student Imaging ized by the nebula’s central star.
Contest, submitted by high school student NGC 6751 appears to be a rare (only
Daniel Tran of PAL College (high school), seven are known) triple shell nebula
The Secret Deep 365

86
moving through a dense interstellar HII and east to the upper right). The Hubble
region. Indeed, the radial velocity of this Heritage Project released this picture in
region is different from that of the planet- 2000 to commemorate the Hubble tele-
ary nebula by 55 km/sec, and the helium scope’s 10th anniversary.
to hydrogen ratio is lower in the HII region. In the HST image, the main hot shell
The medium also appears to be slowing looks like a frayed ring at the outer edge
the expansion of the nebula’s halo. Chu of the nebula. This region was probably
et al. add that the shell structure of ejected about 3,000 years ago from the
NGC 6751 gives clear evidence that the central star. Inside the ring, cool gases
progenitor of the planetary nebula’s (bright filaments in this black and white
nucleus must have gone through mass loss image) lie in long streamers pointing
in a complex way. away from the central star. The origin of
In 1998, a team of astronomers led by these cooler clouds within the nebula is
Arsen Hajian of the U.S. Naval Observatory still uncertain, though they appear to have
in Washington, D.C., used the Hubble been created by intense winds expanding
Space Telescope (HST) to image NGC at a velocity of about 42 km/sec and
6751’s main nebula in great detail (see radiation pressure from the intensely hot
image below, with north to the lower right, central star.
University of Washington
astronomer Bruce Balick
likens the nebula’s filamentary
appearance to that of the puff
ball of a dandelion, adding
that the HST image “gives the
impression of an explosion
rather than an organized ejec-
tion, as for the other nebulae.”
The nebula’s most popularly
used moniker, however, is the
Glowing Eye. If we accept
NGC 6751’s distance as 6,500
light-years, the main shell’s
true physical extent is about
0.8 light-year across, or about
600 times the size of our Solar
System.
Finding this Glowing Eye
is not difficult. Again, it’s only
a little more than 1 south of
Lambda Aquilae, which places
the two in the same low-power
field in most telescopes. Use

86
N planetary. At 60, its disk just
starts to emerge as a slightly
Aquila bloated 12th-magnitude star
with averted vision. There are
a V 12 plenty of field stars around to
compare with the planetary’s
NGC 6778 image, helping you to see
E W
OME 5
its disk.
At 94, the now more prom-
B134 inent shell just begins to show
signs of a ring. The nebula
takes magnification fairly well.
1˚
At 180, for instance, the
S nebula appears as a snowy
collar wrapped around a mod-
the chart on page 363 to pinpoint Lambda, erately dark hole. I could not see any trace
then 4th-magnitude 12 Aquilae almost of the 13.5-magnitude central star. Nor
1.5 to the southwest and center it in your could I make out any filamentary detail.
telescope at low power. From 12 Aquilae, I must admit that whenever I viewed
move 400 east to V Aquilae – a semiregular this object, the seeing was poor. I’ve yet
variable star that changes brightness from to get it on a really crisp night. Brian Skiff
6.6 magnitude to 8.4 magnitude and back, and Christian Luginbuhl, however, note
about every 353 days. Now move 250 that they’ve spied the central star “just
to the east-southeast, where you’ll find a barely” in a 6-inch telescope. The central
roughly 120 -long Sagitta-like asterism of star, they say, is clearly visible in a 10-inch;
four 10.5-magnitude stars (a) oriented and in a 12-inch, “two dark spots can be
northwest–southeast. NGC 6751 appears seen on the [south] side of the broad core.”
as a 12th-magnitude star just 100 due south
of the southern tip of asterism a.
When I first looked for the nebula,
I was confused by the appearance of
another significant asterism of dim suns
that forms a 30 -wide cluster-like glow about
50 to the south. This asterism (OME 5
(O’Meara 5)) is at right ascension 19h 06m,
declination 06 04.50 , and shines more
brightly than the planetary, so it tends to
capture the eye first, especially since the
planetary is very stellar at 33. I suggest
that once you find the field, switch to
a medium magnification to spot the
The Secret Deep 367

87 & 88
Secret Deep 87 & 88
(NGC 6755 & 6756)
Vulpecula
110
7 5 Sagitta
9 4
111
13
Hercules
10
28
31
Ophiuchus
Altair
E µ 19 W
22
Aquila Serpens
NGC 6756
6755
61
36
42
26
12 Scutum
M26

87 & 88
87
Part of Possible Binary Cluster
NGC 6755
Type: Possible Binary Open
Cluster
Con: Aquila
RA: 19h 07.8m

Dec: þ04 160
Mag: 7.5
SB: 13.4 (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 150
Dist: ~5,500 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed July
17, 1785] A pretty compressed
cluster of pretty scattered stars
of various sizes, magnitudes,
and colours, irregularly faint,
and unequally compressed,
12 or 150 in diameter. (H VII-19)
n g c : Cluster, very large, very

rich, pretty compressed, stars
from magnitude 12 to 14.
The Secret Deep 369

87 & 88
88
Part of Possible Binary Cluster
NGC 6756
Type: Possible Binary Open
Cluster
Con: Aquila
RA: 19h 08.7m

Dec: þ04 420
Mag: 10.6 (9th, O’Meara)
SB: 13.6 (Rating: 3.0)
Diam: 40
Dist: ~4,900 l.y.
August 21, 1793] A small, pretty
compressed cluster of stars not
very rich. (H VII-62)
n g c : Cluster, small, rich,

little compressed, stars from
magnitude 11 to 12.
n g c 6755 a n d n g c 6756 a r e a pa i r 4.5 glow one-fourth the apparent size of

of interarm open clusters in the far west- the full Moon, and NGC 6756 would be a
ern reaches of Aquila the Eagle – almost magnitude 6.6 object, appearing as a tight
4¼ west-northwest of 3.5-magnitude knot of 9th-magnitude suns 300 to its
Delta (d) Aquilae, or about 3 east of 4.5- northeast. Together, they would have been
magnitude Theta (y) Serpentis (Alya) – the an admirable binocular pair, or a tele-
terminal star in the Serpent in one of the scopic showpiece, with both clusters vying
bleak branches of the Great Rift, a series of for attention in the same wide field of view.
overlapping dust clouds that divides the Indeed, it’s possible that NGC 6755/56 may
Milky Way. The clusters lie just beyond that be a rare binary open star cluster.
murkiness, on the western shores of the Of the more than 1,600 open clusters
Milky Way, which brushes through Aquila known in our Galaxy, astronomers recog-
like a gentle stroke of the hand. nize only one as a well-ascertained binary:
Owing to intervening dust clouds, we see h and w Persei (NGC 869 and NGC 884), the
both NGC 6755 and NGC 6756 greatly famous Double Cluster (Caldwell 12). NGC
dimmed, by about 3 and 4 magnitudes, 6755/56, however, is one of 18 probable
respectively. If they weren’t so greatly binary open star clusters now under study.
obscured, NGC 6755 would be visible to (See also Secret Deep 20 and 21 (NGC 1807
the unaided eye as a diffuse magnitude and 1817).) A binary open star cluster is an

87 & 88
object consisting of two open clusters that we accept the cluster’s distance of 5,500
form together from the same giant light-years, its true linear diameter is
molecular cloud – a vast, cold, and dense 24 light-years.
interstellar cloud, rich in gas and dust, out NGC 6756 (Trumpler class I1m) lies only
of which stars grow. The components must 300 (the apparent diameter of the full
have a center-to-center separation of less Moon) northeast of NGC 6755. It’s a mod-
than 65 light-years and an age difference erately rich magnitude-10.6 cluster that
less than 10 million years; or their ages lies in a somewhat less densely populated
must agree well within the uncertainties section of Milky Way, so it too appears
of their age determination. Do NGC 6755 detached from the stellar background. But
and NGC 6756 meet these criteria? NGC 6756’s 40-odd members, which are
As we can see in the tables above, the roughly of the same magnitude (around
clusters appear to lie about 500 light-years 13th), are highly concentrated in an area
apart. If these distances are correct, then only 40 across. If we accept the cluster’s
the clusters are too far apart to be con- distance of 5,000 light-years, its true linear
sidered a binary pair. The distances to extent is only 6 light-years – four times
these poorly studied clusters, however, smaller than its visual neighbor.
are uncertain. The cluster pair also appears The two cluster make a very pretty target
to have another strike against them. In a under dark skies in moderate-sized aper-
2007 Bulgarian Journal of Physics (vol. 34, tures. They’re also a bit of a visual enigma.
pp. 236–239), Valentin Kopchev (Bulgarian But first, to find the pair, use the chart on
Academy of Sciences, Sofia) and colleagues page 368 to locate Theta Serpentis. If
describe their attempt to photometrically you’re daring and have an equatorially
confirm or disprove the binarity of NGC mounted telescope, you can simply center
6755/56. Their age determinations – ~155 Theta, then move the scope 3 to the east
million years for NGC 6755 and ~224 mil- where you’ll encounter NGC 6755, then
lion years for NGC 6756 – imply that these NGC 6756 300 further to the northeast.
young clusters are not related. “[W]e can Otherwise, you could first find Theta Ser-
not confirm their binarity based on age pentis, then use binoculars or your naked
determination,” the authors say, noting that eyes to find 5.5-magnitude 19 Aquilae 3¾
further photometry needs to be done to to the east-northeast. It’s easy to identify 19
see if a tidal link exists between them. Aquilae, because it has an 8th-magnitude
So the verdict is still out on this possible companion about 60 east-northeast of it.
binary couple. Center 19 Aquilae in your telescope at
NGC 6755 (Trumpler class II2r) is a low power, then use the chart on page 372
rich, magnitude-7.5 cluster in an area of to find a 300 -long, Y-shaped asterism a
intermediate apparent star density, so it (oriented north–south) 1¼ to the south-
appears detached from the Milky Way southwest. The brightest star in the asterism
background. Its stars are moderately bright shines at magnitude 7.5 and marks the
(11th-magnitude and fainter) and show northeastern arm of the Y. An 8.5-
little central concentration. The cluster’s magnitude double star marks the position
nearly 160 members span 150 of sky; if of the other arm. NGC 6755 is about
The Secret Deep 371

87 & 88
N
19
Aquila
E NGC 6756 W
nervous starlight. With south up, I see the

cluster’s brightest stars forming a cat-like
figure with an upright tail (oriented
c
northwest–south-southeast) to the east, an
NGC 6755 upside-down U of stars forming its front
legs to the west, and a straight back of stars
running between them, oriented roughly
northeast–southwest. Otherwise the dimmer
1˚ stars are generally and uniformly scattered
across the cluster’s 150 width. Some 50 to
S 60 stars materialize at 60 and these are ran-
domly scattered into fractured arrangements,
with a compact “core” of about a dozen stars
1 south-southeast of that 7.5-magnitude in the cat’s back. It looks like a cluster within a
star; fainter NGC 6756 is about 400 south- cluster, like a nested Russian doll.
east of it. The more I look at NGC 6755 with
Remember, NGC 6755 is the larger and averted vision, the more NGC 6756 tries
brighter cluster; NGC 6756 is small and to steal my attention, because its tiny com-
somewhat dim. Interestingly, because NGC pact form is like a visual mosquito –
6755 is large and scattered, under a bright making enough “noise” to distract. At
sky, highly compressed NGC 6756 might 33, it’s but a 40 puff of light in the Milky
stand out from the sky background more Way, shining like a lost comet without a
easily. (Don’t let NGC 6756’s listed magnitude tail. It lies almost midway between, and
of 10.6 frighten you. I didn’t believe it, so slightly north of, two 9th-magnitude stars
I made my own estimate at 33 in the 5-inch separated by 200 and oriented east to west.
and got roughly around 9th magnitude.) At 60, the cluster has an intriguing
In the 5-inch at 33 under a dark sky, compact core of stars, slightly east of the
NGC 6755 is a very large and diffuse ball of center of a roughly 40 -wide, irregular halo

87 & 88
of unresolved starlight – with a dim, fuzzy necessary to bring out these features. The
apron to the south, a fainter cap of light to wedge itself is resolved into mottled bits of
the north. (In photos, these fuzzy exten- cramped stars. It’s all somewhat frustrating
sions are stunning arcs and strings of (and mesmerizing), because try as I might,
14th-magnitude suns.) I cannot make a star count – the patch of
At 94, NGC 6756’s core fractures into a condensed light is less than an arcminute
bright triangular wedge and other patchy across and it seems to be teaming with tiny
fragments. But time and averted vision is twinklers.
The Secret Deep 373

89
Secret Deep 89
(NGC 6778)
N
Vulpecula
5 Sagitta 110
7
9 4
111
13
Hercules
10
28
31
Ophiuchus
Altair
E µ W
Aquila Serpens
21
27 NGC 6778
61
36
42
26 12
Scutum
M26

89
89
Son of M76
NGC 6778 = NGC 6785?
Con: Aquila
RA: 19h 18.4m

Dec: 01 360
Dim: 2000 4000
Dist: ~9,800 l.y.
Disc: John Herschel,
independently discovered by
Albert Marth between 1863
and 1865.
n g c : Small, elongated,
ill-defined disk.
n g c 6778 i s a s m a l l b u t d e c e i v i n g ly 1865 as an assistant to William Lassell of

conspicuous planetary nebula 5 south- Liverpool on the Mediterranean isle of
southwest of 3.5-magnitude Delta (d) Aquila, Malta. There, Marth made 580 original dis-
in the majestic bird’s tail, as depicted by coveries of deep-sky objects with Lassell’s
H. A. Rey in his 1952 book The Stars: 48-inch f/9 speculum-metal Newtonian
A New Way to See Them (Houghton Mifflin, reflector. He also found an additional 21
Co., Boston), which shows the Eagle flying deep-sky objects that other observers had
toward the Swan. In wide-field photo- seen first or were identical to objects found
graphs NGC 6778 appears 200 southeast earlier by other observers. NGC 6778 may
of the dark nebula Barnard 139, which belong to the latter group.
Edward Emerson Barnard described as a Hal Corwin, who directs the on-line
“narrow black spot” with a 10th-magnitude NGC/IC Project (www.ngcicproject.org),
star on the southeast edge.” Actually, Barnard presents a good argument for John Herschel
139 is a 200 -long dollop of darkness at the being the discoverer of NGC 6778. In the
southeastern tip of Barnard 138, a “great NGC, Dreyer credits Herschel with the dis-
curved, semi-vacant lane over 3 degrees covery of NGC 6785 and Marth with the
in length.” discovery of NGC 6778. But nothing exists
In his 1888 New General Catalogue, John in the published position of NGC 6785. So
Louis Emil Dreyer credits Albert Marth with Corwin considered Herschel’s description
the discovery of NGC 6778. A German-born of that object, which reads, “An extremely
astronomer, Marth worked from 1863 to small stellar nebula equal to a magnitude
The Secret Deep 375

89
15 star; it is 2/3 of a diameter of field (100 ) 2 light-years). The equatorial region is
from a double star which it follows, to bright and knotty.
south position from the star equals about The two jet-like lobes differ from one
240 . The right ascension is excessively another: one lobe is linear and oriented
loose.” along the bipolar axis (~PA 15 ); the
Corwin says that Herschel’s description other presents an S-shape with changing
fits NGC 6778 if the phrase “which it orientations – between PA ~15 and ~50 .
follows” is changed to “which follows it.” Both lobes can be traced to 3500 from the
The position angle agrees as well, he says. high excitation central star, which has
“This means, however, that not only is an effective temperature between 45,000
the right ascension ‘excessively loose,’ K and 75,000 K. The researchers believe
but that there is 30 arcminutes error in these are collimated outflows whose vel-
John Herschel’s declination as well.” (John ocities increase linearly with the distance
Herschel’s position published in the NGC to the central star: the velocity of the lobe
is 19h 13m 23s 01 21.40 (epoch 1860.0).) that’s aligned with the bipolar axis varies
Corwin adds that a published correction from 20 km/sec up to 60 km/sec; the
to the object’s right ascension appeared S-shaped lobe has a maximum observed
in the second Index Catalogue, but it radial velocity of 100 km/sec.
places the object “to a random clump of “It is interesting to note that the colli-
stars at John Herschel’s (incorrect) declin- mated outflows seen to originate from
ation. These [stars] are clearly not NGC bright knots at the tips of the bipolar shell,”
6785.” Astronomy is full of such fun histor- the researchers say, “as it has already been
ical mysteries. observed in NGC 6891 [(Secret Deep 95) in
Today we know NGC 6778 as a bipolar, Delphinus]. The likely connection between
filamentary planetary nebula with a very the collimated outflows and nebular fea-
prominent equatorial dust disk. Two tures suggests either that the shell has con-
opposing lobes of matter balloon through tributed to the collimation of the outflows
this dense torus, creating a butterfly- or that the outflows have interacted and
shape. The nebula’s distance is uncertain, shocked material in the nebular shell.”
ranging between 3,300 light-years and To find this little wonder, first use
12,000 light-years with an average value the chart on page 368 to locate Delta Aqui-
of 9,800 light-years. lae and 5th-magnitude Nu (n) Aquilae,
In a 2004 Astronomical Society of the which is 2¾ to the south-southeast.
Pacific Conference Series (vol. 313, p. 127) Now use your unaided eyes or binoculars
Martin Guerro (University of Illinois, to find 6th-magnitude 27 Aquilae nearly
Urbana) and colleagues say that their obser- 2 southwest of Nu Aquilae. You can easily
vations show a nebula 2000 4000 (1 light- identify 27 Aquilae because it’s the most
year 2 light-years) in size with the nebula’s northern and brightest star in a tight
major axis tilted about 15 with respect to 250 -long triangle of binocular stars. Now
the plane of the sky. This main nebula lies use the chart on page 377 to locate NGC
inside a faint elliptical shell with a size of 6778 only about 550 southwest of 27 Aquilae.
about 5000 6000 (about 2.5 light-years You can also star hop further to it. From

89
N
27
Aquila
a
E B139 W
b
NGC 6778
1˚
27 Aquilae drop 250 south to 6.5- been a trick of the eye working at the limit.
magnitude Star a. Then look 300 southwest I could not detect the 15th-magnitude
for 8.5-magnitude Star b. NGC 6778 is only central star, though Luginbuhl and Skiff
about 50 west-southwest of that star. say they’ve occasionally glimpsed it in a
At 33 in the 5-inch, the nebula was 10-inch scope at 200. They also saw the
barely visible with averted vision. It nebula with a hairy edge in a 12-inch scope.
responded well, however to an OIII filter, In October 2004, Armin Hermann at
becoming definite with averted vision. At Sangkhlaburi, Thailand, used a 15-inch
60, I could see the nebula clearly without f/4.5 Obsession reflector at 342 to see this
the filter, appearing as a small fuzzy knot “colorless” nebula as an elongated glow
of light, definitely more swollen than any (1200 1500 ) with two connected lobes that
field stars. At 94, I could detect little dif- made NGC 6778 “look very much like a tiny
fuse wings extending from a bright core copy of M76!” He saw no central star. And
that does not appear stellar. The wings in 1998 Scott Hogsten at McConnelsville,
are oriented east–west and extend about Ohio, who used a 12.5-inch f/5 Dobsonian
2000 . And this is how the nebula more or reflector at 150 and no filter, found it very
less stays at magnifications ranging from faint, small, and round. “It did not require
94 to 165. But powers up to 282 show averted vision to see,” he says. “I honestly
the nebula’s two bright lobes, which did not expect to find this. . . . I question
appear as slightly tilted twin knots in a the printed magnitudes on this planetary.”
cross-shaped halo, though this could have See what you think.
The Secret Deep 377

90
Secret Deep 90
(NGC 6781)
Vulpecula
5 Sagitta 110
7
9
4
111
13
Hercules
10
28
31
Ophiuchus
Altair
E µ NGC 6781
W
19
22
Aquila
Serpens
61
36
42
26
12 Scutum
M26

90
90
Ghost of the Moon
NGC 6781
Con: Aquila
RA: 19h 18.5m

Dec: þ06 320
Mag: 11.4 (Rating: 3.5)
Dim: 20
Dist: ~3,100 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed July 30,

1788] Considerably faint, irregularly
round, round 3 or 40 in diameter.
(H III-743)
n g c : Planetary nebula, faint,

large, round, very suddenly
brighter in the middle to a disk,
[faint] star north following.
n g c 6781 i s a l a r g e r i n g p l a n e ta r y respect to the line of sight. The ring we

nebula about 3¾ north-northwest of see is the nebula’s equatorial waist formed
3.5-magnitude Delta (d) Aquilae in the from a high-density slow wind from the
Eagle’s body. Its discoverer, William evolving star. Fast, low-density gas is
Herschel, catalogued it as a very faint flowing through the torus and expanding
nebula. In detailed images, NGC 6781 perpendicularly with a velocity propor-
shows a 20 -wide, nearly circular bright tional to the distance to the central star.
shell, double in parts, with fainter lobes Thus the lobe geometry may be a bipolar,
emanating at the north–south ends where open-ended cylinder with an hourglass
the ring is double and fainter. The ring is shape.
also brighter in the east–west directions. In a 2006 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 648,
The nebula’s ring is a deception, of sorts, pp. 430–434), the late Hugo E. Schwarz
since it is now catalogued as a bipolar but- (Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory,
terfly planetary nebula seen nearly along Chile) and his colleagues found that the
its polar axis, which is tilted only about 25 central star’s luminosity is 385 Suns with
with respect to our line of sight. As with a mass of about 0.6 Sun, and a mass
M57, the Ring Nebula in Lyra, NGC 6781’s of the progenitor star of about 1.5 Suns.
morphology appears to be that of a thin Stars in this mass range cannot explode
hollow cylinder whose axis is tilted with catastrophically, like supernovae. Instead,
The Secret Deep 379

90
N To find this delicate
beauty, use the chart on
NGC 6781
page 378 to find Delta Aqui-
Aquila
c lae, then 6th-magnitude
19 Aquilae about 5 to the
northwest. Now use the chart
E W
b on this page to find 7th-
a 19
magnitude Star a, almost 450
to the east. Next hop about
350 east-northeast to 7th-
1˚ magnitude Star b, then about
S 350 northeast to equally bright
Star c, which has a tight pair of
as the star nears the end of its life, it unequal 10th-magnitude suns just to its west-
begins to eject clouds of gas, which northwest. NGC 6781 is almost 300 due east
trudge outward from the star into the and a tad south of Star c.
interstellar medium. The loss of the outer At 33 in the 5-inch the nebula is a large
layers of the star into space exposes the (1.50 ), pale specter in a rich Milky Way
hot stellar core, whose strong and fast field. It immediately appears as an irregu-
ionizing winds can interact with these larly bright annulus with a dimmer, but
more slowly moving previously ejected uniformly bright interior. The northern
shells, causing them to fluoresce as a rim is conspicuously fainter than the
planetary nebula. southern rim. It’s quite a pleasing view at
In a 2005 Astronomy & Astrophysics, low power, because of its ample size, and
D. Hiriart (Instituto de Astronomı́a, the concentration of light.
UNAM, Ensenada, México) says that the At 60, the nebula has a fantastic shell,
structure of NGC 6781 was formed from mostly filled in with pale light, making it
the “ionization and destruction of an appear like a ghost image of the naked-eye
ellipsoidal molecular envelope that began
with the destruction and ionization of the
least dense polar caps and will continue
until the densest molecular material at
nebular waist is fully ionized.”
In deep images, the hourglass exten-
sions can faintly be seen extending beyond
the ring, and they are decomposing owing
to interactions with energetic UV photons
from nearby bright stars. If we accept the
nebula’s distance to be 3,100 light-years,
the nebula’s true physical extent is some
2 light-years, or about 1 light-year for each
arcminute.

90
Moon, thus its moniker. The interior of the 12.5-magnitude one skirting its northeast
ring remains filled with faint light, though flank. The hole is more obvious at 180, but
it now doesn’t appear to have a uniform the overall view is best at 94 in my modest
luster. telescope. The magnitude-16.2 central star
At 94, the annulus is very obvious, was too dim for me to see. But be careful,
looking like the letter C with east up. Dim because a roughly 14th-magnitude star lies
stars surround the phantom shell, with a just north-northeast of the nebula’s true core.
The Secret Deep 381

91
Secret Deep 91
(NGC 6804)
N
Vulpecula
7 5 Sagitta 110
9
4
111
13
Hercules
10
28
31
Ophiuchus
NGC 6804
Altair
µ 19
E 22 W
Aquila Serpens
61
36
42
26
12 Scutum
M26

91
91
Incredible Shrinking Nebula,
Snowball Nebula
NGC 6804
Con: Aquila
RA: 19h 31.6m

Dec: þ09 130
Dim: ~5000 (~800 inner shell)
Dist: ~4,200 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed August
25, 1793] Considerably bright, small,
irregularly faint, easily resolvable,
some of the stars are visible. (H VI-38)
n g c : Considerably bright, small,

irregularly round, well resolved,
n g c 6804 i s a f a s c i n at i n g l i t t l e Sun. (He later proposed that nebulae were

planetary nebula in Aquila, nearly 5 west composed of unknown matter in various
and a bit north of 1st-magnitude Alpha (a) stages of development.)
Aquilae (Altair). Despite its magnitude, the The nineteenth-century observer Admiral
nebula is quite condensed, making it William Henry Smyth seemed particularly
appear stellar at low power under a dark impressed by this nebula, which Herschel
sky. But, unlike many of the smaller “stel- discovered with his 20-foot reflector.
lar” planetary nebulae, this one morphs “[Herschel] saw it considerably bright and
into an annulus under high power. Under easily resolvable,” Smyth says, “estimating
a dark sky NGC 6804 should not be much its profundity as of the 900th order, indi-
of a challenge to those using 5-inch-class cating a distance altogether overwhelming
telescopes, though it’s important to pin- to the mind.” William’s son John also
point the nebula’s exact location. resolved the nebula, calling it a “curious
Note how William Herschel believed this object.”
planetary resolved into stars. Herschel ini- None of these great observers are to
tially believed that nebulae were clouds of be faulted. The nebula lies in a rich Milky
unresolved suns beyond the nearby land- Way field and several stars are super-
scape of stars (those that could be resolved imposed on the nebula, as can be well seen
into single suns) to which belonged our in Mario Motta’s fine image that opens this
The Secret Deep 383

91
section. Nevertheless, the nebula wasn’t shell expands faster (21 km/sec) than the
truly recognized as a planetary nebula inner shell (14 km/sec), whose expansion
until years later. In 1886, Sir William velocity is similar to that of the third shell
Huggins found that the nebula had a curi- (13 km/sec).
ous bright-line spectrum. The nature was NGC 6804’s bright central annulus (the
truly revealed in 1917, when Francis part most recognized through amateur
G. Pease began a program to photograph, telescopes) is a tilted elliptical nebula,
with the 60-inch f/5 Mount Wilson The second shell symmetrically surrounds
reflector, faint nebulae whose “nature was it. Guerrero et al. found two kinds of ansae
unknown or those which possessed curi- protruding from the major axis of the inner
ous or questionable characteristics.” ellipse, extending 5000 to the northeast and
On the 60-inch plates, Pease found NGC 3500 southwest; these seem to make up the
6804 to be “a faint annulus with an irregu- fourth shell. They also note that the size of
larly shaped ring 500 to 1000 in width and each shell is always lower in the southwest
about 3200 2500 , p ¼ 60 . It has the typical than in the northeast direction. At the
central star and another of about the same same time, the radial velocity of the shells
magnitude lying directly upon the ring at decreases from the inner to the outermost
the W end of the major axis. As in many shells.
planetaries, the nebulosity is stronger near “All these data confirm the interaction
the ends of the minor axis than near the of the [planetary nebula] with the [inter-
ends of the major axis.” stellar medium],” they say, “which would
The fact is, NGC 6804 continues to be a be slowing down the nebula in the
curious planetary, with fascinating struc- southwest direction. In fact, the appear-
tures. The nebula lies 22,100 light-years ance of the halo around the main nebula,
from the Galactic center, 6,100 light-years which does not show limb brightening
from the Sun, and 480 light-years from the toward the northeast, and their different
Galactic plane. Unlike many planetaries expansion velocities, 1 km[/sec] faster
that have two shells, or, on rare occasions, in the northeast part, support this
three shells, NGC 6804 may have four dif- interpretation.”
ferent shells: A bright inner shell 800 (0.16 To find this alluring nebula, use the chart
light-year) in size, a second shell about 1100 on page 382 to find Altair. Now look about
(0.22 light-year), an asymmetrical third 4 west-southwest for 4.5-magnitude Mu
shell 3000 (0.6 light-year) to the southwest (m) Aquilae. Center Mu in your telescope
and 2200 (0.45 light-year) to the northeast, at low power, then switch to the chart
and a faint fourth shell measuring about on page 385. From Mu Aquila, move 300
5000 (1 light-year). north-northwest to a roughly 120 -wide
In a 1998 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 507, sideways Y-shaped asterism (a) of four
pp. 889–908), M. A. Guerrero (Instituto de 7th- to 8th-magnitude suns. Next move
Astrofı́sica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain) about 250 northwest to 7.5-magnitude
and colleagues interpret the pattern of Star b. Now make a slow and careful 1¼
motions of the outer shells as the expan- sweep further to the north-northwest to
sion of symmetric bubbles. The second 7th-magnitude Star c, NGC 6804 is about

91
N
Aquila c
NGC 6804
E W
b
of its inner shell. The glow is quite con-

densed and obvious. At times I detected
what appeared to be a stellar core. The
a
nebula’s central star, however, shines at
about 14th-magnitude, and this is too faint
to be seen through nebulosity at this
µ power in this telescope. What I had spied
was a 12.5-magnitude star at the northeast
1˚ edge of the bright inner shell. This
becomes obvious at 94, when that star
S blazes forth prominently. Resolving this
star at this power also makes the nebula
appear to shrink. Now it’s a ball of mottled
100 southwest of Star c and about 60 north- light that appears to brighten suddenly
west of a 9th-magnitude star. toward the center.
In the 5-inch at 33, the nebula appears The annulus suddenly became noticeable
tiny, like a 12th-magnitude star that swells at powers ranging from 165 to 330.
slightly with averted vision. So think The inner ring takes power well, so don’t
“small” when you’re searching. Don’t be afraid to crank it up. Note that, at the
expect to see a big diffuse halo. Again high end, I was using a magnification of
you’re searching for the tiny inner ellipse nearly 70 per inch of aperture. At these
of light whose longest extent is only 800 . higher powers, the annulus is framed
The longer I look at it with averted vision, between two pairs of stars: the 12.5-
the more definite the nebula appears. magnitude sun to the northeast and a
(By the way, Admiral Smyth also called it roughly 13.5-magnitude sun a bit further
a “stellar planetary.”) to the northeast; and a pair of roughly
At 60, the nebula is very fine and 13.5-magnitude suns to the west-
unmistakable, thanks to the high contrast southwest. The nebula once again seems
The Secret Deep 385

91
to shrink between them, appearing as two enhancement toward the center, which
arcs of light, like lipstick marks on a mirror. could have been the central star. I saw
The reason the nebula continues to shrink no traces of the nebula’s outer shells.
is because the stars framing it add to the And this was also the case when I saw
nebula’s length when insufficient magnifi- the nebula through Larry Wood’s 12-inch
cation is used. That’s why I like to call it the reflector at the George Moore Astronomy
Incredible Shrinking Nebula, because Workshop near Edmonton, Alberta. The
instead of growing in size as you increase inner annulus was a brilliant ellipse, and
the magnification, it seems to shrink really looked like lips ready to be kissed;
instead. but alas, I detected no hints of fainter
With careful averted vision I could make structures. I wonder what size scope is
out another roughly 13.5-magnitude sun needed to reveal these intriguing outer
to the northwest and, at times, I sensed an shells?

92
Secret Deep 92
(NGC 6811)
N
Cepheus
Draco
33
9
1
4 2
Cygnus
5
2
71 59 NGC 6811
63 32
E W
Deneb
68
Lacerta
North
Amreica
Nebula
Pegasus
The Secret Deep 387

92
92
Smoke Ring, Hole in a Cluster,
the Reliquary
NGC 6811
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cygnus
RA: 19h 37.2m

Dec: þ46 22.50
Diam: 150
Dist: ~3,100 l.y.
Disc: John Herschel
w. h e r s c h e l : None
(h 2044)
n g c : Cluster, large, pretty rich,

little compressed, stars of
magnitude 11 to 14.
O f a l l t h e m a j o r s ta r s i n c y g n u s Befitting of a sideliner, Delta is the only

the Swan, 3rd-magnitude Delta (d) Cygni, major star in Cygnus with no official proper
which marks the western wing of the name. But the star does help to point the
celestial bird or the western arm of the way to one intriguing deep-sky object: NGC
Northern Cross asterism, is the one least 6811, the little-known Hole in the Cluster.
spotlighted in astronomical texts: Alpha This moderately bright, but unassuming,
(a) Cygni (Deneb), at the head of the Cross, open star cluster lies almost 2 northwest
is a magnificent blue-giant star and a visual of Delta. When the late deep-sky expert
guidepost to the great North America Walter Scott Houston first spied NGC
Nebula (Caldwell 20); Beta (b) Cygni 6811 in his youth, he found it “unimpres-
(Albireo), at the foot of the Cross, is one of sive.” But in the mid-1980s, Scotty (as
the sky’s most celebrated colorful telescopic his friends knew him) received a letter
double stars; Gamma (g) Cygni (Gienah), at from Danish amateur astronomer Tommy
the intersection of the vertical and trans- Christensen, who used a 3½-inch refractor
verse beams, marks the headwaters of the to view the cluster and thought it was
Great Rift in the Milky Way; and Epsilon one of the most beautiful he’d ever seen,
(ε) Cygni, the east end of the transverse likening it to a “smoke ring” of stars.
beam, leads the way to the stunning Veil Inspired, Scotty asked readers of his
supernova remnant. So Delta Cygni usually September 1985 Deep-Sky Wonders column,
lies in the backwater of our attention. in Sky & Telescope magazine, if anyone

92
had seen anything “unusual” in the cluster. evolution of the cluster.” Star formation,
Reports flowed in with numerous and they suspect, began 800 million years ago
highly imaginative descriptions: a clover and ended 700 million year ago.
of stars, a frog, a butterfly, and Nefertiti’s In a 2009 American Physical Society
headpiece. But others reported the clus- abstract, however, Brad Trees (Ohio Wes-
ter’s dark center. Somewhere down the leyan University) and his colleagues say
line, Christensen’s “smoke ring” was for- their spectral analysis of NGC 6811 gives
gotten, and people started to name NGC a mean cluster age of about 1 billion years
6811 “Walter Scott Houston’s Hole in a and a distance of 3,100 light-years.
Cluster,” though credit should clearly go NGC 6811, then, is of similar age to the
to Christensen. Hyades, M44, and M23. Professional
The question is, does the cluster have a studies of NGC 6811 have also revealed a
“hole”? distinct central region 100 across in the
NGC 6811 is a Trumpler type III 1r clus- cluster; it also appears to have an unusual
ter. In 1930, Robert J. Trumpler (1886–1956) distribution of stars, including a dense
developed a time-tested classification corona of brighter stars, which might
system for open star clusters, which iden- explain the visual “hole.”
tifies them by three criteria independent To find this visual enigma, use the chart
of distance: (1) the degree of central con- on page 387 to find Delta Cygni, then
centration (from I (very strong) to IV center it in your telescope at low power.
(very loose)); (2) the brightness range of Now, using the chart on page 390 as a
its members (from 1 (nearly equal in guide, move about 500 northwest to the
brightness) to 3 (both bright and faint)); roughly 5th-magnitude Star a, then 300
and (3) the number of members (from north-northwest to a tight little gathering
p (poor, less than 50), to m (moderately of three suns, the brightest of which is
rich, 50 to 100 stars), to r (rich, more than 7th-magnitude Star b. NGC 6811 is about
100 stars)). NGC 6811, then, is a rich 400 to the north-northwest.
cluster of equally bright stars with no Under a dark sky, and with a sweep at
noticeable central concentration. 33, NGC enters the field of view as a large
Indeed, the cluster has about 250 (150 ) amorphous glow of uniform light with
members scattered across 150 of sky (half no central concentration – a ghostly com-
the apparent diameter of the full Moon), etary form reminiscent of NGC 2129 in
which corresponds to a true linear extent Gemini, only much larger. With averted
of nearly 14 light-years. The cluster lies vision, I can see a host of dim twinklers,
relatively far from the Galactic plane (725 superimposed on which is centered a
light-years), as is typical of fairly old clus- pretty oval of a half-dozen or so brighter
ters. In a 1978 issue of Soviet Astronomy stars, looking like a jeweled mask a woman
(vol. 55, pp. 56–61), Klavdiia Aleksandrovna might wear to a masquerade ball.
Barkhatova (Astronomical Observatory, At 60, NGC 6811 really is a blowhole
Swerdlovsk) and her colleagues found a of stellar delight. The oval mask becomes
large deficiency of faint stars, “perhaps,” more apparent and forms the smoky
they argue, “because of the dynamical ring that Christensen so beautifully
The Secret Deep 389

92
N seems to contain the cluster like a
reliquary – such as the one displayed
Cygnus annually at Duomo di Napoli (Naples
NGC 6811 Cathedral) in Italy; a sealed glass flask
in a silver reliquary that is believed to
contain the scattered traces of clotted
blood of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius
E W
b (The Patron Saint of Naples)); appar-
ently the blood liquifies each year on
a the feast of San Gennaro (September
19), as well as on other key dates in
the year.
1˚
At 94, the cluster’s ring is foremost
S present and appears fragmented into a
number of geometrical patterns with
distinct clumps of starlight, which can
easily be imagined as the scattered drops
of San Gennaro’s blood contained in the
glass flask (the stellar ring). So the Hole
in this cluster is not devoid of starlight.
Not by any means. The longer you look
with averted vision, and the more you con-
centrate on the Hole (and not the ring) the
more faint scintillating suns you should
see. In my 5-inch, these stars pop in and
out of view like sparklers. So it’s a very
visually intriguing cluster, one that can
keep you entertained for the night. In color
images I’ve seen, many of the brighter out-
described; I find it reminiscent of the scin- lying stars have a warm hue. Can you see
tillating knots in M57, the Ring Nebula, so that in your telescope?
Christensen’s description really is appropri- By the way, Delta Cygni is one of the
ate. Of course, this ring frames the “hole” in bright stars that will one day become
the cluster, which is just a contrast illusion. Earth’s “North Star,” a result of the Earth’s
The cluster is neighbored by several 26,000-year precession cycle, which causes
prominent stars that appear to play with the poles to wobble like a top. But don’t
the cluster’s shape. There’s a tail of simi- wait around to see that event; Delta Cygni
larly bright suns that flows to the south- will be the North Star for a period of about
west with another to the northwest, which 400 years around AD 11,250.

93
Secret Deep 93
(Cygnus X-1)
Cepheus
Draco
33
9
1
4 Cygnus
2
5
2
71 59
63 32
E 68
Deneb
W
Lacerta North
Amreica
Nebula
HDE 226868 / Cyg X-1

Pegasus
The Secret Deep 391

93
93
HDE 226868
Cygnus X-1
Type: Star associated with
a Black Hole
Con: Cygnus
RA: 19h 58.4m

Dec: þ35 120
Mag: 8.8 (Star; Rating: 4)
Diam: –
Dist: ~8,000 l.y.
Disc: S. Bowyer and colleagues
(of X-ray source), 1964
h e r s c h e l : None
n g c : None
A lt h o u g h w e c a n ’t s e e a b l a c k detection of a strong signal from the direc-

hole through our telescopes, we can see tion of the Galactic center. Thus, the dis-
its bright visible-light companion (if it has covery of Cygnus X-1 was among the first
one) and use our imaginations to “see” the sources detected in this burgeoning field.
rest. And Cygnus X-1 is among the best Bowyer and his team did not find any
and most well-known black-hole candi- known optical or radio object at the posi-
dates, and its 9th-magnitude companion tion of the X-ray source. Adding to the
is a cinch to see in even the smallest of puzzle, by 1971, UHURU satellite observa-
telescopes, making it a fun target, one that tions had shown the source varied strongly
can inspire deep thought when the area is on the order of milliseconds, leading
shown to the public at star parties or to astronomers to speculate that the source
family and friends. of X-ray emission was coming from an
The discovery of Cygnus X-1 (the extremely small, gravitationally collapsed
brightest X-ray source detected in Cygnus) object. But the apparent absence of radio
was announced at a 1965 IAU symposium emission at the time ruled out the possi-
in Leige, Belgium. A paper by S. Bowyer bility of it being a pulsar – like the one at
and colleagues titled “Observational results the heart of the Crab supernova remnant,
of X-ray astronomy,” described how the which displays both radio and X-ray
team detected 10 discrete X-ray sources emission.
from observations made with Geiger coun- Eerily enough, radio emissions at the
ters aboard unstabilized Aerobee rockets position of Cygnus X-1 suddenly “turned
in 1964. X-ray astronomy was still in its on” in 1971 (in concert with X-ray emis-
infancy, beginning only in 1962 with the sions decreasing by a factor of three),

93
leading two teams of astronomers from of the X-ray source’s single millisecond
Leiden Observatory and the National variability, which led astronomers to sus-
Radio Astronomy Observatory to link the pect that the mystery object had diameter
X-ray source to the 9th-magnitude type O9 less than 100 miles!) pointed to it being a
blue supergiant with the cumbersome Henry black-hole candidate. Debates over this
Draper Extension (HDE) catalogue name interpretation continued for the next quar-
HDE 226868 – a weak variable radio source. ter century, until further observations
Since blue supergiants do not radiate revealed that the two companions (in a
significant X-rays unless they are in binary very close orbit of just 5.6 days) display
systems, searches for a companion ensued. the telltale sign of a black hole at work:
Before the close of 1971, B. Louise Webster flickering X-ray bursts on the order of
and Paul Murdin (Royal Greenwich Obser- one-third of a second, which is the
vatory) announced that HDE 226868 indeed expected time frame of accreted matter
has a massive spectroscopic companion. descending toward the dark star.
Charles Thomas Bolton (David Dunlap But it’s important to remember that a
Observatory) verified their discovery in black hole has never been observed dir-
1972, making Cygnus X-1 now a high-mass ectly; it’s a theoretical object predicted
X-ray binary. by Albert Einstein’s General Theory of
From the orbital elements, it was deter- Relativity. It’s formed in the final stage of
mined that the blue supergiant has a a massive star’s death, when it undergoes
mass of 30 Suns and a luminosity of about gravitational collapse. When a star of at
400,000 Suns, while the unseen compan- least 3 solar masses dies, its material does
ion is about 10, if not possibly 15 to 20 not explode into space (as in a supernova)
Suns – making it much too massive to be but rather quietly collapses under the
a neutron star (by more than a factor of at force of gravity (like Alice in Wonderland,
least three), and well above the limit at it gets smaller, and smaller, and smaller),
which a collapsed object must become a until the infalling matter compresses into
black hole. a space that’s infinitely dense – a point
In a 1973 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 179, called a singularity.
p. 125) H. E. Smith and colleagues pro- The result is infinite space-time curvature
posed that the X-ray emission originates around the singularity’s event horizon – the
in a gas stream falling from the supergiant point’s surrounding border at which the
toward the unseen secondary, providing escape velocity is greater than the speed
observational evidence that the X-ray of light; in other words, the gravitational
source is powered by accretion – that little force is so great at the event horizon that
unseen mystery object is stripping matter nothing, not even light, can escape from it.
away from HDE 226868, which flows Like the rock group The Eagles’ song,
toward the mystery spot and forms an “Hotel California,” a black hole is a place
orbiting disk that heats up to millions of where “you can check in, but never leave.”
degrees, emitting X-rays in the process. By the way, the black hole got its name
By the end of 1973, the mounting evidence from Anne Ewing in a letter to the AAAS
(including more precise measurements in 1964; though it was John Wheeler’s use
The Secret Deep 393

93
the mass that could have been
suddenly ejected is 1 solar
mass, much less than the mass
ejected in a supernova.” Their
observations suggest that the
black hole was formed in situ
and did not receive an energetic
trigger from a nearby supernova.
They also suggest that high-
mass stellar black holes “may
form promptly, when massive
stars disappear silently.”
The Cygnus X-1 system lies
in the Orion Spur – the same
Galactic feature that harbors
N our Sun – at a point near the Sagittarius
arm. Some sources place Cygnus X-1 in
Cygnus that latter arm, but we still do not have a
full understanding of the Milky Way’s
structure, so its exact location is somewhat
E HDE 226868 / Cyg X-1 W
uncertain. The Cygnus X-1 system appears
to also be associated with the Cygnus
OB3 association – a loose gathering of hot
30’
Type O and B stars that typically stretches
S over hundreds of light-years.
To find this invisible marvel’s compan-
of it in a lecture three years later that ion, use the chart on page 391 to find
brought the term into general usage. 3rd-magnitude Eta (Z) Cygni, then switch
In an April 2003 issue of Science (vol. 300 to the chart on this page to pinpoint 9th-
pp. 1119–1120), I. Félix Mirabel and Irapuan magnitude HDE 226868 only about 250 to
Rodrigues show that the black-hole candi- the northeast; it’s the southern star in a
date Cygnus X-1 had an initial mass tight pair of suns with its companion being
greater than 40 Suns. “During the collapse a little bit fainter. To see Cygnus X-1, you’ll
to form the 10-solar mass black hole of need to open the floodgates of your
Cygnus X-1,” they say, “the upper limit for imagination. Have fun!

94
Secret Deep 94
(O’Meara 3)
Cepheus
Draco
33
9
1
4 Cygnus
2
5
2
71 59
63 2 OME 3
1
E 68
Deneb
W
Lacerta North
Amreica
Nebula
Pegasus
The Secret Deep 395

94
94
O’Meara 3 = Alessi J20053+4732
Type: Asterism
Con: Cygnus
RA: 20h 05.3m

Dec: þ47 320
Mag: – (Rating: 5)
Diam: 120
Dist: –
Disc: Bruno Alessi, 1997–98;
independently by Stephen James
O’Meara, 2009
n g c : None.
O n t h e n i g h t o f s e p t e m b e r 10, red carbon star U Cygni lies a little more

2009, I was investigating objects to include than 400 to its east-northeast.
in this book, specifically a few open star While none of these stars are physically
clusters in Cassiopeia and Cygnus. I was related, Omicron1 and Omicron2 not only
about to go after NGC 6811 (Secret Deep share a similar brightness, but they both
92), when some patchy clouds moved appear golden (each being a K-type giant)
in. To kill time, I decided to view the beau- and are Epsilon Aurigae-type stars in
tiful field of Omicron1 and Omicron2 which a hot B-type dwarf partially eclipses
Cygni at 33 in the 5-inch. If you haven’t its larger and cooler giant companion.
turned your telescope to this field . . . you Omicron1 varies in brightness by only 1/10
must! magnitude every 10.36 years, with the
First, with a quick look to the unaided eye eclipse lasting 63 days. Every 3.143 years,
Omicron1 and Omicron2 Cygni appear as a Omicron2’s light dips a mere 6 percent
wide pairing of 4th-magnitude suns 1 apart. during a grazing eclipse.
The stars are oriented north-northeast– The entire field is dappled with rich
south-southwest, with Omicron1 at the Milky Way, so a sweep around these stars
southwestern end. Look carefully at Omi- is worth the effort. And that’s what I did on
cron1 with averted vision and you may split the evening of September 10th. Just a short
it into two stars: 4th-magnitude Omicron1 brush to the west at low power revealed a
and 5th-magnitude 30 Cygni about 60 to the curious gathering of irregularly bright suns
northeast. Telescopically, a 6th-magnitude about 1.5 west and a little north of the
sun lies half that distance to Omicron1’s midpoint between the two Omicrons. At
south-southeast. Omicron2 has its own 33, I saw about two dozen stars shining
bevy of telescopic companions, while the between 9th and 11th magnitude in an

94
N between 1997 and 1998, while
looking at plots for clumps
U Cygnus of galactic star clusters or by
examining Digitized Sky Survey
2
RX
images. To my knowledge, this
group is an asterism, not a
star cluster. Indeed, in their
E W book Star Clusters (Willmann-
OME 3 Bell, Inc., Richmond, VA),
Archinal and Steven J. Hynes list
the object (designated Alessi
J20053þ4732) as an asterism.
1
I list the group here as
1˚
O’Meara 3, because it is the
S
third such group I independ-
ently discovered in my visual
area no larger than 100 . The view was better sweeps of the heavens. The first is
than some dim star clusters I had recently O’Meara 1 in Pisces (the 107th object in
hunted down, so I immediately made a my Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures
sketch of the brightest stars, grabbed my book), which equals Alessi J23407þ0757;
Millennium Star Atlas, and began search- I call it the Little Ladle in Pisces. The other
ing for the “cluster.” is O’Meara 2 in Aquila (published in my
To my surprise, not only did I find that book Observing the Night Sky with Binocu-
the group was not a cluster (at least it wasn’t lars) which equals Alessi J20046–1030, and
labeled as one), but also that I had already may actually be a new star cluster.
circled the group on the atlas, penciling in With a careful look at 33, I can see
the letters “OME” next to it! I had already more than a dozen suns suspended in
encountered the group some time ago (the a bright little asterism that at first looks
exact date I don’t know, since I didn’t write it
down), but obviously failed to follow it up.
Only now did I rediscover this little visual
marvel. When I returned my eyes to the sky,
however, clouds had completely moved in
(this happens frequently where I live).
I did not return to the group until three
nights later, when I studied it in more detail.
Meanwhile, I had discovered that, once
again, the astute amateur astronomer Bruno
Alessi of San Paulo, Brazil, had already alerted
star-cluster expert Brent Archinal to the exist-
ence of this group of stars; it being one of
41 possible star clusters he had discovered
The Secret Deep 397

94
like a pot with a long handle. At 66, I tally Horse flying directly at me. Actually, the
more than 40 stars between 9th and 12th base of the square is a straight line of
magnitude in an area 120 across. With con- three roughly 9th-magnitude Suns. While
centration, the pot becomes a square with the wings are more-or-less straight, two
wings. One bright wing extends northwest curved arms flow from the base of the
from the northwest corner of the square, square, giving it a spiral look.
the first star in this wing shines at 9th Encountering little gems like this is a lot
magnitude and has a lovely golden hue. of fun and exciting, especially when you
A fainter wing extends to the northeast don’t know if you’ve come across some-
from the northeast corner of the square. thing new – something you’ll want to
So it looked like Pegasus, the Winged share, which is my only intent. Enjoy!

95
Secret Deep 95
(NGC 6891)
N
Deneb
Cygnus
17
39
52
41
21
32
E W
31 Vulpecula
30
28
12
29 Sagitta
NGC 6891
Aquila
Altair
Delphinus
The Secret Deep 399

95
95
NGC 6891
Con: Delphinus
RA: 20h 15.2m

Dec: þ12 420
Diam: >1800
Dist: ~12,400 l.y.
Disc: Ralph Copeland, 1884
h e r s c h e l : None.
n g c : Planetary nebula, stellar,

equal to the brightness of a
magnitude 9.5 star.
ngc 6891 is a very bright planetary In 1876, Copeland arrived at Dun Echt,
nebula in far western Delphinus, about and permanently moved to Scotland, where
2½ south, and a tad east, of 5.5-magnitude he became Astronomer Royal in 1889.
Rho (r) Aquilae, which is right on the Interestingly, Danish astronomer John
border between Aquila and Delphinus. Louis Emil Dreyer (who would originate
English-born astronomer Ralph Copeland the NGC catalogue) almost followed in
(1837–1905) discovered it on September Copeland’s footsteps – replacing Copeland
22, 1884, with a visual spectrograph (a at Birr Castle, before moving on to Dunsink
Secchi prism) attached to the front object- Observatory, then finally to Armagh Obser-
ive of the 6-inch Simms Equatorial re- vatory in 1882. The two astronomers
fractor at the Earl of Crawford’s private enjoyed a long friendship, and both served
observatory at Dun Echt, near Aberdeen, as editors of Copernicus, an international
Scotland. journal of astronomy printed in Dublin
Prior to his taking charge of Lord between 1881 and 1884.
Crawford’s Observatory, Copeland was an Throughout Copeland’s distinguished
assistant at Dunsink Observatory near career, he discovered 35 NGC objects.
Dublin, the oldest scientific institution in That of NGC 6891 came during one of
Ireland. He had also spent three years under his routine sweeps of the heavens, the
the employ of Lord Rosse (from 1871 to purpose of which was to search for small
1874), where he used the 72-inch reflector nebulae and other objects with remarkable
at Birr Castle to make his most memorable spectra (see also Secret Deep 27 (IC 2149)).
discovery: Copeland’s Septet (Hickson 57) – NGC 6891 was one of four noteworthy
a gaggle of seven galaxies in Leo: NGC 3745, objects Copeland found in late September
3746, 3748, 3750, 3751, 3753, and 3754. 1884 and reported in an 1884 Monthly

95
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 0.75 Sun. The nearly round intermediate
(vol. 45, p. 90). Of the new nebula he writes, shell is expanding faster into the outer halo.
“This seems to be identical with the 9.5 It is tilted 50 from the line of sight and
mag. star D. M., þ12 , 4266. It is in reality oriented at position angle 160 ; so the inner
a planetary nebula about 400 in diameter and intermediate shells are not aligned.
with a nearly monochromatic spectrum.” In hydrogen-alpha images, two faint knots
Today we know NGC 6891 belongs to can be seen at the ansae of narrow, stream-
the group of very exclusive triple-shell like structures, which connect the major
planetary nebulae. The nebula consists of axis of the inner shell to the knots. The outer
a bright inner shell (900 600 ) surrounded shell is also nearly circular, but it bulges to
by a circular intermediate shell (1800 ) and a the south where it appears to break and form
nearly symmetrical outer halo (8000 ). At an a spearheaded outer structure.
accepted distance of 12,400 light-years, In a 2000 Monthly Notices of the Royal
the nebula’s three shells have the following Astronomical Society, Martin A. Guerrero
true linear extents: 0.5 0.4 light-year, (Astrophysical Institute of the Canaries,
1 light-year, and 5 light-years, respectively. Tenerife) and his colleagues explain how
As you can see in the Hubble Space NGC 6891’s nebular structures reflect the
Telescope image below, the inner shell different mass-loss episodes experienced
(the bright main nebula) is elliptical. Its by its progenitor star. The halo formed
major axis is tilted 80 from the line of first, about 28,000 years ago – a product
sight and oriented at position angle 135 ; of the progenitor star losing mass during
it’s centered on the nebula’s magnitude its episodic pulsations during the late
12.4 central star, which has an effective asymptotic giant branch phase (the last
temperature of 50,000 K and a mass of phase of normal stellar evolution prior to
becoming a planetary nebula). Some 4,800
years ago, the progenitor star ejected most
of its remaining envelope, and the inner
and intermediate shells arose.
The researchers found NGC 6891’s inner
ellipsoidal shell expanding with a velocity
of 10 km/sec at its equator and 17 km/sec
at its tips. The intermediate shell is expanding
faster (45 km/sec and 28 km/sec) into
the outer halo. The streamlike features
may be collimated outflows (45 km/sec),
which they interpret as FLIERs – fast low-
ionization emission regions. The outflows
run from the tips of the major axis of the
inner shell to the outer edge of the intermedi-
ate shell, where they are deflected, causing
the outer boundary of the intermediate shell
at that location to bulge. The formation
The Secret Deep 401

95
N
Delphinus
E W
b
Aql.
c
NGC 6891
magnitudes from 8th to 10th). NGC 6891
1˚
lies less than 100 due south of the south-
S ernmost star in the V.
At 33 in the 5-inch the planetary
shines like a magnitude 10.5 star. When
mechanisms of these features are still I pinpointed the object and used averted
unknown. vision, I could sense that something was
To find this bright but tiny planetary, use odd about it. When I compared its visage
the chart on page 399 to locate Rho (r) with those of similarly bright stars in the
Aquilae, which is about 6½ west of the neighboring V asterism, NGC 6891 simply
Diamond asterism of Delphinus, on the appeared to bloat. At 60, the nebula
Aquila–Delphinus border. Now use the chart swelled enough with averted vision for
on this page to make a slow and careful me to to confirm its identity. The nebula
sweep a little more than 1½ southeast to a took high magnification well, though
200 -wide trio of 6th- and 7th-magnitude I found powers of 165 to 282 quite
suns (a); the southwestern two stars make comfortable. All high powers show the
a nice pair. Now look for a 300 -wide trio of same structures: a bright central star sur-
6th- and 7th-magnitude suns (b) 1¼ to rounded by a smooth (somewhat creamy)
the south; these stars are roughly oriented disk centered on a very slightly larger
north–south. From the southernmost star collar of light that fades quickly away
in that trio, make a 1 sweep due west from the inner disk. I couldn’t resolve
and look for an upsidedown and tilted V the inner shell into an ellipse. But see if
of suns, roughly 200 -wide (ranging in you can.

Secret Deep 96
(NGC 6894)
Deneb
Cygnus
17
39
52 NGC 6894
41
21
32
E W
31
Vulpecula
30
28
12
29 Sagitta
Aquila
Delphinus
Altair
The Secret Deep 403

96
96
Diamond Ring Nebula
NGC 6894
Con: Cygnus
RA: 20h 16.4m

Dec: þ30 340
Mag: 12.3 (Rating: x)
Diam: >4200
Dist ~5,000 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed July
17, 1784] Pretty faint, exactly
round of equal light, the edges
preceding well defined, 10 in
diameter. (H IV-13)
n g c : Remarkable, annular or
ring nebula, faint, small in
angular size, very little extended.
n g c 6894 i s a s i z a b l e b u t d i m telescope. (But what’s life without a chal-

planetary nebula (at least for a 5-inch) lenge!) Regardless, it’s a very interesting
in Cygnus, about 7 west-southwest of sight in moderate to large scopes and a
2.5-magnitude Epsilon (ε) Cygni, or about beautiful object to CCD image.
2 north-northeast of 5th-magnitude 21 The nebula is also a fascinating object
Cygni. The late deep-sky expert Walter of astrophysical interest. It comprises two
Scott Houston considered it a decent attached shells, the outer one of which is
target for amateurs. Note too the New Gen- peculiar. Planetaries fall into three broad
eral Catalogue description above, which morphological categories: round, elliptical,
refers to it as a remarkable ring nebula. and butterfly. They are further described
Still, I didn’t plan on including it in this list, by the relative proximity of the bright inner
believing it would be too faint to enjoy in a rims to the central planetary nucleus.
5-inch. Then I surprised myself one night Bruce Balick (University of Washington,
by spying it at high power and became Seattle) classifies NGC 6894 as middle
mesmerized by the phantom glow. Later, round.
I found other sightings made through At an estimated distance of 5,000 light-
8-inch-class scopes with an OIII filter. years from the Sun, NGC 6894’s shell extends
So I changed my mind. I still consider it 1 light-year across space. The planetary
a challenge to anyone who owns a 5-inch also lies 230 light-years below the Galactic

96
plane, where the Galactic magnetic field is N
parallel to the Galactic plane. And that’s
Cygnus
what makes this planetary very interesting. NGC 6894
In a 1997 Monthly Notices of the Royal
c
Astronomical Society (vol. 289, pp. 665– d
670), Noam Soker (University of Haifa
at Oranim, Israel) and Daniel B. Zucker
(University of Washington, Seattle) discuss
b
their observations of faint, parallel nebulous E W
stripes northwest, and partly tangential to,
a
NGC 6894’s outer halo. The stripes, which
run from the northeast to the southwest
may have been stripped away from NGC
Vulpecula 21
6894’s halo as the nebula moved through
the interstellar medium to the southeast at 1˚
a velocity of about 23 km/sec. The magni-
tude 17.6 central star, Noam and Zucker S
argue, ionized the material in the stripes,
which the Galactic magnetic field had
shaped.
The four major stripes typically measure
about 11.500 (0.25 light-year) wide and 25000
(6 light-years) long. Noam and Zucker esti-
mate that the total mass of the material
ranges from about 0.3 Sun to about 2 Suns,
which is the expected mass range for
extended haloes of planetary nebulae.
The stripes are also parallel to the Galactic
plane, which, they say, is a result of magnetic-
field shaping. The researchers assume that
NGC 6894’s halo had a temperature of
about 100 K before it was stripped and
then re-ionized by the central star. The Center 21 Vulpeculae in your telescope at
expansion age of the halo’s rim is about low power, then switch to the chart on this
3,500 years, which is about when the page. From 21 Vulpeculae, move about 500
ionization of the nebula started. northeast to 6.5-magnitude Star a, then
To find this interesting object, use the about 350 further to the northeast to the
chart on page 403 to locate Epsilon Cygni, pair of roughly 7th-magnitude suns (b).
then the 4th-magnitude stars 39 and 41 Next look a little more than 450 to the
Cygni 5 to the southwest. Now look nearly north-northwest for 8th-magnitude Star c,
the same distance further to the southwest which is about 120 northeast of a 60 -wide
for the 5th-magnitude star 21 Vulpeculae. trapezoid of 8.5- and 9.5-magnitude suns
The Secret Deep 405

96
adorns the northwest side of
the nebulous ring, shining like
a precious jewel. By the way, in
color images, the ring is very
red. I’ve also heard NGC 6894
called the Engagement Ring,
but since this name is already
associated with an asterism of
stars near Polaris, the North
Star, I prefer the Diamond Ring
moniker. You can also see the
“diamond” in the Hubble Space
Telescope image at left.
In an on-line search,
I thought the following obser-
vation by Kim Gowney of
Wales in the United Kingdom
(d ). Return to star c, then look 200 to the extremely helpful. Using an 8-inch f/5
northwest for NGC 6894. Use the stars on equatorial telescope under excellent
the chart to carefully pinpoint the nebula’s seeing conditions, Gowney found NGC
exact location, this is key to success. This is 6894 an “easy and large object,” that
a very rich Milky Way field. showed well with an OIII filter and powers
Again I could not see the nebula at 33 or of 50 and 100. The planetary had “an
64. When I located the precise position, obvious disk but no discernible detail, it
I did see it at 165. The nebula was at the was easiest at 50 with the OIII.” And in
limit in the 5-inch under a very dark sky. the Observing Handbook and Catalogue of
But it was quite unmistakable with averted Deep-Sky Objects (Cambridge University
vision. I could also see its annular form Press, 1989) Christian Luginbuhl and
at 282 and then at 165 with much con- Brian Skiff say that in a 10-inch scope, the
centration. The nebula is relatively large, nebula appears as a “round, well-defined
having the same apparent size as Jupiter, disk”. At 250 it has a gray color and
so one could rightly conceive of it as a less indefinite annularity.
conspicuous relative to NGC 3242 in Hydra, At high power, I was impressed at the
the Ghost of Jupiter Nebula. exceeding richness of stars near the
But NGC 6894’s popular nickname is the nebula, especially a clustering of roughly
Diamond Ring Nebula, which comes from 12th- and 13th-magnitude suns immedi-
its appearance in photographs and CCD ately to the south and southeast of the
images, in which a 14th-magnitude star nebula.

98
Secret Deep 98
(NGC 6905)
Deneb
Cygnus
17
39
52
41
32
E W
31
30
Vulpecula 28
12
29 Sagitta
NGC 6905
Delphinus Aquila
Altair
The Secret Deep 413

97 & 99
97
Part of the Gamma Cygni Nebula
IC 1318(a)
Type: Emission Nebula
Con: Cygnus
RA: 20h 16.6m

Dec: þ41 490
Mag: –
Diam: 450 200
Dist: ~5,000 l.y.
Disc: Edward Emerson Barnard, found
during a photograph survey of the
Milky Way at Lick Observatory
between the years 1892 and 1895.
i c : Gamma Cygni, surrounded by

large patches of faint nebulosity.
99
Inchworm Cluster
NGC 6910
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cygnus
RA: 20h 23.2m

Dec: þ40 470
Mag: 6.6
Diam: 100
Dist: ~5,000 l.y.

1786] A small cluster of coarsely
scattered stars of various sizes,
Extended like a forming one. (H VIII-56)
n g c : Cluster, pretty bright, pretty

small, poor, pretty compressed,
stars from 10th to 12th magnitude.

97 & 99
O p e n c l u s t e r n g c 6910 a n d field of view, has many things to compen-
emission nebula IC 1318(a) are visual com- sate him for his small field, but he loses
panions to 2nd-magnitude Gamma (g) essentially all the wonders of the Milky
Cygni (Sadr), the middle star in the cross- Way. It was these views of . . . the Milky
beam of the Northern Cross. Gamma Way that inspired me with the desire to
marks the headwaters of the Great Rift – a photograph these extraordinary features,
colossal river of darkness that splits and one of the greatest pleasures of my life
the stream of the galaxy lengthwise was when this was successfully done at the
through Cygnus. Sadr also marks the Lick Observatory in the summer of 1889.”
northeastern end of the great Cygnus Star Despite his wondrous achievements
Cloud, which lies between it and Beta (b) during his pioneering efforts in Milky Way
Cygni (Albireo). Our attention, however, photography, Barnard had no way of real-
will be focused on the region surrounding izing the true splendor of the Gamma
Gamma, which is one of the most dramatic Cygni region, arguably the most fascinat-
in the Northern Milky Way. ing expanse of celestial real estate in the
William Herschel visually detected NGC Northern Milky Way. Gamma is projected
6910 in 1786. Edward Emerson Barnard against the area of the Cygnus X complex –
discovered IC 1318(a) photographically a large radio-emitting region, which is
while conducting a photograph survey of also the place of intensive star formation.
the Milky Way at Lick Observatory It harbors at least five OB associations,
between the years 1892 and 1895. Since including the Cygnus OB2 association
John Louis Emile Dreyer had already pub- (one of the richest in the local Galaxy),
lished his 1888 New General Catalogue of and the Cygnus OB9 association, of which
Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (NGC), which NGC 6910 forms its nucleus.
contains the places and descriptions of all NGC 6910 is also surrounded by many
the nebulae known at the end of the year dark and bright nebulae, including IC 1318
1887, he included Barnard’s new discovery (a), which itself is a part of the fractured
in his 1895 Index Catalogue (IC) of nebulae IC 1318 nebular complex. In soft X-rays
found in the years 1888 to 1894. the region out to 10 is dominated by an
Barnard had long been fascinated with extended source known as the Cygnus
the Milky Way. As he writes in his Superbubble – a ring-like structure associ-
A Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of ated with atomic and molecular gas,
the Milky Way, “The Milky Way has always dust, and objects related to recent star
been of the deepest interest to me. My forming activity. The Superbubble is 10
attention was first especially attracted to times larger than the large supernova rem-
its peculiar features during the period of nants, occupies 1,000 times more volume,
my early comet-seeking. To [the searcher] and contains 20 times more energy. The
the Milky Way reveals all its wonderful Superbubble appears to be an arrange-
structure, which is so magnificent in ment of unrelated objects including
photographs made with the portrait lens. discrete sources, coronal gas created by
The observer with the more powerful tele- stellar winds and, possibly, supernova
scopes, and necessarily more restricted explosions in individual associations.
The Secret Deep 409

97 & 99
Despite its prominent position, Gamma (a, b, and c). Of them IC 1318(a) is the most
is not related to this drama. At an uncertain prominent and quite easily seen under a
distance of 1,500 light-years, it’s a fore- dark sky in a small scope and low power; it
ground object. NGC 6910 and IC 1318(a) measures 500 across, which at a distance of
lie 5,000 light-years distant, placing them 5,000 light-years equals some 70 light-
behind the Great Rift, within the Local years in true physical extent. Despite its
(Orion) spiral arm of the Galaxy. Conse- fractured appearance, the IC 1318 nebular
quently, the two objects suffer light extinc- complex as a whole is considered to be a
tion by intervening dust. NGC 6910 is completely spherical shell (32 light-years
dimmed variably across its face by as across) expanding at about 20 km/sec.
much as 1.3 magnitudes. If the cluster Indeed, the nebulae surround NGC 6910
wasn’t affected by extinction, it would like Barnard’s Loop around the Trapezium
be one of the brightest in the sky, rivaling in Orion. The nebula complex shines by
the Trapezium in the Orion Nebula, or light radiating from hot OB stars within,
M44 (the Beehive) in Cancer. though it emits light in the red part of the
NGC 6910 is a very young (5–10 million visual spectral range, making it somewhat
years) OB star cluster with 66 stars shining of a challenge to see with the human eye.
10th magnitude and fainter. Its 10 brightest To find these objects, begin by using the
stars have spectral types from O9 to B2; the chart on page 407 to locate Gamma Cygni
brightest of which is a blue supergiant. In a in the Northern Cross. Center that star in
1991 Astronomicheskii Zhurnal (vol. 68, your telescope at low power, then switch to
p. 466–486), V. S. Shevchenko (Uzbek Acad- the chart on page 411. Target NGC 6910
emy of Sciences) and colleagues note that first, which is just 300 north-northeast of
the star-forming region to which NGC 6910 Gamma Cygni, about 180 south-southeast
belongs (also known as SFR 2 Cyg) contains of a 6th-magnitude star (a).
61 early-type stars. The region is fairly At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 6910 looks
extensive, having a diameter of more than like a crisp, 40 -long crescent of stars
160 light-years, and contains a very large (oriented northwest–southeast) between
amount of gas and stars. The mass of its two roughly 7th-magnitude golden gems.
molecular clouds equals 500,000 Suns and Two slightly dimmer stars projecting to the
the mass of stars in the region is 10,000 east from the middle of the crescent give
Suns. The researchers determined the clus- the crescent a “hump,” making it appear
ter’s distance at 3,200 light-years. But in a like the raised back of an inchworm on the
1992 Baltic Astronomy (vol. 1, pp. 91–96), move. Surrounding the “worm” is a coarse
V. Vansevicius (Institute of Physics, Lithu- and scattered aggregation of another half-
ania) found NGC 6910 to be 5,000 light- dozen or so stars.
years and its age 7 million years. If we At 60, the crescent becomes part of a
accept that distance, NGC 6910 spans 15 larger “stream” of stars that flows past the
light-years across. 7th-magnitude stars on either end before
IC 1318 is one of the brightest emission forking. With time, tiny fragments of stellar
nebula complexes in the Cygnus X area. It gatherings can be seen radially around the
consists of three main optical components “worm,” like a tiny 10 -long triangle of dim

97 & 99
suns to the northeast, and loose strings of
N
stars to the southeast. At 94, the main
concentration of suns appears to be
d
around the southeastern 7th-magnitude
sun and the worm’s “hump.” Again, there Cygnus IC 1318(a)
are 66 stars here 9.6 magnitude and fainter,
c
so take some time to see if you can ferret
them out. With a casual gaze, I could count
about 30 suns out to 100 . b
a
The field of IC 1318(a) lies nearly 2 E W
north-northwest of Gamma. I find it best
to take a long and leisurely star hop to it NGC 6910
from NGC 6910. Using a wide field of view
and the chart on this page, return to Star a,
which has a near equal companion 100
to the northwest. Now slide 250 west of
that latter star to a tight double Star 1˚
(b) comprising an 8th-magnitude primary
and a roughly 10th-magnitude secondary S
to the northwest. Now move 200 north-
northwest to another pair of 8th-magnitude nebulosity continuously across your eye’s
stars (c) separated by about 120 and oriented night-sensitive rod cells, keeping them
northeast–southwest. Your final sweep, 250 stimulated and alert.
northwest of the northern most star in Pair The nebula stands out prominently
c, will bring you to a solitary 8th-magnitude enough that it cannot be confused with
star (d) which marks the western side of the simply a rich Milky Way star field, of which
brightest 300 -long segment of IC 1318(a). Cygnus has many. And, admittedly, teams
In the 5-inch at 33, I found the nebula of dim stars sparkle within the nebula. To
“very obvious” under dark skies, which me, the shock of seeing IC 1318(a) is the
shocked me, since, I expected most IC visual equivalent of running into a cobweb
objects to be exceedingly faint. But there at night. With scrutiny, I find the brightest
obviously are exceptions. Indeed, in their 300 -long segment fractured in two: a
Observing Handbook and Catalogue of roughly 150 -long, irregular oval nebula that
Deep-Sky Objects (Cambridge University expands to the northeast from Star d to a
Press, 1998), Brian Skiff and Christian close group of three suns; and a roughly
Luginbuhl found the nebula visible in a 100 -wide irregular nebulosity about 50 east
2½-inch telescope! The key to success is of the northeastern tip of the previous
to have a wide field of view, low power, glow. There’s not much detail to detect,
and a dark sky. I find slowly sweeping the the prize is simply capturing this faint light
scope back and forth across the area helps in your telescope. Of course, the real
to bring it out, as moving the scope in such beauty of this region comes out in photo-
a gentle way sweeps the faint light of the graphs and CCD imaging.
The Secret Deep 411

97 & 99
When you’re finished enjoying the degrees Kelvin, not much hotter than
region around Gamma Cygni, do take the Sun.” In his Celestial Objects for
the time to admire this bright foreground Common Telescopes (Dover Publications,
star. University of Illinois astronomer New York, 1962), Rev. Thomas W. Webb
James Kaler refers to Sadr as a “fairly notes that Sadr has a reddish 10th-
unusual” F-type supergiant. “Most of magnitude companion 14100 to the south-
these brilliant stars are either fairly hot west, though it might not be physically
or quite cool and reddish,” Kaler says. related. The companion also has a com-
“Few, like Sadr, are yellow-white and in panion of equal brightness 200 to the
the mid-temperature range near 6500 north-northwest.

98
Secret Deep 98
(NGC 6905)
Deneb
Cygnus
17
39
52
41
32
E W
31
30
Vulpecula 28
12
29 Sagitta
NGC 6905
Delphinus Aquila
Altair
The Secret Deep 413

98
98
Blue Flash Nebula, Caged Spirit Nebula
NGC 6905
Con: Delphinus
RA: 20h 22.4m

Dec: þ20 060
Dim: 4200 3500
Dist: ~5,870 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed September 16,

1784] Pretty bright, perfectly round, pretty
well defined, 3/40 in diameter, resolvable
(mottled, not resolved). (H IV-16)
n g c : Very remarkable, planetary nebula,

bright, pretty small, round, 4 [faint]
stars nearby.
n g c 6905 i s a b e au t i f u l p l a n e ta r y a gravitating energy, which, however rare

in the Delphinus Milky Way, near the we may conceive them to be, may yet be
borders of Vulpecula and Sagitta. At low capable of retaining in orbits, three or four
powers, it looks like a hint of lint in a times their own diameter, and in periods of
carpet of stars; at high powers, it’s a fascin- great length, small bodies of a stellar
ating furball of dappled light in a tight character.” Such thinking demonstrates
trapezium of equally bright suns that con- how difficult it was to interpret a two-
tinually plays with, and confuses, the eye. dimensional sky in the pioneering days of
The nineteenth-century British observer visual telescopic astronomy.
Rev. T. W. Webb referred to the nebula as While NGC 6905 has no formal connec-
“misty” and “ill-defined,” noting the prox- tion with the surrounding line-of-sight
imity of several faint stars. field stars, the nebula is a curiosity.
After William Herschel discovered this Modern studies reveal NGC 6905 to be an
ball of gas (which has about the same unusual high-excitation nebula with con-
apparent size as the planet Jupiter), his ical outflow lobes (10000 across) superim-
son John wondered if the nebula was posed on a spheroidal inner shell (4700
somehow connected to the surrounding 3400 ). Each lobe extension terminates at a
stars (perhaps like jovian moons): “The nebulous knot.
enormous magnitude of these bodies,” he Planetary nebulae are believed to origin-
says, “and consequent probable mass (if ate from the remnants of circumstellar
they not be hollow shells), may give them envelopes of asymptotic giant branch

98
(AGB) stars – those that represent the very variations in surface brightness and excita-
last phase of normal stellar evolution. tion, but also match the observed shell
Since these remnant shells are spherical kinematics, and goes some way to explain-
(except for a few), the origin of aspherical ing the location and characteristics of the
nebulae, such as NGC 6905, presents a associated ansae.” On the other hand,
problem for astronomers studying planet- there’s also a possibility that the entire
ary nebula formation and evolution. What nebula is a consequence of shock inter-
physical process (or processes) can explain action, with the internal nebulosity con-
the shape(s) of aspherical planetaries? strained by a higher density disk.
In a 1993 Astronomy & Astrophysics NGC 6905 has long been known as a
(vol. 267, pp. 199–212) Luis Cuesta (Insti- variable planetary. In a 1961 Soviet Astron-
tuto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, omy (vol. 5, p. 186) B. A. Vorontsov-
Madrid, Spain), James Phillips (Harvard- Vel’Yaminov of the Sternberg Astronomical
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and Institute, details how spectra of NGC 6905
their colleagues report how their broad taken from 1945 to 1959 revealed that the
range of spectroscopic images with the nebula’s HeII to H-beta ratio increased
2.5-meter Isaac Newton Telescope on La (approximately from 0.5 to 1.3) over the
Palma may help to model the appearance course of 15 years, leading to the belief
of NGC 6905 – namely, how conical out- that the temperature of NGC 6905’s
flow lobes can appear superimposed upon nucleus must have risen by 30 percent – a
a spheroidal inner shell. rise of about 2 percent per year.
In their model, the nebula’s principal The late Walter A. Feibelman (NASA-
axis has a position angle of 163 , while Goddard Space Flight Center), offered sup-
the core ellipsoid appears inclined at ~60 port for the variable nature of the nebula.
to our line of sight. The inner shell, they In a 1996 Astrophysical Journal (vol. 472,
believe, has symmetrically inclined holes, p. 294), he explained that International
which funnel stellar winds into the outer Ultraviolet Explorer’s spectroscopic obser-
shell. As these winds rush out with veloci- vations of NGC 6905’s nucleus – a single
ties of about 430 km/sec, they plow into Wolf–Rayet star with a temperature of
the more slowly expanding exterior halo, 104,000 K (making it one of the hottest
creating shocks that formed the lobes’ dis- known objects in the Hertzsprung–Russell
tinct hourglass configurations. The knots diagram) – shows a P Cygni variable-star
at each ansa may mark the focal point of profile in the ultraviolet, which points to
material plowed ahead as the winds an outflow of material in the form of either
pushed forward. These observed struc- an expanding shell of gas or a powerful
tures would require the central star to be stellar wind, thus raising the probability
losing mass at the rate of about 10–7 solar that the observed visible variability in
masses per year, which is typical for plan- NGC 6905 is caused by intermittent activ-
etary nebulae. ity in the nucleus.
“Such a mechanism,” the researchers To find this interesting celestial sapphire
claim, “would not only account for the (at least photographically it’s a blue gem),
morphology of the lobes, and the broad be prepared to make a very slow and
The Secret Deep 415

98
careful search. Star-hopping to NGC 6905 similarly bright suns. Center Star c at the
takes time, and identifying it may require southwest tip of the diamond, then move
some effort because it lies in a fabulously about 500 due west to 7th-magnitude Star
dense field of stars and its little disk may d; it lies at the northeastern end of a bent
not stick out at low power in the stellar Sagitta-like asterism of four similarly
confusion. Rather than searching for a bright stars. NGC 6905 lies a little more
faint fuzzy, first be sure to locate the cor- than 150 to the north-northwest of Star d.
rect star field, then zoom in for the You really can’t mistake the location of
capture. NGC 6905, because the eye is immedi-
Using the chart on page 413, look about ately drawn to the nebula, which is caged
one-third of the way from Epsilon (ε) in a tiny triangle of 11th- to 12th-
Cygni, the southern wing tip of the Swan, magnitude suns, which, at 33, appears
and Gamma (g) Delphini, the eastern star to the eye as a single and little milky
in the Diamond. There you’ll find a 5½ - patch of concentrated starlight – a very
long chain of four 5th-magnitude stars: 32, tiny globe of fuzzy stardust, one quite
31, 30, and 28 Vulpeculae (from northeast distinct from the otherwise rich stellar
to southwest, respectively). About 3 south background. In fact, it looks very much
of 28 Vul is the 5th-magnitude star 29 Vul. like a small and dim star cluster, which is
Center it in your telescope at low power, why, no doubt, John Herschel was so
then switch to the chart on this page. From taken by the nebula’s proximity to the
29 Vul, move 1 west to 6th-magnitude stars. At 60 the nebula is more clearly
Star a, right on the border between Vulpe- seen set midway between the triangle’s
cula and Delphinus. A 500 hop southwest two western stars. The triangle’s third star
will bring you to another 6th-magnitude lies to the east, while a fainter star north-
Star (b), in Delphinus; it marks the northeast of the nebula makes the triangle a
east end of a 1¼ -long diamond of trapezoid.
Vulpecula
29
a
b
E W
NGC 6905
Delphinus
d
c
1˚

98
M97 (Owl Nebula), owing to the view in
large backyard telescopes, which show dark
“eye hollows” in the nebula’s central region.
It is certainly hypnotic to try and separ-
ate the nebula from the stars. As the eye
swims around, the planetary wafts in and
out of view like vapors from a moist mouth
on a cold day. The overall impression I get
is that there is a weak ring or bright-edged
shell whose interior is filled with faint,
mottled nebulosity. The “ring” or bright
rim is not of uniform brightness. Curiously,
I find it difficult to nail down which
sections appear most intense in the 5-inch.
These low-power views still leave the At one moment, I’ll see see two arcs of
impression that the nebula’s trapped in a light – one to the north and one to the
maze of starlight, so don’t be afraid to south – but with a tilt of the head, I’ll see
power up! The more magnification, the two new arcs – one to the west and one to
better. I find through my 5-inch (using a the east. Perhaps this is all illusory.
combination of 11- and 7-mm eyepieces In the various CCD images I have seen,
with a 3 Barlow) I get the most comfort- the nebula’s east and west edges appear as
able views of the nebula (where it is seen scalloped arcs, with wispy tendrils of
as a distinct object separated from the nebulosity wafting across the entire shell.
stars) at 180 and 282. Portions of the So this object really can be a celestial
nebula swell in and out of view depending Rorschach test. I’ve also seen suggestions
on where I position my eye and how I use of the elongated outer shell stretching to
averted vision. the northwest and southeast – but only at
I find it best to alternate between direct low powers, which concentrates faint light.
and averted vision, especially since the eye Then again, I believe these could also be
cannot help but jump from star to star in illusory: the eye tends to extend nebulous
the triangle near the nebula, before leaping objects linearly toward nearby stars.
back to the nebula, which suddenly flashes In larger scopes, amateurs have had
into view – thus the reason for NGC 6905’s success seeing rich hues, as well as the
most popular name, the Blue Flash Nebula central star. In October 2009, Astronomy
(though I cannot see the disk as blue, but a magazine contributing editor Alister Ling
pale gray; it does have a pale blue sheen and I observed NGC 6905 through Larry
in larger telescopes). According to Steve Wood’s (Edmonton, Alberta) 12-inch f/6
Gotlieb, the late John Mallas gave the Newtonian reflector at the George Moore
nebula its name for just the reason Astronomy Workshop at Pigeon Lake out-
I described above. For partly the same side of Edmonton, Alberta. The nebula
reason, I call NGC 6905 the Caged Spirit appeared as a well-defined blue-gray
Nebula. It’s also referred to as a copycat ellipse whose dense shell had a bright
The Secret Deep 417

98
outer edge then gradually, then suddenly slopes of Kilauea. I had brought my
got less defined toward the center, where telescope and we observed NGC 6905 at
we saw the nebula’s central star. Although gradually higher powers. Donna com-
the transparency was excellent, the atmos- mented that viewing this object with dif-
pheric seeing was poor, so detecting fine ferent powers gave her a feeling of depth
details in the shell seemed out of the ques- perception. It seemed to her the more
tion, as they most likely blurred together. power we used, the deeper she was peering
By the way, one night, my wife Donna into space. So why not try taking a similar
and I were camping under the stars, on the visual plunge.

100
Secret Deep 100
(NGC 6939)
Draco
Cepheus
NGC 6939
E W
NGC 7160
NGC 7510
2
µ
Lacerta Cygnus
Cass.
The Secret Deep 419

100
100
Flying Geese Cluster, Silk Fan Cluster
NGC 6939
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cepheus
RA: 20h 31.5m

Dec: þ60 400
Mag: 7.8
Dim: 100
Dist: ~5,700 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed September
9, 1798] A beautiful compressed cluster
of [faint] stars extremely rich, of an
irregular form, the preceding part of it
is round, and branching out on the
following side, both towards the north
and towards the south, 8 or 90 in
diameter. (H VI-42)
n g c : Cluster, pretty large, extremely

rich, pretty concentrated in the middle,
stars from 11th to 16th magnitude.
O wners of my De e p - s k y Companions: Smyth says of it: “the whole exhibits a

The Caldwell Objects (Cambridge Univer- grand but distant collocation of suns,
sity Press, 2004) may already be familiar which are evidently bound together by
with our next target, open star cluster mutual relations, under the energy of a
NGC 6939. In that book, I briefly describe force, which, though reason asserts its
the cluster under the entry for the mixed- existence, imagination fails in conceiving.”
spiral galaxy NGC 6946 (Caldwell 12), near In 1933, Robert J. Trumpler classified
which it lies, just over the border in NGC 6939 as a type II1r, meaning it’s a
Cygnus. The fact is, NGC 6939 is the detached but rich open cluster with little
brighter and more visually impressive of central concentration and stars of near equal
the two objects in a small telescope. Yet it magnitude. Although the intermediate-age
was not recognized as a Caldwell object. cluster has been an object of study since
It’s time now for us to focus our atten- the 1920s, its parameters are in disagree-
tion on NGC 6939, a wonderfully large and ment in the literature. Recent studies,
rich cluster. As the nineteenth-century however, seem to be converging on an
British observer Admiral William Henry age of about 1 billion years and a distance

100
of 5,700 light-years. At that distance, the the order of 500 million years. But it’s
300 cluster members would span 17 light- possible that as star clusters age they could
years of space. have a second burst of star formation, or
In a 2007 Astronomische Nachrichten more bursts for much older clusters,
(vol. 329, pp. 387–391), Polish astronomer increasing the number of contact binaries
G. Maciejewski (Uniwersytet Mikoaja we see in the cluster.
Kopernika) and colleagues describe how Only a few open clusters are known to
their photometric survey of NGC 6939 be around a billion years old. And most of
detected 22 variable stars (four previously them have only one known contact system.
known), including four eclipsing binaries The oldest open clusters known in our
(three detached and one contact binary). Galaxy are around 8 billion years old, such
The researchers’ analysis of the brightness as NGC 188 in Cepheus (Caldwell 1) and
of the contact binary (V20) strongly sup- NGC 6791 in Lyra, and they have up to
ports a distance estimate of 5,700 light- eight contact binary systems.
years to the cluster, which lies 32,000 Thus, the single contact binary in NGC
light-years from the galactic center. 6939 appears to confirm the cluster’s inter-
The discovery of contact binaries in mediate age.
open clusters is turning out to be a useful In a 2004 Monthly Notices of the Royal
tool in helping astronomers to determine Astronomical Society, Gloria Andreuzzi
the age of the cluster. But it’s not that (Astronomical Observatory of Rome, Italy)
simple a task. In a 1993 Astronomical Soci- and her colleagues found the cluster’s
ety of the Pacific Conference Series (vol. 53, color–magnitude diagram to show a very
p. 164), J. Kaluzny (Warsaw University clear main sequence extending down to
Observatory, Poland) and S. M. Rucinski about magnitude 24 and a prominent
(Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, red-giant clump, including 40 stars.
Toronto, Canada) note that the number Andreuzzi et al. also found a very well-
of contact binaries in open clusters may defined white-dwarf cooling sequence
be dependent on cluster richness: more down to a similar magnitude. Stellar evolu-
populous clusters seen to have fewer tion predicts that all single stars having
contact systems. They write, “Possibly, the a main-sequence mass lower than about
dependence of the contact system fre- 8 Suns live as white dwarfs. Since white
quency on the cluster richness may relate dwarfs cool at a well-known rate, the color–
to the dynamical evolution of clusters and magnitude diagram’s cooling sequence
‘evaporation’ of lighter single stars.” could be used to estimate a cluster’s age.
By comparing contact binaries in clus- But the researchers did not have a large
ters of varying ages, astronomers can enough sample of these stars (among other
determine the minimum time it takes for things) to apply this model. For more infor-
contact systems to form from more widely mation about the use of the white dwarf
separated stars. It’s believed that the life- cooling sequence as a device for estimating
time of the contact phase in these binary the age of a cluster see Andreuzzi’s paper
systems (the most common type of which in the 2002 Astronomy & Astrophysics,
is a W Ursae Majoris-type variable) is on vol. 390, p. 961.
The Secret Deep 421

100
N equidistant to the south. So the two rows
can be easily imagined as a flock of geese
Cepheus flying to the west. (Note too, how William
h
Herschel noted the formation, seeing the
a b stars “branching out on the following side,
both towards the north and towards the
E W south.” Now relax your gaze. Do you see
NGC 6939 the dark lane paralleling the first men-
tioned row of stars to the southeast?
c If you defocus the view ever-so-slightly,
the darkness may stand out more promin-
6946
1˚ ently. I also find it helps to prepare your
S mind for the search by concentrating on
seeing the darkness rather than the stars.
Your mind’s a flexible tool, so bend it.
To find this large and reasonably bright (While you’re at it, try envisioning the vast
open cluster, use the chart on page 419 to difference in distance between NGC 6939
find 4th-magnitude Eta (Z) Cephei, the left (5,700 light-years) and NGC 6946 (18 mil-
elbow of the celestial King. Center that star lion light-years)).
in your telescope at low power, then switch At 60, the V stands out quite promin-
to the chart on this page. From Eta Cephei, ently and looks remarkably angular –
move 300 southwest to 8.5-magnitude Star a clean right angle! What’s more, the
a. Next, move about 350 west to 7.5- cluster appears oddly off balance, being
magnitude Star b. NGC 6939 is 1 south- much more full to the southeast and
west of Star b, and just about 120 north- northwest and essentially devoid of
northwest of 7th-magnitude Star c and stars to the west and southwest. When
only ⅔ away from NGC 6946. So the two I increased the magnification to 94,
objects are quite the dramatic pairing. much of the fainter outer parts of the
In the 5-inch at 33, NGC 6939 is a very
pretty orb of “noisy” starlight. With direct
vision, the cluster appears somewhat com-
etary in form with little central concentra-
tion. But with averted vision, a striking
sideways V of roughly 12th- to 13th-
magnitude suns can be seen cleanly pro-
jected against the dimmer stellar madness,
which spans one-third of the full-Moon’s
apparent diameter.
The V is composed of one sharp row of
stars slicing across the cluster’s face from
the east-northeast to the west-southwest.
Another row of stars extends nearly

100
cluster vanished leaving a broad fan (the Now return to low power, and, once
V filled to the brim with stars to the east), again, relax your gaze. This time concen-
like a delicate oriental silk fan. Indeed, trate on the neighboring starfields. First,
this impression was also recorded by the cluster appears capped by three 10th-
Admiral Smyth: “The preceding portion magnitude suns to the north. But do you
of the most gathering part of the cluster also see the capricious arms of starlight
is formed by a regular angle, or fan-shape extending from, and spiraling around, the
figure.” cluster’s fan like a spinning pinwheel?
The Secret Deep 423

101
Secret Deep 101
(NGC 7026)
Cepheus
Draco
33
9
1
4 Cygnus
2
5
2 NGC 7026
71 59
63 32
7039
E 68
Deneb W
Lacerta North
Amreica
Nebula
Pegasus

101
101
Cheeseburger Nebula, Burnham’s Nebula
NGC 7026
Con: Cygnus
RA: 21h 06.3m

Dec: þ47 510
Dim: 2100
Dist: ~6,500 l.y.
Disc: Sherbourne Wesley Burnham, 1873
h e r s c h e l : None.
n g c : Pretty bright, binuclear, annular or

ring nebula.
n g c 7026 i s a n o t h e r n e b u l o u s objects are galaxies, except NGC 7026,

marvel tucked away in a rich expanse a planetary, which became popularly
of Milky Way only 120 north-northwest known as Burnham’s nebula.
of 4.5-magnitude 63 Cygni. Perhaps the What makes the discovery all the
nebula’s closeness to 63 Cygni caused more inspiring is that Burnham was a
many great observers with large telescopes “self-made man,” having had no formal
to miss it in their sweeps of the sky at low studies in astronomy or mathematics.
power. It took the sharp eye of American He acquired his astronomical knowledge
astronomer Sherbourne Wesley Burnham through books and literature that he
(1838–1921) to spy the new nebula on July borrowed from Chicago libraries. After the
6, 1873. He accomplished this feat with his Civil War (during which he served as a
own 6-inch refractor, which he used in his government reporter in New Orleans with
backyard. the Union army and subsequently as a
Burnham is an icon in the annals of stel- reporter at several Constitutional Conven-
lar astronomy. He was especially renowned tions in the southern states), he returned
for his double star research and discover- to hometown Chicago, where he spent 20
ies. His visual prowess led to him to a very years as a court reporter. At night, however,
successful career in astronomy, which cul- his passion was for astronomy and the
minated at Yerkes Observatory, where he night sky.
was senior astronomer from its opening in Burnham’s interest in the stars blos-
1897. Burnham did, nonetheless, discover somed in 1870 after he purchased an
6 NGC and 21 IC-objects with various tele- exceptional 6-inch refractor from Alvan
scopes over his long career. All of these Clark & Sons in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
The Secret Deep 425

101
and turned it to the sky at night. (Dearborn perfect axis of symmetry, like butterfly
Observatory in Chicago later purchased wings, the lobes are wide at the ends with
that scope.) a narrow center.
Rev. Thomas W. Webb’s Celestial Objects NGC 7026’s hot central star (80,000 K)
for Common Telescopes helped Burnham has a distinct Wolf–Rayet spectrum, the
into his pursuit for double stars.1 In spectral lines of which exhibit a double
letters, Webb encouraged Burnham in this “bowed” appearance, both components of
endeavor, for which Burnham had an which consist of several condensations of
unusually sharp eye. With the 6-inch alone, smaller extent. In a 2004 Astrophysical
Burnham went on to discover 451 new Journal (vol. 614, pp. 745–756), Siek Hyung
doubles, many of which were so close that (Chungbuk National University, South
observers with larger instruments had diffi- Korea) and Walter A. Feibelman (NASA
culty detecting them. Thus, in a way, it’s Goddard Space Flight Center), found that
fitting that this iconic observer of double the star’s carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon,
stars would discover a binuclear nebula just sulfur, and argon abundances are highly
three years into his new endeavor. As enhanced, whereas other rare elements –
Edwin B. Frost recalled in his 1921 biog- potassium, silicon, and probably chlorine,
raphy of the man, “His symbol b [associ- appear to be depleted – resulting in a rela-
ated with double stars] is recognized tively low gas temperature. The star’s mass
throughout the astronomical world as the is about 0.56 Sun and has a luminosity of
synonym of scientific precision and of about 2,400 Suns. With an estimated age of
remarkable visual discrimination.” 5,000 years, the star appears to have
Edward Holden at Lick Observatory evolved from an asymptotic giant branch
described NGC 7026 as resembling “two (AGB) progenitor that must have been
sheaves of wheat placed side by side.” slightly less massive than our Sun during
Indeed, the late Lawrence Aller (University its main-sequence phase of evolution.
of California, Los Angeles) called NGC The researchers conclude, “If NGC 7026 is
7026 one of the most remarkable bipolar evolved from a low-mass single star, this
(butterfly) planetary nebulae in the north- low-mass progenitor star indicates its rela-
ern sky. This peculiar “beast” exhibits two tively long age, borne relatively earlier in the
intensely bright and elongated inner lobes, Galactic history. Meanwhile, the chemical
separated by about 700 and symmetrically abundance enhancement indicates that
placed with respect to the nebula’s magni- the star was borne from chemically already
tude 14.2 central star. The nebula also has enriched gas, probably, in the Galactic
two other exterior lobes extending over a plane. The other possibility is that the CSPN
2500 4300 area. This fits Sun Kwok’s (Uni- of NGC 7026 is evolved from a massive pro-
versity of Calgary) definition of a planetary genitor in a binary system, of which a large
in the butterfly class, which he defines as mass fraction was already transferred into
those exhibiting a pair of lobes with a the other (unobservable) companion.”
1
First published in 1859, this book became the classic amateur astronomer’s handbook for many years and its 1962
Dover reprint is still popular today.

101
The HST image at right
shows a central ring structure
(inclined 75 with respect to
the line-of-sight) with bipolar
lobes on each side. Velocity
measurements of the gases
within the nebula suggest a
nonspherical expansion of an
elongated thin shell structure
– an ovoidal or “bipolar”
nebula consisting of an
equatorial toroid expanding
with a velocity of 54 km/sec,
as well as two blobs moving at
higher velocities outwards
along the polar axis. Several
filaments protrude from the
equatorial regions to the
poles, perhaps as a result of
shock interaction. The bipolar
structure of NGC 7026 might be caused by to pinpoint it only 120 north-northwest
an equatorial concentration of the circum- of that star. It also lies 60 east-northeast of
stellar material lost during the late phase 7.5-magnitude Star a, and a mere 2500 west-
by the progenitor AGB star. southwest of a 10th-magnitude star. The
Finding NGC 7026 is easy. Simply use brightest part of the nebula is tiny, only
the Chart on page 424 to find 63 Cygni, about 1000 , but is still very apparent at
just 5 northeast of Alpha (a) Cygni 33 in the 5-inch; together the 10th-
(Deneb). Then use the chart on page 427 magnitude star and NGC 7026 at 33 look
like a dim double star, which might
have been the reason Burnham became
N attracted to it.
The nebula remains distinct but small at
Cygnus 60. It’s much the same at 94, but now,
when I use averted vision, the disk swells
NGC 7026 by a factor of two. Still, it’s quite a distinct
a and pleasant sight. At 180, the nebula’s
E W
63 butterfly shape begins to become apparent
oriented roughly north–south. With keen
averted vision, the nebula’s inner core
1˚ looks mottled. But it wasn’t until
I employed powers of 330 and 495 that
S I was able to behold Holden’s “sheaves of
The Secret Deep 427

101
wheat.” At the higher powers, the bright
core is what shows best; the fainter butter-
fly wings almost vanish. You can see these
features better at more moderate magnifi-
cations. So don’t be afraid to push the
limits of your scope with this object, which
takes magnification well. By the way, deep-
sky expert Tom Polakis likes to call NGC
7026 the “Cheeseburger Nebula.”

102
Secret Deep 102
(NGC 7048)
Cepheus
Draco
33
9
1
4 Cygnus
2
5 NGC 7048
2
71 63
32
7039
Deneb
E 68 W
Lacerta North
Amreica
Nebula
Pegasus
The Secret Deep 429

102
102
Peek-a-Boo Nebula
NGC 7048
Con: Cygnus
RA: 21h 14.2m

Dec: þ46 170
Diam: 6100
Dist: ~4,600 l.y.
Disc: Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan,
sometime between 1869 and 1884.
n g c : Pretty faint, pretty large,

diffused, irregularly round, very
little brighter in the middle.
O f all the objects in the s ecret To find the nebula, Stephan pointed the
Deep list, the most challenging for small telescope to the meridian and made
telescope users may just be NGC 7048. sweeps of the sky from north to south,
Seeing it in an instrument comparable to taking advantage of their maximum place-
my 5-inch refractor will be a testament to ment in the sky, where the atmosphere
your skill as a deep-sky observer. It simply would be the most transparent in the
takes a dark sky, good star-hopping skills, object’s arc across the sky. This approach,
and some patience. But the reward is worth Stephan noted, was key to his success,
it. I find the field absolutely mesmerizing because most of the objects were very faint
and the nebula somewhat haunting. and had previously escaped attention. He
This faint fuzzy escaped the gaze of the also admitted that it was not fool-proof,
great Herschels – William, John, and realizing that he might have missed some
Caroline – as well as a host of others. It nebula given the amount of time he took to
was not detected until October 1878, when read the setting circles when he encoun-
the renowned French astronomer Édouard tered new objects, the state of the sky, or
Jean-Marie Stephan detected it through eye fatigue. Still, he made redundant
the 31.5-inch silvered glass reflector at sweeps of some regions.
Marseille Observatory, where he was dir- In a summary of his research, which he
ector. The discovery was part of a program published in an 1884 Bulletin Astronomi-
to seek out new nebulae, which began in que (vol. 1, pp. 286–290), he says it would
vigor in 1869 and lasted until 1884. be “no exaggeration to say that [he]

102
observed more than 6,000 nebulae. We testament to the observer’s skill, since it
know that the nebulae are not uniformly shines at a lowly 18th magnitude! Curtis
distributed over the heavens and many of also examined visually the spectrum of
them are united in groups of more or less NGC 7048 through Lick’s 36-inch refractor,
numerous and more or less close. . . Of the finding it to be “gaseous,” verifying the
420 nebulae published, 171 belong to 65 nebula’s planetary classification.
groups. . .” Of course, Stephan is perhaps In time, astronomers began to group the
most famous for his discovery in 1877 of wide range of complex structures of planet-
Stephan’s Quintet: a cluster of five visually aries into various subtypes: stellar, disk,
challenging galaxies near NGC 7331 (Cald- ring, irregular, helical, bipolar, quadrupo-
well 30) in Pegasus, the first compact lar, and other anomalous types. NGC 7048
galaxy group ever discovered. In 1887 fell into a mixed category: a disk with ring-
Stephan sent his final list of new nebulae like structure. Today, however, more and
and precise positions to John Louis Emile more astronomers are converging on a
Dreyer, who was collecting data for the simpler classification scheme: round,
New General Catalogue (NGC), which was elliptical, and bipolar. The fact is, there’s
to be published the following year. literally more to a planetary nebula than
The true nature of NGC 7048, however, meets the eye. Virtually every planetary
was not revealed until 1919, when Heber takes on different shapes when seen under
D. Curtis identified it as a planetary. different light.
During the summer of 1919, Curtis used Take, for instance, the infrared view of
the 36-inch Crossley reflector to study NGC 7048. In a 1996 Astrophysical Journal
some nebulae in the NGC very close to (vol. 462, pp. 777–785), Joel H. Kastner
the plane of the Milky Way. Based on their (then of the MIT Center for Space Research
published descriptions, he suspected that and now of the Rochester Institute of Tech-
some might be faint star clusters or even nology’s Center for Imaging Science) and
“spirals.” As he writes in a letter to the his colleagues reveal that NGC 7048 dis-
Astronomical Society of the Pacific dated plays a somewhat ragged but generally
September 1919, “Most of these nebulae ring-like appearance with a diffuse halo
have proved to be of the diffuse type; one extending roughly perpendicular to the
or two are faint star clusters. Three nebu- ring’s major axis (p. a. ~100 ). In fact, their
lae, from the evidence of their form, are infrared imaging survey, which included
undoubtedly planetary nebulae.” NGC about 60 planetary nebulae, reinforced
7048 was one of the three (the others being the burgeoning argument that many
NGC 1295 and NGC 6842). ring-like planetary nebulae are bipolar in
Based on his observations, Curtis structure. “Thus, it seems reasonable to
described NGC 7048 as a “rather faint oval, conclude,” the researchers say, “that these
with slight traces of ring structure. It is two classes of objects in fact represent a
about 6000 5000 in [~] p. a. 20 . The single class.”
brightest portions are at the east end of Indeed, in his delightful book, Cosmic
the minor axis. There is a very faint central Butterflies: The Colorful Mysteries of Plan-
star.” This identification of a central star is etary Nebulae (Cambridge University
The Secret Deep 431

102
Press, 2001), Sun Kwok writes, N
“Maybe the different morphol-
ogies that we see in planetary
nebulae are an illusion. They b
NGC 7048
all may have the same intrinsic
structure after all. Astronomers a
have long been puzzled by the E W
variety of shapes seen in plan-
etary nebulae. It is tempting
7039
to believe that such diverse Cygnus
morphologies are just different

manifestations of a single, uni- 1˚
fied, basic three-dimensional
S
structure . . . projected at dif-
ferent orientations on the sky.”
Look down the axis of symmetry, and a reflecting the range of planetary nebulae
butterfly nebula will appear as a ring sur- progenitor binary star mass ratios and
rounded by diffuse haloes (this is exactly separations.” An excellent paper by Orsolla
what we see when we look at tM 57, the De Marco explains this hypothesis in detail
famous Ring Nebula in Lyra). Turn it 90 (De Marco, PASP, vol. 121, p. 316).
to our line of sight and we’ll see a stun- To find this challenging object, use the
ning bipolar nebula (two opposing lobes chart on page 429 to locate Alpha (a) Cygni
of gas emerging symmetrically from a (Deneb), then 3rd-magnitude Xi (x) Cygni
thin waist of dust (an edgewise torus) like near the North America Nebula. Now use
butterfly wings. Turn it 45 , and we’ll see your scope or binoculars to locate the neg-
one lobe appearing larger and more lected 7.5-magnitude open cluster NGC
defined than the other, which is being 7039, about 2 to the northeast. The
partially eclipsed by the central torus. 150 -wide cluster resides in a 400 -wide but-
But Kastner cautions that while it’s true terfly asterism of about a half-dozen 7th-
that the “contemporary explanation of to 8th-magnitude suns oriented east–west.
the wide variety of shapes is that planet- Using the chart on this page start your
ary nebulae indeed have a fairly broad careful search for NGC 7048, which lies
range of intrinsic structures – from spher- only about 450 northeast of the 7th-
ical (rare) to elliptical (common) to pinch- magnitude star at the heart of NGC 7039.
waist bipolar (also common but not as Start by moving from that star 180 north-
common as ellipticals – and are viewed east to a pair of roughly 8th-magnitude
at a range of viewing angles. The thinking stars (a). Now move about 300 further to
these days is also that the shaping is the northeast to 9th-magnitude Star b.
ultimately due to the effects of binary NGC 7048 is immediately east of that star.
companions to the mass-losing central Note that a 10.5-magnitude star lies only
stars that generate planetary nebulae, 3.50 to the south-southwest, and a roughly
with the range of intrinsic shapes likely 11th-magnitude star is immediately to the

102
And once I saw it surface among the faint
stars in this rich Milky Way field, I thought
of it as a ghost in the machinery of the
heavens, something nagging to be noticed
among the wheeling firmament until it
received recognition.
At 94, the nebula remains an amorph-
ous circular glow of mostly uniform light
with averted vision, though, at times,
I could sense a slight enhancement around
its limb. But this was just so fleeting. The
nebula vanishes instantly with direct
vision and I found its nature very coquet-
tish, slipping in and out of view with
north-northeast. Another sun further to direct and indirect vision, so that it was
the northeast helps to create a distinct like playing peek-a-boo with a child. The
Y-shaped asterism; be careful not to mistake maximum power I used to get a comfort-
this grouping for the nebula at low power. able view was 180. Higher powers in
I could not see NGC 7048 at 33 in the the 5-inch just dimmed the apparent
5-inch, even when I knew exactly where to contrast. At 180, the nebula stood out
look, after I had spied it at higher magnifi- more boldly, appearing ever-so-slightly
cations. It’s that sensitive even under a elongated north–south, with a thin ring-
dark sky, though, admittedly, my view like enhancement more pronounced to
might have been compromised by some the east and west. Other observers have
thin high cloud. So give it a try, neverthe- reported success at seeing it (and similar
less. At 60, the nebula flitted in and out of details) with similar magnifications and an
view, until I could pinpoint its exact loca- OIII filter. So give that a try as well, and
tion with averted vision, then I captured it! good luck!
The Secret Deep 433

103
Secret Deep 103
(NGC 7129)
N
Draco
Cepheus
NGC 7129
E W
a
2
µ
Cass. Lacerta Cygnus

103
103
Cosmic Rosebud
NGC 7129
Type: Reflection Nebula and Cluster
Con: Cepheus
RA: 21h 42.8m

Dec: þ66 060
Mag: –
SB: – (Rating: 3)
Dim: 70 70
Dist: ~3,300 l.y.

1794] Three stars about 9th
magnitude involved in nebulosity.
The whole takes up a space of about
1½0 in diameter. Other stars of the
same [brightness] are free from
nebulosity. (H IV-75)
n g c : Remarkable, considerably faint,

pretty large, gradually brighter
in the middle to a triple star.
n g c 7129 i s a p r e t t y l i t t l e That three bright stars huddled at the

reflection nebula 4¼ northeast of 2.5- nebula’s core would not have been surpris-
magnitude Alpha (a) Cephei (Alderamin), or ing to William, since he believed that all
2¾ northwest of 4.5-magnitude Xi (x) diffuse nebulae would collect into smaller
Cephei (Kurhah), the heart of the celestial concentrated clouds, which then con-
King. It’s also an astrophysical wonder and a densed into scattered suns; very prescient
participant in an historical mystery. on his part.
William Herschel discovered the nebula In 1884, French astronomer Camille
in 1794, cataloging it as a planetary Guillaume Bigourdan began using a
(because of its round form) involved micrometer attached to the 12-inch west
with three roughly 9th-magnitude stars. equatorial refractor at Paris Observatory to
William’s son John concurred, describing measure nearly every nebula in the NGC
NGC 7129 as a “very coarse triple star and IC catalogues visible from that loca-
involved in a nebulous atmosphere; a curi- tion. His noble and principal intent was to
ous object. The nebula is extremely faint to discover whether nebulae had measur-
and graduates away.” able proper motions. After devoting more
The Secret Deep 435

103
than a quarter century to this task, the only as a cluster (not a nebula) about 80
untiring observer had accumulated some west-southwest of where I saw the twin
20,000 measurements of more than 6,600 glows. What’s more, the Millennium Star
nebulae and clusters. In the course of his Atlas plotted NGC 7133 as a nebula 200
work, Bigourdan also discovered 100 east-northeast of the “cluster” NGC 7129!
nebulae, the list of which he communi- That night I gave up the ghost and let
cated to Dreyer in 1887. One of these matters lie until the next morning. After
objects was to be labeled NGC 7133. a bit of research, I discovered I wasn’t
Bigourdan positioned it about 30 northeast the only one who’s been confused. In
of NGC 7129 and described it as a “Pretty an insightful article in a 2000 Journal
extended area, perhaps 2 arcminutes of the Royal Astronomical Society of
across, in which I suspect some extremely Canada (vol. 94, p. 194), Mark Bratton
faint nebulosity, at the extreme limit of unveils some “Mysteries in Cepheus,”
visibility.” in which he describes an experience
similar to mine in the NGC 7142, 7129,
THE MYSTERY 7133 field.
While researching objects for this book The problem is that Bigourdan was a
in August 2009, I found these two nebu- meticulous observer. As Hal Corwin
lae overlapping in Wil Tirion’s Sky Atlas explains in his NGC/IC Project (www.
2000.0. As would be expected, NGC 7133 ngcicproject.org/), “The really valuable
was to the northeast of NGC 7129. part of the observations are the details
Thinking that these nebulae might make of the micrometric observations, pre-
an interesting pair to include in this sented not only in their raw form of pos-
book (if I could see them), I went out ition angles and distances from the
one night with my 5-inch refractor and comparison stars, but also as RA and
gave them a try. As I swept the sky to Dec offsets. This means that the exact
their position, I first encountered, to my location which Bigourdan measured can
surprise, an interesting 9th-magnitude be pinpointed on the sky today. . . .
open star cluster (NGC 7142) only about Assuming that the proper motions of the
300 southwest of the two nebulae; this comparison stars are small, modern pos-
cluster is not plotted in the Tirion atlas itions for them (from the GSC, or if they
but I did find it in the Millennium Star are brighter, from Hipparcos/Tycho or
Atlas. any other modern catalogue) will allow
As I continued on to NGC 7129 and positions accurate to about two arcse-
7133, I encountered another surprise: conds for the nebulae to be found from
Although I did see a twin glow in the area Bigourdan’s observations, at least for the
of the nebulae, the two glows I saw brighter nebulae which he could see
were oriented northwest–southeast, not well.”
northeast–southwest as they appear in And therein lies the rub. As I shared
the Tirion. Furthermore, when I reviewed earlier, NGC 7133 was a nebulosity at
the area in the Millennium Star Atlas, the extreme limit of Bigourdin’s vision.
I discovered that NGC 7129 was plotted Certainly this fact negates any suspicion

103
that he mistook NGC 7129 for a new NGC 7129’s nebula, though, is itself a little
nebula. Perhaps as Sven Cederblad noted bubble of hot gas created by the three B stars
in his 1946 catalogue of nebulae, one surrounded by colder, dense clouds (the
could argue that NGC 7133 is simply a molecular cloud). NGC 7129 lies within that
part of NGC 7129, perhaps some faint cavity. In color images, the nebula shines
stretch of nebulosity. But Corwin isn’t so predominantly blue because its gases either
sure: “There is nothing near his single scatter or reflect light from the hot young
micrometrically measured position but a stars embedded in it. And the cluster is
few faint stars. My guess is that this is indeed very young, with the optical stars
another of what he would call his ‘fausses being only about 3 million years young. Our
images.’” Sun, by comparison, is 5 billion years old.
If we accept Corwin’s verdict, the mys- The stars of NGC 7129, then, are only slightly
tery is solved, NGC 7133 does not exist. older than those inside the Great Orion
NGC 7129 is a nebula and cluster whose Nebula (~1 million years). The cluster’s three
position is listed in the table above (and brightest members (LkHa 234, BD þ65
plotted correctly in the chart on page 438), 1638, and BD þ65 1637) shine around 10th
and NGC 7142 is a pretty (though dim) magnitude and are all B-type stars that help
cluster of stars nearby. illuminate the cloud. Wind streaming from
Note how close NGC 7129 is to the LkHa 234 is the most likely cause of the
young open cluster NGC 7160 (Secret Deep cavity.
104). NGC 7160 belongs to the Cepheus The nebula also contains several embed-
OB2 Association, one of the nearest ded infrared sources. In fact, images taken
regions of high-mass star formation. But by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (for-
the Milky Way in Cepheus contains several merly known as the Space Infrared Tele-
star-forming regions. In fact, the molecular scope Facility) revealed a “rosebud” of hot
gas here consists of different clouds partly dust particles and gases cradling stars less
projected against each other. Indeed, NGC than 1 million years old (see the image
7129 belongs to a complex molecular below). In a 2004 press release of the
cloud some 3,300 light-years distant, image, Thomas Megeath (then of the Har-
placing it farther away than the Cepheus vard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
OB2 association. now at the University of Toledo, Ohio)
NGC 7129’s molecular cloud skirts explains how that formation is the result
the upper regions of the Cepheus of adolescent stars blowing away blankets
Bubble – a giant dust ring with a diam- of hot dust, while the tapered “stem” of gas
eter of about 10 (nearly 400 light-years holds newborn stars whose jets torched
across) – of which NGC 7160 lies at the surrounding gases. The image also shows
heart. In a 1998 Astrophysical Journal for the first time young, infrared, proto-
(vol. 507, pp. 241–253), Nimesh A. Patel stars (stars in the process of forming) and
(Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) visible light Herbig–Haro objects (shocks
and his colleagues, however, bring up the generated by jets from the protostars) out-
possibility that NGC 7129 may not belong side of the primary nebula. “We can now
to it. see a few stars beyond the nebula that
The Secret Deep 437

103
molecules frozen on the icy dust
grains sublimate into a gas, like
ice on a comet heated by the
Sun. Only this embryonic steam
cloud contains enough water to
fill at least a million oceans!
To find NGC 7129, use the
chart on page 434 to locate Xi
Cephei. Now use your naked-
eyes or binoculars to locate the
Trapezoid a comprising four
roughly 6th-magnitude stars.
Center the Trapezoid in your
telescope at low power then
switch to the chart on this page.
Once you confirm the Trapez-
oid, center its westernmost star
(b). Now move about 350 west-
northwest to 8.5-magnitude
Star c. Open cluster NGC 7142
is immediately south of that
star. NGC 7129 is about 300
west-northwest of that star
and about 180 southwest of
8th-magnitude Star d – so you
were previously hidden in the dark can easily fit the cluster and the nebula in
cloud,” Megeath says. Megeath’s colleague the same field of a low-power eyepiece.
Rob Gutermuth (University
N
of Rochester, New York) found
that roughly half of the stars
Cepheus
observed harbor disks.
Another surprise came in 2009
when spectra of one of these
d
embryonic regions (the boxed
area in the Spitzer Space Tele- E W
a NGC 7129
scope image above) taken with c
the Herschel satellite revealed b 7142
various strong fingerprints of

water. Here, a forming star
slightly more luminous than 1˚
our Sun is heating up its sur- S
roundings. As a result, water

103
the brightest parts of this 70 -wide nebula
extend to only about half that length.
I found the view comfortable at 94
when the most intense parts of the nebula –
two bright knots about 10 northeast of the
northeastern-most star in the Lambda –
stand out most dramatically. Tempting as
it might sound (that these knots are north-
east of the nebula surrounding the bright
aforementioned stars), they cannot be
Bigourdan’s NGC 7133; again, because they
are so bright and what he saw was exceed-
ingly faint. The easternmost knot is also
the brightest and has structure, namely a
I say the nebula’s field because, at least bright starlike core surrounded by a nebu-
in the 5-inch at 33, the nebula didn’t lous corona. The western knot is just an
“jump out” at me. Instead what I saw were amorphous, irregularly round glow. The
two tight pairs of double stars forming an northwestern-most star is also flanked to
upside-down (and mirror-reversed) greek the northwest by a dim wash of light. Try
letter Lambda (l), as seen with north up. as I might, I could see no other hints of
With averted vision the northerly pair nebulosity, though I’m limited by my tele-
(oriented northwest–southeast) appeared scope’s small aperture. The nebula will be
somewhat fuzzy, though the brightness of a delight to all astrophotographers and
the four bright stars tends to overwhelm I urge owners of large telescopes to visually
the view. So look for the four stars first, explore the fainter expanse of this subtle
then crank up the power. In the 5-inch, celestial landscape.
The Secret Deep 439

104
Secret Deep 104
(NGC 7160)
N
Draco
Cepheus
NGC 6939
E W
NGC 7160
NGC 7510
2
µ
Lacerta
Cygnus
Cass.

104
104
Swimming Alligator, Bruce Lee Cluster
NGC 7160
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cepheus
RA: 21h 53.7m

Dec: þ62 360
Mag: 6.1
SB: 9.6 (Rating: 4)
Dim: 50
Dist: ~2,500 l.y.
1787] A cluster of coarsely scattered
[bright] and [faint] stars, 70 in diameter,
like a forming one. (H VIII-67)
n g c : Cluster, pretty,
very little compressed.
n g c 7160 b e l o n g s t o t h e c e p h e u s part of the association, NGC 7160 is a

OB2 association, one of the nearest delightful sight, a little less than 4 east of
regions of high mass star formation – an Alpha (a) Cephei, 4 north-northeast of
extended HII region situated near the gal- Mu (m) Cephei (Herschel’s Garnet Star),
actic plane rich in bright-rimmed clouds and about 2¼ south-southwest of 4.5-
distributed over an area of 3 . The Cepheus magnitude Xi (x) Cep. It is visible as a tiny
OB2 association has two main nuclei: knot of starlight in binoculars and is very
the 3-million-year-young Trumpler 37 distinctive in telescopes of all sizes.
(Hidden Treasure 105), which contains NGC 7160 is itself a very young cluster,
480 stars populating 46 light-years of being between 10 and 30 million years
space), and NGC 7160, a much smaller old. It’s comparable in age to NGC 2244
aggregation of about 60 hot suns spread (Caldwell 50), the cluster at the core of
across 3 light-years of space. The region the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros; NGC
also contains about 40 O-type stars, some 2264 (Hidden Treasure 38), the Christmas
100 stars with masses greater than 9 Suns, Tree Cluster in Monoceros; and NGC 6530,
and more than 200 faint type F-G stars a cluster inside M8, the Lagoon Nebula.
with masses below 3 Suns, all of which Our target lies near the center of the
are in their pre-main sequence stage. Cepheus Bubble, an expanding ring of dust
While Trumpler 37 (one of the youngest and gas with a diameter of about 10
clusters in our Galaxy, being around 6 mil- (nearly 400 light-years across) discovered
lion years young) is the most prominent in 1987 on Infrared Astronomical Satellite
The Secret Deep 441

104
(IRAS) maps. At a distance of N
about 2,500 light-years, NGC
7160 lies behind the Great
Cygnus Rift and suffers nearly Cepheus
half a magnitude of extinction
18
by intervening dust.
physics (vol. 405, pp. 1087–1093), E W
20
K. Yakut (University of Ege, Izmir,
a
Turkey) and colleagues note that
their studies of the physical par- NGC 7160
19
ameters of V497 Cephei (BDþ61
2213), a very close ellipsoidal or 1˚
eclipsing binary and confirmed
member of NGC 7160, allowed S
them to determine the distance
to the cluster at about 2,500
light-years, which agrees well with other My first impression of the cluster at 33
available estimates. The binary itself com- through the 5-inch is that it reminds me
prises two 9th-magnitude suns (8.9; 9.1). of a larger version of the Y-shaped asterism
Both are little-evolved, pre-main sequence M73 in Aquarius: Two bright 7th-
stars with ages between 11 and 28 million magnitude suns punctuate the Y on the
years; the primary appears slightly more eastern end, and a tight arc of three 9th-
evolved than the secondary. The research- magnitude stars forms the long axis on the
ers note that this agrees well with the western end. A dusting of dimmer suns
evolutionary age estimates of the surrounds these stars, the most notable of
cluster. The star varies with a period of which is a star to the northeast that forms a
1d.2028251. triangle with the 7th-magnitude suns on
To find NGC 7160 use the chart on page the eastern end. Seen together, the triangle
440 to locate Alpha (a) Cephei, then Xi (x) looks like the head of an alligator in the
Cephei to the east-northeast. Now use water, while the arc of stars to the west
your unaided eyes or binoculars to look looks like scutes on the beast’s inflated
for a roughly 450 -wide, sideways pyramid back. (Anyone who’s been to Florida’s Ever-
of starlight 2 to the south. Center that glades will appreciate the view.)
pyramid in your telescope at low power At 60, the gator’s eyes (the two 7th-
and confirm the field with the chart on this magnitude suns) have a warm hue to
page. The pyramid’s eastern base com- them, just as a gator’s eyes appear at night
prises three 5.5-magnitude suns: 18, 20, when a flashlight is reflected into them.
and 19 Cephei (from north to south) The best view of this tiny sprinkle of some
respectively. Now center the Pyramid’s 60 gems spread across 50 of sky is at 94,
western apex, Star a, and move 350 west when the brightest two dozen or so stars
and slightly south to NGC 7160. form a series of arcs and loops around the

104
calls one of the most magnificent and
largest stars in the sky, adding that if it
weren’t for intervening dust it would have
shined at third magnitude and undoubt-
edly would have been part of the main
naked-eye constellation. It’s actually one
of two blood-red suns in the Cepheus Milky
Way – the other being 4th-magnitude Mu
Cephei, Herschel’s Garnet Star. Through a
telescope I find VV just as alluring as Mu,
and, because of its more diminutive light
output, much redder.
VV Cephei is an enormous and vastly dis-
tended M-class supergiant with a diameter
main body of the Y. The farther away you that might exceed the Sun’s by 3,300 times.
look from the Y-shaped core, the more VV shares its orbit with a dim, O-type dwarf,
stars that can be added to coarse clumping which not only tidally distorts its larger
of young suns, though many of these may companion (causing it to appear teardrop-
be field stars. shaped), but siphons off some of its outer
Some amateurs have said that the clus- envelope, which then forms a torus around
ter at low power reminds them a lot of the smaller and much hotter, companion.
NGC 457 (Caldwell 13), the famous E. T. The two orbit one another with a period
Cluster in Cassiopeia. And I have to agree. of 20.4 years. Unlike Mu Cephei, however,
But at moderate magnifications, the clus- VV Cephei, like NGC 6170, may be part of
ter has also been likened to the late martial the Cepheus OB2 association, though the
artist Bruce Lee “doing Jeet Kune Do.” See verdict is still out on that claim. One day,
what you think. Kaler tells us, VV Cephei will explode as a
When you’re done enjoying NGC 7160, supernova, perhaps shoving off its tiny
move about 1¼ north-northeast to VV companion into space, where it will live
Cephei, a 5th-magnitude eclipsing binary out its days as an inconspicuous drifter
star that James Kaler (University of Illinois) with a memorable past.
The Secret Deep 443

105
Secret Deep 105
(NGC 7209)
N
Cepheus
Draco
33
9
1
4 Cygnus
2
5
2 7209
a 32
E Deneb W
68
Lacerta
Pegasus

105
105
Star Lizard
NGC 7209
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Lacerta
RA: 22h 05.8m

Dec: þ46 290
Mag: 7.7
Diam: 150
Dist: ~3,350 l.y.
w. h e r s c h e l : [Observed October
19, 1787] A little cluster of pretty
compressed, considerably [bright]
stars, above 150 in diameter,
considerably rich. (H VII-53)
n g c : Cluster, large, considerably

rich, pretty compressed, stars
from 9th to 12th magnitude.
n g c 7209 i s a l a r g e a n d l o o s e painted with shining spots like stars. It is

open cluster about 5½ south-southwest the enemy of scorpions and its appearance
of 4th-magnitude Alpha (a) Lacertae, the causes them fear and numbness.” Perhaps
brightest star in Lacerta, the Lizard. Johann Hevelius also had in mind Stellio, the
Hevelius created the constellation in 1687 crafty rogue in ancient Greek and Roman
using unclaimed stars between the borders mythology, who Ceres (Demeter) changed
of Cygnus and Andromeda. The constella- into a lizard for mocking her.
tion appears on his Firmentun Sobiescia- Today, Hevelius’s playful name has
num, a star atlas published in 1690. Its been banished to the hinterlands of celes-
stars form a long and narrow body that tial lore; the constellation is now known
slinks northward from Pegasus toward simply by its generic term: the Lizard.
Cepheus. Interestingly, early Chinese stargazers used
Hevelius actually labeled the fanciful the same stars that Hevelius had selected,
creature Stellio, referring to the common along with those in the eastern portion
star lizard (newt) found along the Mediter- of Cygnus, to create the constellation
ranean coast. As the seventh-century sci- Tengshe, the Flying Serpent.
entist Isidore of Seville writes in his book With imagination, and a pair of binocu-
Etymologies, “The newt (stellio) takes its lars, NGC 7209 could be imagined as one
name from its color, because its back is of the Lizard’s “spots.” Actually, this “spot’
The Secret Deep 445

105
comprises about 150 stars to magnitude 15 disrupted the perceived orbital inclination.
spread across 150 of sky. At a distance of As Robert P. Stefanik (Harvard–Smithsonian
about 3,350 light-years, the cluster’s true Center for Astrophysics) explains in a
linear extent is about 15 light-years, or 1 2010 private communication, “the system
light-year for every arcminute. In a 1994 remains but the star’s gravitational perturb-
Mexican Journal of Astronomy & Astro- ations change the orientation of the inner
physics (vol. 28, pp. 139–152), Jose Peña binary orbit relative to the line of sight.”
and Rosario Peniche (Institute of Astron- In a 2000 Astronomical Journal (vol. 119,
omy, UNAM, Mexico) proposed that, based pp. 1914–1929), Guillermo Torres and
on photometry of 54 stars in the cluster Stefanik present results of their spectro-
direction, NGC 7209 might be a projection scopic observations of SS Lacertae, which
of two clusters at distances of 2,500 and show clearly a distant third star in the
3,800 light-years, with the reddening of system; it lies in a slightly eccentric orbit
the more distant cluster being greater. with a period of about 679 days. They show
But V. Vansevicius (Institute of Physics, how the plane of the binary’s orbit is
Vilnius, Lithuania) and colleagues dis- changing relative to the line of sight in
agree. In a 1997 Monthly Notices of response to perturbations from this third
the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 285, object. Indeed, Torres adds that a recent
pp. 871–878), they found that NGC 7209, analysis of all photometric material avail-
a rather poorly populated cluster of inter- able for the system, including a remeas-
mediate age (0.45 billion years), is a single urement of original Harvard plates, has
cluster with a solar metallicity that con- confirmed earlier reports of changes in
tains at least six photometrically suspected the depth of the eclipses as a function of
binaries, though the true number might be time, which are due to the third star. Torres
higher. The reddening across the cluster notes that the nodal cycle is found to be
shows a slight trend along the north–south about 600 years, within which two eclipse
direction, with a mean extinction of about “seasons” occur, each lasting about 100
0.5 magnitude. years. The noneclipsing status of the
One of the cluster’s most interesting system is expected to continue until the
stars is SS Lacertae, a 10th-magnitude beginning of the twenty-third century.
eclipsing binary of 14.4 days. But some- (See also Torres, Astronomical Journal
time in the middle of the twentieth cen- (vol. 121, p. 2227, 2001)).
tury, the eclipses stopped completely. The To find this wonderful cluster, use the
end of the eclipsing phase has been set chart on page 444 to find 4th-magnitude
around 1940 by L. V. Mossakovskyaya Alpha (a) Lacertae, then 5th-magnitude 2
(1993) and around 1960 by Lehmann Lacertae about 4 to the south-southwest.
(1991). It was initially suggested that the Now use your binoculars to look for Star
eclipses ceased after the two members, a – which is really three beautiful stars
which were dancing around a common close together forming a small arc – less than
center of gravity, collided with another 3 further to the southwest. Center this triple
cluster member and merged. Another sug- in your telescope at low power. Now, using
gestion was that a third star in the system the chart on page 447 as a guide, sweep

105
N
c
NGC 7209
Lacerta
E b W
almost twice as large as it really is. Still,

1˚ there are nearly 100 cluster members
S here 7.7-magnitude and fainter. The
entire scene looks like a large and isol-
ated patch of Milky Way.
about 450 northeast to 6th-magnitude Star b. The cluster is truly best at low power, so
NGC 7209 is a little less than 1 northwest take your time with it. I see many skeletal
of Star b, just south of 7th-magnitude Star and spidery forms (maybe this would be a
c. The cluster is visible in binoculars under good cluster to show family and friends on
a dark sky, and it is a very attractive sight in Halloween) with lots of dim stars forming a
telescopes of all sizes. milky backdrop. At 60 the cluster loses its
In the 5-inch at 33, NGC 7209 is a luster, but tight groupings of suns are better
very beautiful and conspicuous cluster seen, including those in a C-shaped “core.”
with no central concentration. Rather it’s At 94 the cluster reveals a lazy, zigzag-
a beautiful hook-shaped cluster with a ging line of stars running north to south
few dozen resolved suns spread across through the cluster’s center, which with
150 of sky. The field is extremely rich in attendant appendages of stars looks like a
starlight but not all the stars are cluster star lizard on the run. Use your imagin-
members, so the cluster actually looks ation, connect the dots, and have fun.
The Secret Deep 447

106
Secret Deep 106
(NGC 7354)
N
Draco
Cepheus
E W
25
30
4
M52
NGC 7354
2
µ
Cass. Cygnus
Lacerta

106
106
NGC 7354
Con: Cepheus
RA: 22h 40.3m

Dec: þ61 170
Diam: 2200 1800
Dist: ~4,200 l.y.
November 3, 1787] Pretty bright,
small, irregularly round, Er, almost
equally bright. (H II-705)
n g c : Planetary nebula, bright,

small, round, pretty gradually
very little brighter in the middle.
n g c 7354 i s a n e g l e c t e d p l a n e ta r y faint nebula. The object wasn’t identified

nebula in a rather inconspicuous part of as a planetary – meaning that it looked
Cepheus the King. It lies about 3¼ north- small and round, like the planet Uranus –
northeast of Delta (d) Cephei, one of the until 1862, when Lord Rosse at Birr Castle
most famous variable stars in the heavens, in Ireland saw it as such through his great
and a bit east of the “box” in the House 72-inch Newtonian reflector – the Levia-
asterism. This region also contains two than of Parsonstown. Rosse and his con-
other neglected gems in this book: open temporaries, however, were not aware of
cluster NGC 7510 (Secret Deep 107) and the nebula’s true nature, namely luminous
diffuse nebula NGC 7538 (Secret Deep shells of matter spewed forth by Sun-like
108), both of which lie about 4 to the east. stars as they near the end of their lives.
You’ll also find Hidden Treasure 106 (NGC Like Herschel, Rosse believed that all
7380) – a nebulous cluster that, to me, nebulae could be resolved into individual
looks like Harry Potter on his Firebolt stars given sufficient aperture and
broomstick, playing Quidditch and trying magnification.
to grab the Golden Snitch – about 3¼ to The first clue to the true nature of plan-
the south-southeast of NGC 7354. As you etary nebulae came two years later, on
can see, despite the region’s obscurity, it’s August 29, 1864, when English amateur
rich in little wonders. astronomer William Huggins turned a
William Herschel discovered NGC 7354 spectroscope to NGC 6543 (the Cat’s Eye
on November 3, 1787, and classified it as a Nebula in Draco): “The reader may now be
The Secret Deep 449

106
able to picture to himself to
some extent the feeling of
excited suspense, mingled
with a degree of awe, with
which, after a few moments
of hesitation, I put my eye to
the spectroscope,” Huggins
wrote in his 1864 discovery
paper, “Was I not about to
look into a secret place of cre-
ation? I looked into the spec-
troscope. No spectrum such as
I expected! A single bright line
only!” He later resolved that
bright line into two emission
lines. Huggins recognized that
the nebula’s spectrum was
that of a luminous gas, not a
haze of unresolved suns. In
time, spectroscopy was used
to ferret out more of these
peculiar objects and separate them from spherical halo, which were imaged as
emission and reflection nebulae. “streaks” by Heber Curtis in 1918. But in
Modern images of NGC 7354, like HST’s 2000, J. Patrick Harrington (University of
above right, better reveal NGC 7354’s Maryland, College Park) argued that the
complex nature. The nebula consists of a jets in NGC 7354 are not true jets, which
bright and clumpy inner, and slightly he defines as narrow, continuous, high-
irregular, oval ring (or torus) measuring velocity flows. These, he says, are rare
2200 1800 across in positional angle 27 . among planetaries. Instead, the “jets” in
It’s inclined about 45 to our line of sight. NGC 7354 are what he refers to as “comet-
The oval fades out at each end. A smooth ary structures,” first seen in the Helix more
spherical disk of much fainter matter (~3200 than four decades ago.
in extent) surrounds the inner ring. Thus, Cometary structures have a bright
NGC 7354 appears to be a prolate spheroid “head” at the end nearest the star, from
(like a symmetrical egg or American foot- which a low-ionization tail, often sinuous,
ball) or a three axes ellipsoid with a cen- extends outward. HST images have shown
tral, bright ring or torus. If we accept the that the heads are neutral globules, which
nebula’s distance as 4,200 light-years, the are photo-evaporating. The globules are
nebula’s true physical extent is 0.6 light- drifting outward more slowly than the sur-
year across. rounding ionized gas; the tails presumably
The HST image also shows two linear, result as evaporated material is dragged
jet-like features emerging from the back by the flow. These sinuous tails,

106
which, as in the case of NGC 7354, can be relation between the brightness of the vari-
quite long, could indicate a subsonic flow able and their periods.” Because of this pre-
past the globules. cise relationship, astronomers can use
For the first time, astronomers have also Cepheid variables as distance indicators.
detected the presence of a halo and ring Delta Cephei itself lies about 1,000 light-
system in NGC 7354. J. P. Phillips (Institute years distant. But we’ve detected Cepheid
of Astronomy and Meteorology Guadala- variables in other galaxies, helping them to
jara, México) and colleagues describe the determine their distances.
discovery in a 2009 Monthly Notices of The star’s pulsations are also accompan-
the Royal Astronomical Society (vol. 399, ied by a color shift, changing from an F-type
pp. 1126–1144). Their mid-infrared observa- star to a cooler G-type star. Delta’s also an
tions of NGC 7534 with the Spitzer Space overlooked double star. The yellow primary
Telescope suggest that some of the rings has a magnitude 6.3 aqua companion 4100
may be associated with higher densities of away. With imagination, the pair looks like
dust particles. They also note that there the view some incoming extraterrestrial
are many ways such rings can be formed, might see of the Earth orbiting its Sun.
including spiral density shock waves and From Delta, use your naked eyes or bin-
variations in the stellar magnetic field. It is oculars to locate 6th-magnitude 25 Cephei
still unclear, however, which of these mech- about 4½ to the north-northwest. This star
anisms is the most important. is part of a nearly 3 -long chain of similarly
To find this little wonder, start with Delta bright suns just southeast of Xi (x) Cephei.
(d) Cephei, the classical example of the Now use the chart on page 452 to find 6.5-
Cepheid variable. Delta Cephei pulsates magnitude Star a about 400 to the southeast.
with extreme regularity, varying in bright- Now move another 400 to the southeast,
ness from 3.5 to 4.3 and back every 5 days where you’ll find 7th-magnitude Star b.
8 hours 47 minutes and 32 seconds. Its pre- Next, look for a 400 -long gentle arc (c) of
cise pulsations beat out the passage of time three similarly bright suns (oriented
like a heart. The star’s “heartbeat” was dis- northeast–southwest) about 300 further to
covered in 1784 by the Dutch-born English the southeast. Now search about 1 to the
amateur astronomer John Goodriche who south-southeast for 7.5-magnitude Star d,
was both mute and deaf. Delta Cephei is a which has a 9th-magnitude companion
true supergiant star, 40 times as large as our immediately to the south-southwest. NGC
Sun and about 2,000 times more luminous. 7354 lies a little less than 500 to the northeast
At Harvard in 1912, Henrietta Leavitt dis- of Star d, and about 50 north-northwest of
covered that a Cepheid’s luminosity is dir- a 10.5-magnitude star.
ectly related to its period. The longer a When you spy NGC 7354, you’re looking
Cepheid’s pulsation period, the more lumi- at an object that lies 28,000 light-years
nous the star by a constant factor. from the Galactic center and about 170
“A straight line,” Leavitt said, “can be readily light-years above the Galactic plane in the
drawn among each of the two series of Cepheus Milky Way. At 33 in the 5-inch,
points corresponding to maxima and I found the 12th-magnitude nebula readily
minima, thus showing that there is a simple visible with averted vision even under the
The Secret Deep 451

106
N
25
Cepheus
a
b
E W
c
NGC 7354
1˚
light of a waxing crescent Moon, looking

like a tiny fluff of light, almost starlike, but
clearly “different” than the surrounding
stars. It’s easy to identify, because of its
proximity to Star c, both of which are
part of a clean line of stars. The nebula is
very apparent at 60 as a tight and diffuse
glow with a bright core with a small outer
halo. The outer halo appears somewhat
elongated northeast–southwest at 94,
and I can suspect a mottled inner ring.
Resolving the ring requires powers of
around 180.
All views from 180 to 330 show the
outer nebula as an egg-shaped glow with a appear to be elongated in the wrong
beaded inner ring. These “beads” are direction. Note that a roughly magnitude
simply enhancements of gases in the ring 13.5-star is very close to nebula’s south-
and lie to the east-northeast and west- west edge and can be mistaken for a detail
southwest. Through the 5-inch, I cannot if insufficient magnification is used. I could
confirm the inner oval ring, which is also see a roughly 14th-magnitude star
oriented northeast–southwest. As far as to the west. Photographs show a slighter
I could tell the two enhancements lie on fainter companion northeast of it. I could
the inner ring’s minor axis, making it not see the 15th-magnitude central star.

107 & 108
Secret Deep 107 & 108
(NGC 7510 & 7538)
Draco
Cepheus
E W
4
NGC 7538
M52
NGC 7510
2
µ
Cygnus
Cass.
Lacerta
The Secret Deep 453

107 & 108
107
Dormouse Cluster
NGC 7510
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cepheus
RA: 23h 11.1m

Dec: þ60 340
Mag: 7.9
SB: 12.1 (Rating: 3.5)
Diam: 7.00
Dist: ~9,800 l.y.
1787] A cluster of pretty compressed,
pretty [bright] stars, considerably rich. The
stars arranged chiefly in lines from south
preceding to north following. (H VII-44)
n g c : Cluster, pretty rich, pretty

condensed, fan-shaped, stars pretty bright.
108
Northern Lagoon Nebula, Brain Nebula
NGC 7538
Con: Cepheus
RA: 23h 13.5m

Dec: þ61 310
Dim: 9.00 6.00
Dist: ~9,100 l.y.
1787] Pretty bright in the middle, 2 stars
involved in nebulosity, 20 long, 10 ½ wide.
(H II-706)
n g c : Very faint, large, 2 pretty bright

stars involved.

107 & 108
O p e n s ta r c l u s t e r n g c 7510 a n d that’s likely the principle ionizing source
emission/reflection nebula NGC 7538 in for the HII region.
Cepheus are great examples of how inter- NGC 7538 has a shell structure that
esting deep-sky objects can be overlooked appears to be a cavity at the edge of the
when they lie in the vicinity of a more surrounding molecular cloud. The cavity
glamorous attraction – in this case the is well defined in most directions, except
7th-magnitude open cluster M52 in Cas- towards the north; in the south and west
siopeia. Despite their associations with the researchers have found several ioniza-
two different (yet arbitrary) constellations, tion fronts. NGC 7538, then, may be a
all three objects are celestial neighbors, region where successive generations of
lying within an apparent area the size of a stars have been formed as a result of
thumbnail held at arm’s length. shocking from ionized gas expanding from
NGC 7538 is only about 1¼ west and its central primeval, yet massive O-type
slightly south of M52, while NGC 7510 is 1 star. The optical nebula we enjoy in our
south-southwest of NGC 7538. These backyard telescopes is the most evolved
objects also frame NGC 7635, the swath section. Probing the cloud deeper in the
of nebulosity that contains the dim and infrared, we find, toward the south, succes-
elusive Bubble Nebula (Caldwell 11); inter- sively younger objects, which themselves
estingly, some sources misidentify NGC may have been successfully generated.
7538 (the Northern Lagoon Nebula, named As revealed in the Two Micron All Sky
for its photographic appearance) with the Survey (2MASS) image on page 456, sev-
Bubble Nebula. Actually, if you’re inter- eral infrared bright (hot) stars at the nebu-
ested in astro-imaging, this region is noth- la’s center contribute to the ionization of
ing short of a wellspring of galactic the cloud. The image also shows the
wonders. It’s in the Perseus arm of our nebula to be quite dusty and reflecting
Milky Way, in a region called the starlight (the bright region at top, coinci-
Cassiopeia OB2 association, which is rich dent with the optical nebula, surrounding
in HII regions, dark clouds, young clusters, the central stars). What is unseen optically,
and reflection nebulae. but most visible in the 2MASS image, is the
Values for the distance to the Cassiopeia embedded star formation in the molecular
OB2 association vary from 8,100 to 11,400 cloud to the southeast.
light-years, but an estimate of 8,600 light- As reported in 2003, a team of Berkeley
years for the entire region seems reason- astronomers led by Göran Sandell (a senior
able. NGC 7538, also known as Sharpless scientist at the Universities Space Research
2-158, though, is an HII region embedded Association) found in this bright infrared
in a 595 thousand solar mass molecular region the youngest high-mass star ever
cloud surrounded by the much larger dif- observed. The roughly 30-solar-mass pro-
fuse nebula Sharpless 2-161B, which lies at tostar star (NGC 7538 S) is surrounded by a
a distance of about 7,800 light-years. This huge rotating disk of gas more than 100
very active star-formation region contains at times the mass of our Sun and embedded
least 11 high-luminosity infrared sources – inside a compact dense cloud core of more
the brightest of which is an O-type star than 1,000 solar masses. The protostellar
The Secret Deep 455

107 & 108
Observatory, Italy) and Egyptian
astronomer Samia M. Hassan
(National Research Institute
of Astronomy and Geophys-
ics, Cairo) note that distance
estimates to NGC 7510 range
from about 7,200 light-years
to 16,400 light-years. But in
their three-color photometry
studies of the bright end of the
10-million-year-young cluster,
the researchers achieved a
rough distance estimate of
10,000 light-years. If true, the
fact that the cluster lies on
the galactic plane is interesting,
because it places the external
boundary of the Perseus arm
up to 9,800 light-years from
the Sun.
But more studies need to be
done to refine the distance
estimates to both NGC 7538
and 7510. For instance, in a
disk – seen nearly edge on with a diameter 2007 Astronomy & Astrophysics, Delphine
more than 1,000 times that of our Solar Russeil (Laboratoire d’Astrophysique
System – drives a jet-like outflow which de Marseille, France) and her colleagues
may be as young as only 2,000 years. estimate NGC 7538 to lie 7,400 light-
The molecular cloud also contains many years distant, and in a 2005 Astronomy &
other similar objects. But what’s unique Astrophysics, Nina V. Kharchenko (Astro-
about NGC 7538 S is its dense cloud core. physical Institute of Potsdam, Germany)
As Sandell reports, “Most young high mass and her colleagues find the distance
stars or protostars are found in the imme- to NGC 7510 as only 6,800 light-
diate vicinity of compact ionized regions years. These newer distances place both
and near or in so-called hot cores. Here we objects in front of the Cassiopeia OB2
find what appears to be a massive proto- association.
star, but which apparently has not yet had NGC 7510 is in the same age group as
time to heat up the surrounding cloud, i.e., NGC 2362 (Caldwell 64), the Tau Canis
it is the first high mass star forming in this Majoris Cluster, which itself is part of a
massive cloud core.” bubble of gas some 5 across; like the gas
In a 1996 Astronomy & Astrophysics Supple- cloud that surrounds NGC 7510, it too
ment, Roberto Barbon (Asiago Astrophysical appears to be the remains of the cluster’s

107 & 108
have a large telescope, don’t
N
expect these nebulae to jump
4 out at you, so just focus on
Star a). Now make a slow and
d
careful 350 sweep southwest to a
Cepheus
little arc of three 8.5- to 9th-
M52 magnitude suns (b), followed by
Bubble
Nebula a 400 sweep west to a pair of
NGC 7538
9th-magnitude suns (c) separated
E W
a by 50 and oriented northeast–
7635 southwest. NGC 7510 will imme-
diately pull your attention 100
b c
NGC 7510 further to the southwest.
There’s no mistaking this tiny
0
1˚ (7 -wide) spearhead of stars, even
from urban locations. At 33 its
S core is a tiny squashed ellipse of
about a half-dozen stars of near
similar brightness, about 50 in
natal cocoon, which has been blown away length and oriented east-northeast to west-
by the cluster’s hot, young stars. southwest. With averted vision, the cluster
To find our two objects, start by using the swells to nearly twice that size to include a
chart on page 453 to locate 3rd-magnitude smattering of surrounding suns. Interest-
Iota (i) Cephei), then 5th-magnitude 4 ingly, despite this obvious “core,” Trumpler
Cassiopeiae 5½ to the southeast. Take a classed it as a rich cluster with little concen-
minute, however, to enjoy the bloody tration with a medium range in the bright-
appearance of 4 Cassiopeiae, which is an ness of its stars. The fact is, the visual core
M-type red giant 770 light-years distant. mentioned here really is the main compon-
It’s also the coarse quadruple star H VI 24 ent of the cluster; it has no obvious central
(discovered by Sir William Herschel), with concentration of stars.
a yellowish 8th-magnitude companion At 60, the spearhead (now something
0
about 1.5 to the southwest; an 8.6- like a squashed ellipse) appears to rest on a
magnitude star lies another 20 to the south- faint background of simmering suns that
west, and a 9.6-magnitude companion is seems to enjoy playing with one’s averted
only about 1000 to the north-northeast of vision. I’ve used magnifications as high as
the primary. 282 to study this little gem, which contains
M52 lies only about 450 to the south. about two dozen suns ranging in brightness
Center the cluster in your telescope at from about magnitude 10 to 13. With
low power, then switch to the chart on this imagination, these stars look like a sleepy
0
page. From M52, move 40 southwest to mouse (like the Dormouse in Lewis Carroll’s
7th-magnitude Star a, just west of NGC 1923 children’s classic Alice’s Adventures in
7635 and the Bubble Nebula (unless you Wonderland ), pressing itself against the
The Secret Deep 457

107 & 108
the same low-power field, which gives me
a field of view slightly larger than 2 .
Seen in this way, M52 dominates the
view, with NGC 7510 appearing as a little
tangle of suns on the opposite side of the
field; NGC 7538 is a tiny fuzz of light best
seen with averted vision. It’s also easy to
imagine M52 being almost twice as close
as the other two objects, though if we
accept the distances in the tables above,
NGC 7510, which appears more prominent
than NGC 7538, is the more distant of the
two. So looking at these three objects can
truly play with your mind in more ways
than one.
I can just see NGC 7538 with direct vision,
but averted vision really brings it out. Look
for a tight pair of 11th-magnitude stars, sep-
arated by a mere 3500 , swimming in a little
pool of nebulosity ~20 in length (the greater
apparent diameter is for the photographic
image). Seen under a dark sky, the nebula is
not difficult at all; it simply pops into view –
hardly a challenge. At 60 and 94, the glow
appears irregularly round, hugging the two
central stars, though with averted vision the
nebula looks heavy on the southwestern
side and seems to sag with that added
floor with its thin tail curled up on its back. weight; this is more an illusion, because
The cluster must be a glorious sight in larger the nebula is just more concentrated and
telescopes, which can illuminate twice as brighter at this region. Although I cannot
many stars to fainter magnitudes. detect any of the nebula’s finer structures
NGC 7538 lies 1 north-northeast of in my 5-inch, I wonder if anyone can see
NGC 7510. You can try to pick up its tiny the nebula’s lagoons – the dark bays of dust
form in a low-power sweep. Otherwise, separating loops of nebulous matter
return to 4 Cassiopeia, and move about stretching to the northeast. Though much
450 west-southwest, to a 300 -wide triangle smaller in angular extent, the photographic
of roughly 7th-magnitude suns (d ). NGC image of NGC 7538 is definitely reminiscent
7538 is only about 350 southwest of the of M8, the Lagoon Nebula, in structure.
westernmost star in Triangle d. Actually, Aside from NGC 7538’s more familiar moni-
in my 5-inch at 33, I can just fit all three ker, the Northern Lagoon Nebula, Kevin
objects (M52, NGC 7510, and NGC 7538) in Jardine (creator of the Galaxy Map website:

107 & 108
http://galaxymap.org/drupal/node/23), has NGC 7510 outshine the Pleiades by roughly
appropriately dubbed it the Brain Nebula. a magnitude and appear 1.5 times as large
By the way, if we could remove NGC 7510 in angular extent! NGC 7538 would be of
and NGC 7538 from their distant location in similar extent, and its two central stars
the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way, and would rival the brightest in the Pleiades,
place them at a convenient distance of 400 but I’d suspect that the naked-eye view of
light-years, both objects would appear 400 the Pleiades cluster would still flutter more
times brighter and 20 times larger, making poets’ hearts.
The Secret Deep 459

109
Secret Deep 109
(NGC 7790)
N
NGC 7790
Cassiopeia
E W
Perseus

109
109
Widow’s Web Cluster
NGC 7790
Type: Open Cluster
Con: Cassiopeia
RA: 23h 58.4m

Dec: þ61 12.50
Mag: 8.5
Diam: 50
Dist: ~10,600 l.y.
December 16, 1788] A pretty
compressed cluster of [faint] stars of
several sizes, considerably rich,
extended nearly parallel, 5 or 60 long.
(H VII-56)
n g c : Cluster, pretty rich,

pretty compressed.
n g c 7790 i s a p r e t t y l i t t l e c l u s t e r CEab Cassiopeiae is of very special interest

in Cassiopeia, about 2½ northwest of because it is the first known binary system
Beta (b) Cassiopeiae. Don’t let the seem- consisting of twin Cepheid variable stars
ingly dim magnitude fool you. When with slightly different periods (5.14 days
William Herschel discovered the object in for star a and 4.47 days for star b). The
1788, he classified it as a pretty com- stars are separated by 8,000 astronomical
pressed cluster of bright and faint stars. units and appear to form a physical pair.
Likewise, in 1931, Trumpler listed it as a Cepheids – yellow giant or supergiant
moderately rich and isolated cluster with pulsating variables – are of great import-
a slight concentration and a medium ance because their periods of variability
brightness range of stars. I find it aesthetic- are directly related to their luminosities –
ally pleasing in my 5-inch; it’s compact the longer the period, the greater the mean
enough (50 ), rich enough (more than two intrinsic brightness. Thus, as Jaymie
dozen suns at high power), and its stars are M. Matthews (University of British Colum-
bright enough (magnitude 10 and fainter) bia, Canada) and colleagues expound in
to make it a pleasing visual attraction. a 1995 Astronomical Journal (vol. 110,
NGC 7790 is an important star cluster p. 2280): “NGC 7790 has the potential to
because it contains three classical Cepheid be a Rosetta Stone for refining the zero
variables: QX, CEab, and CF Cassiopeiae. point of the extragalactic distance scale.”
The Secret Deep 461

109
Their surface brightness analysis of the Pleiades. Still, its brightest members would
Cepheid CF Cassiopeiae (P?4.88 days), be about 2 magnitudes fainter than those
which is widely believed to be a member in the Pleiades, which would still dominate
of the cluster, led to a determined distance the minds and eyes of star-struck humans.
of about 10,100 light years. In a 2000 Still, what a wondrous sight NGC 7790
Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement would be to behold in binoculars.
Series, Indian astronomer Alok C. Gupta Even at its current distance, NGC 7790 is
(University of Gorakhpur, India) and col- a binocular wonder. As Canadian amateur
leagues determined its distance to be Stéphane Meloche of Coaticook reports
about 10,600 light years. They also found online, when viewed through Vixen 9 63
its age to be about 120 million years, binoculars, the cluster is “Very beautiful. . .
though other researchers have found the [with] 4–5 very weak individual stars,
age to range between 100 million years and forming a ‘Y’ figure, accompanied by a
500 million years, depending on the model weak [nebulous] background, made up of
used; Gupta’s value, however, seems to be unsolved stars.”
more in agreement with the ages obtained To find this visual curiosity, use the chart
by applying the period–age relations to the on page 460 to locate Beta (b) Cassiopeiae.
three Cepheids in it, which range between Then use the chart on page 463 to guide you
100 million and 200 million years. to a pair of 6th-magnitude stars (a) a little
If true, NGC 7790 is an intermediate- more than 2 to the north-northwest. Center
aged cluster, about the same age as NGC the westernmost star in the pair in your tele-
2451 (Hidden Treasure 42). NGC 7790 lies scope at low power. NGC 7790 is only about
in the Galactic disk near the Perseus arm 250 due west of that star and about 150 north-
and is only slightly reddened (~0.05 mag- east of a magnitude 6.5 star (b).
nitude). Since the age distribution of open At 33 in the 5-inch, NGC 7790 is a small
clusters overlaps that of globular clusters, but very nice sight – a highly concentrated
studies of open clusters can also help east–west-trending ellipse of stars against
astronomers understand how stars in the a rich backdrop of Milky Way. Two 11th-
Galaxy’s disk evolve compared to those in magnitude members punctuate the clus-
globular cluster in the Galaxy’s halo. NGC ter’s west end (the northern of which is
7790, then, is also valuable to the study of the Cepheid variable CEab Cas), and a little
the evolution of intermediate mass stars. knot of stars lies at the east end; the
The current thinking is that the disk Cepheid variable QX Cas lies about 20
started to form before the halo stopped southeast of that eastern knot, and CF
assembling. Cas lies is about 1.50 northeast of CE Cas
At a distance of 10,600 light years, NGC and appears slightly fainter.
7790 spans 15 light-years of space in true At 60, I see dim cluster members
physical extent. If we could see NGC 7790 flowing westward from the eastern knot
at the same distance as the Pleiades (or 25 like a comet tail that seems to tickle the
times closer), the cluster would shine two 11th-magnitude stars. Seen with west
roughly at 5th-magnitude and span 2 of up, the cluster does indeed form a prom-
sky, or the same apparent size as the inent Y-shaped grouping, with about a

109
N about 200 to the southeast. These
three make an interesting wide-
7788
field photographic subject. In
NGC 7790
photos, NGC 7790 and 7788 look
a
like twins – a lovely double clus-
Berk 58 ter. Alas, they are not physically
related. Although it is visually
fainter, NGC 7788 lies nearly
5,000 light years closer to us than
our target NGC 7790.
I call NGC 7790 the Widow’s
E W
Web Cluster because its appear-
Cassiopeia
ance reminds me of a black-
widow spider’s web I once saw in
southwest Texas, near the Mex-
ican border. The spider had pos-
itioned the web so that it crossed
part of a narrow opening between
two wooden crossbeams in an
1˚ old fort. The web successfully
trapped a bat that had used that
S opening to roost. The captured
body caused the silken threads
to sag earthward, forming a
creepy Y-shaped web.
dozen irregularly bright suns splashed
across the cluster’s face. At higher powers,
the cluster breaks down into a western
trapezoid of 11th- and 12th-magnitude
stars and a tiny eastern grouping domin-
ated by a tight arc of 12th- to 13th-
magnitude suns with one double star
centrally located in the cluster, which
I resolved at 180. At 94, though, a wash
of two dozen faint cluster members flit in
and out of view with averted vision.
Note that two fainter clusters lie nearby:
9.4-magnitude NGC 7788, about 150 to the
northwest, and 9.7-magnitude Berkeley 58
The Secret Deep 463

APPENDIX A
The Secret Deep: basic data
SDa NGC/Otherb RAc Decd Con.e Typef Mag.g Size (0 )h Notes
1 vdB 1 00h 11.0m þ58 460 Cas BN – 55

2 134 00h 30.4m 33 150 Scl GX 10.4 8.5 1.9 Giant Squid
3 488 01h 21.8m þ05 150 Pis GX 10.3 5.5 4.0 Whirligig
4 654 01h 44.0m þ61 530 Cas OC 6.5 6 Fuzzy Butterfly
5 Cr 463 01h 45.7m þ71 490 Cas OC 5.7 57 Loch Ness Monster
6 St 2 02h 14.7m þ59 290 Cas OC 4.4 60 9 (Stitchpunks)
7 936 02h 27.6m 01 090 Cet GX 10.2 5.7 4.6 Darth Vader’s *fighter
8 1084 02h 46.0m 07 350 Eri GX 10.7 3.2 1.9
9 1245 03h 14.7m þ47 140 Per OC 8.4 10 Patrick Starfish
10 1300 03h 19.7m 19 250 Eri GX 10.4 5.5 2.9
11 1342 03h 31.7m þ37 22.50 Per OC 6.7 17 Stingray
12 1400 03h 39.5m 18 410 Eri GX 11.0 2.8 2.5
13 1407 03h 40.2m 18 350 Eri GX 9.7 6.0 5.8
14 1491 04h 03.4m þ51 190 Per BN – 4 (blue) Fossil Footprint
15 1514 04h 09.6m þ30 46.50 Tau PN 10.9 2.3 2.0 Crystal Ball
16 1579 04h 30.2m þ35 160 Per BN – 12 8 Northern Trifid
17 1750 05h 04.3m þ23 440 Tau OC ~6th 30 ¼ NGC 1746
18 1758 05h 04.7m þ23 480 Tau OC ~7.5 10
19 1788 05h 06.9m 03 210 Ori BN – 53 Cosmic Bat
20 1807 05h 10.8m þ16 310 Tau OC 7.0 12 Poor Man’s Double
21 1817 05h 12.4m þ16 410 Tau OC 7.7 20 Poor Man’s Double
22 IC 417/St 8 05h 28.1m þ34 260 Aur BN/OC – 13 10 The Spider
23 1931 05h 31.4m þ34 150 Aur BN/OC – 4 The Fly
24 Cr 70 05h 35.6m 01 050 Ori OC 0.6 140 Orion’s Belt
25 2022 05h 42.1m þ09 050 Ori PN 11.9 22 1700 Kissing Crescents
26 Sh2–276 05h 52.5m þ00 450 Ori SNR – 90 30 Part of Barnard’s Loop
27 IC 2149 05h 56.4m þ46 060 Aur PN 10.7 8.5
28 2149 06h 03.5m 09 440 Mon BN – 32
29 2170 06h 07.5m 06 240 Mon BN – 22
30 2281 06h 48.3m þ41 050 Aur OC 5.4 25 Broken Heart
31 2298 06h 49.0m 36 000 Pup GC 9.3 5
32 2316 06h 59.7m 07 460 Mon BN – 43
33 2343 07h 08.1m 10 370 Mon OC 6.7 6 Double Mint
34 2346 07h 09.4m 00 480 Mon PN 11.8 >5000 Crimson Butterfly
35 2359 07h 18.6m 13 120 CMa BN – 96 Flying Eye
36 2371–2 07h 25.5m þ29 290 Gem PN 11.3 5800 Double Bubble
37 2420 07h 38.4m þ21 340 Gem OC 8.3 6 Twinkling “Comet”
38 3079 10h 02.0m þ55 410 UMa GX 10.9 8.0 1.5 Pantom Frisbee
39 3077 10h 03.3m þ68 440 UMa GX 9.8 5.5 4.1
40 3166 10h 13.8m þ03 260 Sex GX 10.4 4.6 2.6 Part of Pair
41 3169 10h 14.2m þ03 280 Sex GX 10.2 5.0 2.8 Part of Pair
42 3198 10h 19.9m þ45 330 UMa GX 10.3 9.2 3.5
43 3226 10h 23.4m þ19 540 Leo GX 11.4 2.5 2.2 Part of Pair

44 3227 10h 23.5m þ19 520 Leo GX 10.3 6.9 5.4 Part of Pair
45 3432 10h 52.5m þ36 370 LMi GX 11.2 6.9 1.9 Knitting Needle
46 3675 11h 26.1m þ43 350 UMa GX 10.2 6.2 3.2
47 3893 11h 48.6m þ48 430 UMa GX 10.5 4.2 2.3
48 3953 11h 53.8m þ52 200 UMa GX 10.1 6.0 3.2 M109?
49 4036 12h 01.4m þ61 540 UMa GX 10.7 3.8 1.9
50 4051 12h 03.2m þ44 320 UMa GX 10.2 5.5 4.6
51 4111 12h 07.1m þ43 040 CVn GX 10.7 4.4 0.9
52 4147 12h 10.1m þ18 32.50 Com GC 10.3 4 Kick the Can
53 4293 12h 21.2m þ18 230 Com GX 10.4 5.3 3.1
54 4414 12h 26.4m þ31 130 Com GX 10.1 4.4 3.0
55 4435 12h 27.7m þ13 050 Vir GX 10.8 3.2 2.0 Part of The Eyes
56 4438 12h 27.8m þ13 010 Vir GX 10.2 8.9 3.6 Part of The Eyes
57 4450 12h 28.5m þ17 050 Com GX 10.1 5.0 3.4
58 4461 12h 29.0m þ13 110 Vir GX 11.2 3.7 1.4
59 3C 273 12h 29.1m þ02 030 Vir QSR 11.7–13.2 – Quasar
60 4473 12h 29.8m þ13 260 Com GX 10.2 3.7 2.4 Part of Pair
61 4477 12h 30.0m þ13 380 Com GX 10.4 3.9 3.6 Part of Pair
62 4636 12h 42.8m þ02 410 Vir GX 9.5 7.1 5.2
63 4665 12h 45.1m þ03 030 Vir GX 10.5 4.1 4.1
64 4753 12h 52.4m 01 120 Vir GX 9.9 4.1 2.3 Dust Devil
65 4762 12h 52.9m þ11 040 Vir GX 10.3 9.1 2.2 Paper-Kite
66 5033 13h 13.4m þ36 360 CVn GX 10.2 10.5 5.1 Waterbug
67 5195 13h 30.0m þ47 160 CVn GX 9.6 6.4 4.6
68 5466 14h 05.4m þ28 320 Boo GC 9.0 9 Snowglobe
69 5846 15h 06.4m þ01 360 Vir GX 10.0 3.0 3.0
70 5907 15h 15.9m þ56 200 Dra GX 10.3 11.5 1.7 Splinter
71 IC 4593 16h 11.7m þ12 040 Her PN 10.7 >1200 White-Eyed Pea
72 6144 16h 27.2m 26 010 Sco GC 9.0 9
73 6207 16h 43.1m þ36 500 Her GX 11.6 3.0 1.1
74 6229 16h 46.9m þ47 320 Her GC 9.4 4.5 “Prize Comet”
75 6293 17h 10.2m 26 350 Oph GC 8.2 7.9
76 6309 17h 14.1m 12 550 Oph PN 11.5 >1600 Box
77 6356 17h 23.6m 17 490 Oph GC 8.2 10
78 6522 18h 03.6m 30 020 Sgr GC 8.3 9.4
79 6528 18h 04.8m 30 030 Sgr GC 9.6 3.7
80 6563 18h 12.1m 33 520 Sgr PN 11.0 5000 3800 Southern Ring
81 6589 18h 16.9m 19 470 Sgr BN – 53
82 6595 18h 17.1m 19 520 Sgr BN – 43 ¼ NGC 6590
83 6638 18h 30.9m 25 300 Sgr GC 9.2 7.3
84 6664 18h 36.5m 08 110 Sct OC 7.8 12 Santa’s Sleigh
85 6717 18h 55.1m 22 420 Sgr GC 8.4 5.4 Palomar 9
86 6751 19h 05.9m 05 59.50 Aql PN 11.9 2400 Glowing Eye
Appendix A The Secret Deep: basic data 465

87 6755 19h 07.8m þ04 160 Aql OC 7.5 15 Part of Binary Cluster?
88 6756 19h 08.7m þ04 420 Aql OC 10.6 4 Part of Binary Cluster?
89 6778 19h 18.4m 01 360 Aql PN 11.9 2000 4000 Son of M76
90 6781 19h 18.5m þ06 320 Aql PN 11.4 2 Ghost of the Moon
91 6804 19h 31.6m þ09 130 Aql PN 12.2 ~5000 Incredible Shrinking
92 6811 19h 37.2m þ46 22.50 Cyg OC 6.8 15 Smoke Ring
93 Cyg X-1 19h 58.4m þ35 120 Cyg BH (star) 8.8 (star) – HDE 226868
94 OME 3 20h 05.3m þ47 320 Cyg AST – 12 Alessi J20053þ4732
95 6891 20h 15.2m þ12 420 Del PN 10.5 >1800
96 6894 20h 16.4m þ30 340 Cyg PN 12.3 >4200 Diamond Ring
97 IC 1318(a) 20h 16.6m þ41 490 Cyg BN – 45 20 Near Gamma Cygni
98 6905 20h 22.4m þ20 060 Del PN 11.1 4200 3500 Blue Flash
99 6910 20h 23.2m þ40 470 Cyg OC 6.6 10 Inchworm
100 6939 20h 31.5m þ60 400 Cep OC 7.8 10 Flying Geese
101 7026 21h 06.3m þ47 510 Cyg PN 10.9 2100 Cheeseburger
102 7048 21h 14.2m þ46 170 Cyg PN 12.1 6100 Peek-a-Boo
103 7129 21h 42.8m þ66 060 Cep BN – 77 Cosmic Rosebud
104 7160 21h 53.7m þ62 360 Cep OC 6.1 5 Bruce Lee
105 7209 22h 05.8m þ46 290 Lac OC 7.7 15 Star Lizard
106 7354 22h 40.3m þ61 170 Cep PN 12.2 2200 1800
107 7510 23h 11.1m þ60 340 Cep OC 7.9 7 Dormouse
108 7538 23h 13.5m þ61 310 Cep BN – 90 6 0 Northern Lagoon
109 7790 23h 58.4m þ61 12.50 Cas OC 8.5 5 Widow’s Web
a
SD, Secret Deep.
b
NGC/Other, NGC, New General Catalogue; Cr, Collinder; IC, Index Catalogue; OME, Omeara; Sh, Sharpless;
St, Stock; vdB, van den Berg.
c
RA, right ascension (equinox 2000.0).
d
Dec., declination.
e
Con., constellation.
f
Type, AST, asterism; BH, black hole; BN, bright nebula; GC, globular cluster; GX, galaxy; OC, open cluster;
PN, planetary nebula; QSR, quasar; SNR, supernova remnant.
g
Mag., magnitude.
h
Size (0 ), in arc minutes.

APPENDIX B
Twenty additional Secret Deep objects
1 129 00h 29.9m þ60 130 Cas OC 6.5 12

2 436 01h 15.9m þ58 490 Cas OC 8.8 5
3 IC 1747 01h 57.6m þ63 200 Cas PN 12.1 1300 Holepunch
4 1499 04h 00.7m þ36 370 Per BN – 160 40 California
5 IC 2165 06h 21.7m 12 590 CMa PN 10.6 400
6 2232 06h 27.2m 04 450 Mon OC 4.2 53
7 2439 07h 40.8m 31 41.50 Pup OC 6.9 9
8 2489 07h 56.2m 30 040 Pup OC 7.9 5
9 2527 08h 04.9m 28 080 Pup OC 6.5 10
10 UGC 5470 10h 08.4m þ12 180 Leo GX 10.2 12.0 9.3 Leo I Dwarf
11 3607 11h 16.9m þ18 030 Leo GX 9.9 4.6 4.1 Pair
12 3608 11h 17.0m þ18 090 Leo GX 10.8 2.7 2.3 Pair
13 3640 11h 21.1m þ03 140 Leo GX 10.4 4.6 4.1
14 3938 11h 52.8m þ44 070 UMa GX 10.4 4.9 4.7
15 4698 12h 48.4m þ08 290 Vir GX 10.6 3.2 1.7
16 5084 13h 20.3m 21 500 Vir GX 10.4 11.0 2.5
17 5634 14h 29.6m 05 590 Vir GC 9.5 5.5
18 5824 15h 04.0m 33 040 Lup GC 7.8 6
19 IC 4603 16h 25.6m 24 280 Oph BN – 35 20
20 6603 18h 18.5m 18 240 Sag OC 11.1 4
21 IC 1295 18h 54.6m 08 500 Scu PN 12.5 >8600
a
SD, Secret Deep.
b
NGC/Other, NGC, New General Catalogue; IC, Index Catalogue; UGC, Uppsala General Catalogue.
c
RA, right ascension (equinox 2000.0).
d
Dec., declination.
e
Con., constellation.
f
Type, BN, bright nebula; GC, globular cluster; GX, galaxy; OC, open cluster; PN, planetary nebula.
g
Mag., magnitude.
h
Size (0 ), in arc minutes.
Appendix B Twenty additional Secret Deep objects 467

APPENDIX C
Deep-sky lists: comparison tablea
SD NGC/Other OME H400 HAS RASC SAC TAAS
1 vdB 1
2 134
3 488
4 654
5 Cr 463
6 St 2
7 936
8 1084
9 1245
10 1300
11 1342
12 1400
13 1407
14 1491
15 1514
16 1579
17 1750
18 1758
19 1788
20 1807
21 1817
22 IC 417/St 8
23 1931
24 Cr 70
25 2022
26 sh2-276
27 IC 2149
28 2149
29 2170
30 2281
31 2298
32 2316
33 2343
34 2346
35 2359
36 2371-2
37 2420
38 3079
39 3077
40 3166
41 3169
42 3198

43 3226
44 3227
45 3432
46 3675
47 3893
48 3953
49 4036
50 4051
51 4111
52 4147
53 4293
54 4414
55 4435
56 4438
57 4450
58 4461
59 3C 273
60 4473
61 4477
62 4636
63 4665
64 4753
65 4762
66 5033
67 5195
68 5466
69 5846
70 5907
71 IC 4593
72 6144
73 6207
74 6229
75 6293
76 6309
77 6356
78 6522
79 6528
80 6563
81 6589
82 6595
83 6638
(cont.)
Appendix C Deep-sky lists: comparison table 469

84 6664
85 6717
86 6751
87 6755
88 6756
89 6778
90 6781
91 6804
92 6811
93 Cyg X-1
94 OME 3
95 6891
96 6894
97 IC 1318(a)
98 6905
99 6910
100 6939
101 7026
102 7048
103 7129
104 7160
105 7209
106 7354
107 7510
108 7538
109 7790
a
Selected comparison lists: OME, O’Meara (Hawaii); H400; Herschel 400; HAS, Hawaii Astronomical
Society; RASC, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada; SAC, Saguaro Astronomy Club (Arizona);
TAAS, The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (New Mexico).

APPENDIX D
Photo credits
Photographs are credited in the order in which they appear within the book.
COVER Secret Deep 26 Mario Motta

All by Mario Motta Secret Deep 27 Mario Motta
PREFACE NASA/HST/Howard Bond
Stephen James O’Meara Secret Deep 28 Mario Motta
CHAPTER 1 Secret Deep 29 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 30 Mario Motta
Stephen James O’Meara
CHAPTER 2 R. Ibata (Strasbourg Observatory,
Secret Deep 1 Mario Motta ULP) et al., 2MASS, NASA
Secret Deep 2 Mario Motta Secret Deep 32 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 5 Mario Motta Massimo Stiavelli (STScI), Inge
Stephen James O’Meara Heyer (STScI) et al., and the
Secret Deep 6 Mario Motta Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/
Stephen James O’Meara STScI/NASA)
European Southern Secret Deep 36 Mario Motta
Observatory NASA, ESA, and the
Secret Deep 8 Mario Motta Hubble Heritage Team
Secret Deep 9 Mario Motta (STScI/AURA)
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Secret Deep 38 Mario Motta
Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Secret Deep 39 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 11 Mario Motta NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton and
Stephen James O’Meara B. Williams (University of
Secret Deep 12 Mario Motta Washington)
Secret Deep 15 Mario Motta NASA, ESA, and Stephen
Secret Deep 16 Mario Motta James O’Meara
European Southern Secret Deep 45 Mario Motta
Observatory Secret Deep 46 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 24 Stephen James O’Meara Secret Deep 51 Mario Motta
Howard Bond (STScI) and NASA Secret Deep 53 Mario Motta
Appendix D Photo credits 471

ESA HEIC/Hans-Walter Rix Secret Deep 86 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 55 Mario Motta Daniel Tran (PAL College),
Secret Deep 56 Mario Motta Travis Rector (University of
Tomer Tal and Jeffrey Kenney Alaska Anchorage), Terry
(Yale University and NOAO/ Bridges (Queen’s University),
AURA/NSF NASA) and Jeffrey and the Australian Gemini
Kenney and Elizabeth Yale Office. NASA, The Hubble
(Yale University) Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
ESA HEIC/Hans-Walter Rix Secret Deep 88 Mario Motta
NASA/CXC/SAO/ Secret Deep 91 Mario Motta
H. Marshall et al. Secret Deep 92 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 61 Mario Motta HST/ESA/NASA
NASA/SAO/CXC/C. Jones et al. Hubble Legacy Image
Secret Deep 65 Mario Motta HST/Howard Bond
NASA and ESA Secret Deep 100 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 70 Mario Motta HST/NASA/ESA
Jay R. Gabany Secret Deep 102 Mario Motta
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Spitzer image
Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Secret Deep 104 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 74 Mario Motta HST/NASA/ESA
HST, NASA, and ESA Secret Deep 108 Mario Motta
Secret Deep 76 Mario Motta 2MASS
& 82

The Secret Deep checklist
NGC/ Date Location Telescope & Seeing &

SD Other observed (altitude) magnification transparency Notes
1 vdB 1
2 134
3 488
4 654
5 Cr 463
6 St 2
7 936
8 1084
9 1245
10 1300
11 1342
12 1400
13 1407
14 1491
15 1514
16 1579
17 1750
18 1758
19 1788
20 1807
21 1817
22 IC 417/St 8
23 1931
24 Cr 70
25 2022
26 Sh2–276
27 IC 2149
(cont.)

28 2149
29 2170
30 2281
31 2298
32 2316
33 2343
34 2346
35 2359
36 2371–2
37 2420
38 3079
39 3077
40 3166
41 3169
42 3198
43 3226
44 3227
45 3432
46 3675
47 3893
48 3953
49 4036
50 4051
51 4111
52 4147
53 4293
54 4414
55 4435
474 The Secret Deep checklist

56 4438
57 4450
58 4461
59 3C 273
60 4473
61 4477
62 4636
63 4665
64 4753
65 4762
66 5033
67 5195
68 5466
69 5846
70 5907
71 IC 4593
72 6144
73 6207
74 6229
75 6293
76 6309
77 6356
78 6522
79 6528
80 6563
81 6589
82 6595
(cont.)

83 6638
84 6664
85 6717
86 6751
87 6755
88 6756
89 6778
90 6781
91 6804
92 6811
93 Cyg X-1
94 OME 3
95 6891
96 6894
97 IC1318(a)
98 6905
99 6910
100 6939
101 7026
102 7048
103 7129
104 7160
105 7209
106 7354
107 7510
108 7538
109 7790
476 The Secret Deep checklist

Index
3C 48, 253, 254 Barnard, Edward Emerson, Cat Scratch Galaxy see NGC 5907
3C 273 (Secret Deep 9), 253–255 117–118, 119, 306, 346–347, CEab Cassiopeiae, 461, 462
9 “Stitchpunks” (Stock 2), 39–41 357, 375, 409 Cederblad, Sven, 437
47 Tucanae, 331 Barnard’s Loop (Sh2-276), 116, Celestial Handbook, Burnham’s, 27
120–121, 410 Cepheids, 461
A Descent into the Maelstrom, 170 Barth, Aaron J., 193 Ceres, 263
A Photographic Atlas of Selected Basel 3, 456 CF Cassiopeiae, 461, 462
Regions of the Milky Way, 409 Bauval, Robert, 105 Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Abell, George O., 361 BD þ65 1637, 437 (spacecraft), 177, 192, 255,
Abramenkov E. A., 116 BD þ65 1638, 437 263, 307, 308
ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury Bedke, J., 268 Cheeseburger Nebula see Secret
(ANGST) program, 176 Bekmambetov, Timur, 41 Deep 101
active galactic nucleus (AGN), 171, Bellazzini, Michele, 139, 227 Chen, W. P., 129
192–193, 215, 219, 220, 223, Bennett, Jack, 331 Cepheus Bubble, 437, 441
231, 241 Bigourdan, Camille Guillaume, Cepheus OB2 association, 437,
ADS 5817, 149, 150 360–361, 435–436 441, 443
Albuquerque Astronomical black holes, 220–221, 240, 241, 258, Cheshire Cat asterism, 99
Society, 136 259, 392–394 Chies-Santos, A. L., 293
Alcalá, Juan, 89 Blue Flash Nebula see NGC 6905 Christensen, Tommy, 388, 389–390
Alessi J20046–1030, 397 Bode, Johann, 134 Chu, Y.-H., 365, 366
Alessi J20053þ4732 see O’Meara 3 Bohigas, J., 302 Clymer, William F., 124
Alessi J23407þ0757, 397 Bolton, Charles Thomas, 393 Coccato, Lodovico, 241
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Bonato, C., 101 Coe, Steve, 96
99, 457 Bond, George Phillips, 282 Cohen, Martin, 81, 143, 144
Allen, Richard Hinkley, 181 Bond, Howard, 112 Collinder, 104–109
Aller, Lawrence H., 327, 426 Borissova, Jura, 317, 318 Collinder 70 (Secret Deep 24),
Alpha Persei Moving Cluster, 52, 69 Boulade, Olivier, 283 104–109, 130
Anandaro, B. G., 75–76 Bowyer, S., 392 Collinder 121, 130
Anderson, M. F., 94 Boyd, Lyle Gifford, 124 Collinder, 463 (Secret Deep 5),
Andreuzzi, Gloria, 421 Box Nebula see NGC 6309 35–37
Andrievsky, Sergey M., 357 Brain Nebula see NGC 7538 Collinder 465, 147
Antares, 308 Bratton, Mark, 436 Collinder 466, 147
Apollonius, 154 Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey, Collinder, Per Arne, 36, 106, 361
Arbour, Ron, 184 206, 231 Collins, Peter, 111, 312
Archinal, Brent A., 7, 40, 360, 397 Bril, Henk, 209–210 Coma Berenices Cluster, 61
Arentoft, T., 94 Broken Heart see NGC 2281 comets
Arias, Lorena, 153 Bruce Lee Cluster see NGC 7160 9P/Tempel
Arion, Douglas N., 162 Burke, Christopher J., 53 17P/Holmes, 60–61
Arp, Halton, 192, 239, 357 Burnham, Sherbourne Wesley, 55P/Tempel–Tuttle
Aryal, Binil, 76 425–426 C/1969 Y1 (Comet Bennett), 331
Asselin, Louis, 21 Burnham’s Nebula see NGC 7026 of 1746 (De Cheseaux’s), 61
asymptotic giant branch (AGB) Burton, Tim, 41 of 1758, 61
Stars, 76, 112, 162, 327, Buta, Ron, 265 Copeland, Leland, 239
342, 401, 426 Copeland, Ralph, 400–401
Atlas Céleste (Fortin’s), 210 Cacace, Ben, 99 Copeland’s Septet, 400
Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, 192, 239 Caged Spirit Nebula see NGC 6905 Copernicus (journal), 400
Atlas of the Heavens, 191 California Nebula, 118, 119 core-collapse clusters, 337
Aveni, Anthony, 105 Canis Major dwarf, 139–140, 141 Corradi, Romano L. M., 186–187,
Canis Major OB1 association, 303
Baade, Walter, 226, 336, 337 148–149 Corwin, Hal, 108, 248–249, 263, 347,
Baade Window, 336 Canis Major R1 association, 148 360–361, 375–376, 436–437
Bailey, Solon Irving, 124, 317 Cannistra, Steve, 99 Cosmic Bat see NGC 1788
Balaguer-Núñez, L., 94 Cappa, C. E., 157 Cosmic Butterflies, 431
Balick, Bruce, 404 Capuchin, De Rhieta, 184 Cosmic Rosebud see NGC 7129
Bally, John, 130 Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies, 202, 268 Cox, P., 342
Barbon, Roberto, 456 Carney, Bruce W., 322–323 Crawford, Earl of, 400
Barbuy, Beatriz, 337 Carroll, Lewis, 457 Crimson Butterfly see NGC 2346
Barkhatova, Klavdiia Carswell, Robert F., 313 Crystal Ball (NGC 1514), 74–77
Aleksandrovna, 389 Cassiopeia OB2 association, Cuesta, Luis, 415
Barnard 139, 375 455, 456 Cuffey, James, 84, 85
Index 477
Curtis, Heber Doust, 161, 302, 317, Eta Carinae, 198 Gondoin, Philippe, 192
327, 365, 431, 450 European Southern Observatory, 89 Goodriche, John, 451
Cygnus OB2 association, 409 EV Scuti, 357, 358 Goudfrooij, Paul, 293
Cygnus OB3 association, 394 Evans, Inese I., 227 Gould, Andrew, 65
Cygnus OB9 association, 409 Evans, Aneurin (Nye), 332 Gowney, Kim, 406
Cygnus Rift, 442 Evans, Robert, 45, 184 Gramer, Lew, 329
Cygnus Star Cloud, 409 event horizon, 393 Great Nebula in Auriga, 100
Cygnus Superbubble, 409 Ewing, Anne, 393 Grebel, Eva K., 287, 288
Cygnus X-1 (Secret Deep 93), Exclamation Mark see NGC 6309 Greenstein, Jesse, 254
392–394 extragalactic radio source Gregory, Robert L., 119
Cygnus X complex, 409, 410 (EGRS), 171 Guerrero, Martin A., 384, 401
Czyzak, S. J., 327 Eye and Brain, 119 Gupta, Alok C., 462
Eyes, The, see NGC 4435 and Gutermuth, Rob, 438
d’Arrest, Heinrich Louis, 84, 85, NGC 4438
132, 317 Hajian, Arsen, 366
Dal Farra, E., 211 Fabian, Walter, 176 Hale, George Ellery, 306
Dame, Thomas M., 130 Faith, Edward, 219 Halley, Edmond, 276
Dandelion Puff Ball see NGC 6751 Feibelman, Walter, 76, 415, 426 Haro, Guillermo, 21
Darth Vader’s Starfighter see NGC Fellhauer, Michael, 287 Harrington, J. Patrick, 450
936 Feltzing, Sofia, 336, 337 Harris, Hugh C., 282
Davies, Richard I., 192 Filho, M. E., 231 Hartmann, Johannes, 107
Davis, Helen, 317 Fisher, David, 222 Harvard College Observatory, 124
Deep-Impact (space probe), 326 Flammarion, Camille, 281 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Deep Space Network, 231 Fleming, Williamina Paton, Astrophysics, 220
Deharveng, L., 70 123–124, 301–302 Hartung, Ernst J., 156
de Lalande. Joseph Jérome le FLIERs, 401 Hassan, Samia M., 456
Français, 210 Fly see NGC 1931 HD 10494, 32
Deliyannis, Constantine, 167 Flying Eye see NGC 2359 HD 167638, 348
Delta Cephei, 451 Flying Geese Cluster see NGC 6939 HD 167815, 348
Delta Ceti, 43 Forbes, Duncan A., 139–140, 361 HD 293815, 90–91
Delta Cygni, 390 Fortin, F., 210 HD 313094 þ HD 313095, 348
Delta Scuti stars, 94–95 Fossil Footprint see NGC 1491 HD 54387, 148
Delta Virginis, 265 Foster, D. C., 40 HD 56925, 157
de Vaucouleurs, Gerard, 268 Foxface Nebula see NGC 1788 HDE 226868 see Cygnus X-1
Dewangan, G. C., 269 Freeland, Emily, 167 Heiles, Carl, 130, 132
Diamond Ring Nebula see NGC Friel, Eileen D., 226 Henry Draper Extension (HDE)
6844 From the Earth to the Moon, 181 catalogue, 393
Djorgovski, S. George, 226 Frost, Edwin B., 426 Herbig, George, 21, 80
Dormouse Cluster see NGC 7510 Fuchs, Burkhard, 28 Herbig–Haro objects, 20–21, 84, 437
Double Bubble Nebula see NGC Fuentes-Carrera, I., 206 Hermann, Armin, 377
2371-2 Fuzzy Butterfly see NGC 654 Hernandez-Toledo, Hector M., 205
Double Cluster, 32, 39, 94, 370 Herschel, Caroline, 36, 100,
Dreyer, John Louis Emil, 84, 129, Galadı́-Enrı́quez, David, 85 147, 430
143, 182, 296, 302, 326, 360, Gamma Cygni, 412 Herschel, John, 5, 23, 94, 95, 107,
364, 375, 400, 409, 431, 436 Gamma Leonis (STF 1424AB), 193 113, 139, 156, 181, 184, 263,
Doublemint Cluster see NGC 33.27 Garrido, O., 206 341, 360, 364, 375–376, 383,
Duck Head Nebula see NGC 2359 Gemini School Astronomy Contest 414, 430, 435
Dunlop, James, 23–24, 138, 341 (2009), 365 Herschel satellite, 438
Dust Devil see NGC 4753 General Theory of Relativity, 393 Herschel, William, 5, 43, 61, 75,
Georgics, 301 84, 85, 94, 100, 101, 107,
Eagles, The, 393 Gerasimenko, Tatya P., 357 132, 134, 143, 152, 161,
Einstein, Albert, 393 Ghost Globular see NGC 5466 181, 188, 193, 201, 207,
Elvis, Martin, 221 Ghost of the Moon see NGC 6781 263, 282, 307, 316, 321,
English, Jayanne, 197 giant molecular cloud, 371 336, 352, 356, 360, 364,
Eridanus Bubble, 121 Giant Squid see NGC 134 379, 383, 409, 414, 430,
Eridanus Cluster of galaxies, 65 Gibbon, Edward, 107 435, 449, 457, 461
Eridanus A subcluster of galaxies, Gilbert, Adrian, 105 Herschel’s Region 27 (part of
65 Gingerich, Owen, 209, 281, 282 Barnard’s Loop), 117–120
Eskridge, Paul B., 202, 230 Glowing Eye Nebula see NGC 6751 Hertzsprung–Russell (HR) diagram,
ESO 350-G21, 24 Gnedin, Oleg Y., 317–318 95, 112, 162, 336, 353
478 Index
Hevelius, Johannes, 181, 196–197, Jones, Bessie Zaban, 124 Mayall, Nicholas Ulrich, 226
445 Jose, Jessy, 100 M1, 61
Hiriart, D., 380 M7, 2, 138
History of the Decline and Fall of the Kaler, James, 265, 412, 443 M9, 331
Roman Empire, 107 Kaluzny, J., 421 M11, 357
Ho, Luis C., 220, 245 Kastner, Joel H., 431 M13, 139, 226, 312
Hogsten, Scott, 377 Kay, Jenni, 349–350 M15, 337
Holden, Edward, 426, 427 Kenney, Jeffrey, 240 M23, 389
Hole in a Cluster see NGC 6811 Key Project (HST), 236 M26, 357
Hopwood, Madelaine, 332 Kharchenko, Nina, V., 135, 456 M30, 337
Horsehead Nebula, 108 Kick the Can Cluster see NGC 4147 M34, 52, 61, 69
Houston, Walter Scott, 56, 85, 134, Kilauea (Hawaii Volcanoes National M35, 36
178, 309, 388–389, 404 Park), 3–4 M36, 99, 100
HT Ursae Majoris, 206 Kissing Crescents see NGC 2022 M37, 100
Hubble, Edwin P., 219, 244, 268 Kitt Peak National Observatory, 167 M38, 99, 100
Hubble Atlas, 282 Klemola, Arnold Richard, 194 M41, 65
Huggins, William, 75, 317, 384, 449 Knife-Edge Galaxy see NGC 5907 M42, 70, 88, 89, 109, 129, 130,
Humphreys, Elizabeth M. L., 231 Knitting Needle Galaxy see NGC 131, 437
Huziak, Rick, 20 3432 M43, 109, 130
Hwang, Narae, 283 Kohoutek, Lubos, 153 M44, 389, 410
Hyades, 40, 84, 94, 135, 301, 389 Kohno, Kotaro, 277 M45, 19, 40, 84, 118, 135, 357,
Hynes, Steven J., 7, 40, 360, 397 Kondratko, Paul T., 231 410, 459
Hyung, Siek, 426 Kopchev, Valentin, 371 M46, 156
Kovtyukh, Valery V., 357 M47, 156
IC 405, 100 Krupp, Edwin C., 105 M50, 143
IC 410, 100 Krymkin, V. V., 116 M51, 8, 191, 206, 281–282, 283
IC 417 (Secret Deep 22), 98–101 Kuiper Airborne Observatory, 220 M53, 352
IC 418, 303 Kwok, Sun, 112, 426, 432 M54, 139
IC 431, 108 M57, 379, 432
IC 432, 108 L1482, 80 M67, 167
IC 434, 108 Large Magellanic Cloud, 141 M69, 352
IC 435, 108 Larson, Richard, 322 M72, 307
IC 1284, 346, 348, 350 Lassell, William, 364, 375 M77, 43
IC 1318(a) (Secret Deep 97), 408–412 LBN 1036, 148 M78, 282
IC 2118, 121 LDN 718-19, 61 M79, 139
IC 2149 (Secret Deep 27), 126, LDN 1265, 3 M80, 307
327, 400 Leavitt, Henrietta, 451 M81, 176, 177
IC 2177, 148, 150 Lee, Hsu-Tai, 129 M82, 175, 176, 177, 282
IC 2183, 347 Lee, Myung Gyoon, 283 M84, 250
IC 4593 (Secret Deep 71), 4, Lee, Young-Wook, 322–323 M86, 240, 249, 250, 258
301–304 Lehmann, T., 446 M87, 249, 258
IC 4690, 347 Lick Observatory Supernova M91, 188
IC 4700, 347 Search, 188, 197 M92, 322
IC 4802 see NGC 6717 Lindblad Ring, 130 M97, 209
Ikeya, Kaoru, 203 LINER, 193, 215, 223, 231, 240, M98, 188
Immortal Fire Within, The, 117, 245, 277 M102, 13, 280–282
118, 307 Ling, Alister, 417 M103, 31
Inchworm Cluster see NGC 6910 Linsenfeld, Ute, 192 M104, 209
Incredible Shrinking Nebula LkHa 101, 80, 81 M109, 11, 209–210
see NGC 6804 LkHa 234, 437 MAC 1052þ3640, 197
Infrared Astronomical Satellite Local Volume, 176 Maciejewski, G., 421
(IRAS), 76, 269, 282, 442 Loch Ness Monster see Collinder 463 Maestro, Vincente, 376
International Ultraviolet Explorer, lucidus Anguis, 301 Maria Louisa of Bourbon, 316
415 Luginbuhl, Christian, 62, 81, 164, Markarian’s Chain, 248, 258
Irwin, Judith A., 171, 197 181, 203, 367, 406, 411 Marth, Albert, 364, 375
Itagaki, Koichi, 184, 212, 216, 313 LY Aurigae, 99 Martinez-Delgado, David, 49,
Lynds 291 Cloud, 348 297–298
Jacobson, Heather R., 94 Lynds 1616, 89, 90 Mathu, C., 75–76
Jardine, Kevin, 458 Lynds, Beverly T., xii Matthews, Jaymie M., 461
Johnson, Rachel, 336, 337 Lynga, Gosta, 31 Maud, 134
Index 479
McCuskey, Sidney W., 32 NGC 1042, 48 NGC 2420 (Secret Deep 37), 166–168
McHardy, Ian, 192 NGC 1052, 48 NGC 2451, 462
Megeath, Thomas, 437–438 NGC 1084 (Secret Deep 8), 48–50 NGC 2655, 259
Méchain, Pierre, 210, 258, 280–282, NGC 1245 (Secret Deep 9), 52–54 NGC 2665, 44
307, 331, 356 NGC 1295, 431 NGC 2775, 28
Medhi, Biman J., 32 NGC 1300 (Secret Deep 10), 56–58 NGC 2808, 139
Meloche, Stéphane, 462 NGC 1333, 69, 79 NGC 2841, 28, 201, 202
Meloy, Debra, 244 NGC 1342 (Secret Deep 11), 60–62 NGC 3077 (Secret Deep 39), 175–178
MERLIN, 231 NGC 1393, 67 NGC 3079 (Secret Deep 38), 170–173
Mermilliod, J.-C., 94 NGC 1398, 28 NGC 3165, 181
Messier, Charles, 6, 61, 209, NGC 1400 (Secret Deep 12), 64–67 NGC 3166 (Secret Deep 40), 181
210, 258, 280–282, 307, NGC 1402, 67 NGC 3169 (Secret Deep 41), 184
331, 356 NGC 1407 (Secret Deep 13), 64–67 NGC 3198 (Secret Deep 42), 186–188
Metlova, Nataliya, 184 NGC 1435, 326 NGC 3226 (Secret Deep 43), 190–194
Michard, R., 222 NGC 1491 (Secret Deep 14), 69 NGC 3227 (Secret Deep 44), 190–194
Migliardi, M., 211 NGC 1514 (Secret Deep 15), NGC 3432 (Secret Deep 45), 196–199
Mihos, J. Christopher, 249 74–77, 153 NGC 3521, 28
Millennium Star Atlas, 99 NGC 1535, 66, 111 NGC 3675 (Secret Deep 46), 201–203
Minkowski, Rudolph, 152 NGC 1579 (Secret Deep 16), 79 NGC 3892, 207
Mira, 43 NGC 1746, 84–85 NGC 3893 (Secret Deep 47), 205–207
Mirabel, I. Felix, 394 NGC 1750 ¼ NGC 1746 (Secret NGC 3896, 206
Miraldi, Jean-Dominique, 61 Deep 17), 83–86 NGC 3953 (Secret Deep 48), 10
Mitchel, R. J., 181 NGC 1758 (Secret Deep 18), 83–86 NGC 3959, 9
Mitchell, Larry, 5, 152 NGC 1788 (Secret Deep 19), 88–91 NGC 4036 (Secret Deep 49), 214–216
Moiseev, Alexei V., 49 NGC 1807 (Secret Deep 20), 93–96 NGC 4041, 216
Mon R2 giant molecular cloud, 130 NGC 1817 (Secret Deep 21), 93–96 NGC 4051 (Secret Deep 50), 218–222
Mossakovskaya, L. V., 446 NGC 1851, 139 NGC 4111 (Secret Deep 51), 218–219,
Motta, Mario, xiii, 2, 20, 21, 27, 131, NGC 1907, 100 222–223
294, 349, 383 NGC 1909, 121 NGC 4147 (Secret Deep 52), 225–228
Mu Cephei, 443 NGC 1931 (Secret Deep 23), 98, NGC 4293 (Secret Deep 53), 230–232
Murdin, Paul, 393 101–102 NGC 4361, 125
mythology NGC 1999, 21 NGC 4414 (Secret Deep 54), 234–236
of Canes Venatici, 276 NGC 2022 (Secret Deep 25), 111–114 NGC 4435 (Secret Deep 55), 238–242
Lacerta, 445 NGC 2023, 108 NGC 4438 (Secret Deep 56), 238
of Pisces, 27 NGC 2024, 108 NGC 4443 see NGC 4461
of Leo Minor, 196–197 NGC 2112, 119 NGC 4450 (Secret Deep 57), 244–246
NGC 2149 (Secret Deep 28), NGC 4458, 249
Nagler, Al, 2 128–130, 131 NGC 4461 (Secret Deep 58), 248–251
Nagler, Alison, 54 NGC 2170 (Secret Deep 29), 128, 131 NGC 4473 (Secret Deep 60), 257–260
Nagler, David, 54 NGC 2182, 132 NGC 4477 (Secret Deep 61), 257
Natural History, 301 NGC 2183, 132 NGC 4565, 24, 25
NGC 55, 23 NGC 2185, 132 NGC 4624, 263
NGC 131, 24 NGC 2244, 441 NGC 4636 (Secret Deep 62), 262–266
NGC 134 (Secret Deep 2), 23–25 NGC 2261, 143 NGC 4664, 263
NGC 188, 167, 421 NGC 2264, 441 NGC 4665 (Secret Deep 63), 262–266
NGC 253, 23 NGC 2281 (Secret Deep 30), NGC 4753 (Secret Deep 64), 268–270
NGC 300, 23 134–136 NGC 4754, 272
NGC 457, 443 NGC 2298 (Secret Deep 31), 1, 138 NGC 4762 (Secret Deep 65), 272–274
NGC 488 (Secret Deep 3), 27–29, NGC 2316 (Secret Deep 32), 81, NGC 5005, 276
202 143–145 NGC 5033 (Secret Deep 66), 276–278
NGC 654 (Secret Deep 4), 31–33 NGC 2335, 148 NGC 5193, 206
NGC 659, 31, 33 NGC 2343 (Secret Deep 33), 147–150 NGC 5195 (Secret Deep 67), 7, 12,
NGC 663, 31, 33 NGC 2346 (Secret Deep 34), 152–154 175, 191, 268, 280–285
NGC 752, 36, 167 NGC 2353, 147, 148, 149 NGC 5466 (Secret Deep 68), 287–290
NGC 936 (Secret Deep 7), 43–46 NGC 2359 (Secret Deep 35), 156 NGC 5839, 292
NGC 941, 44, 45 NGC 2362, 101, 456 NGC 5845, 292
NGC 955, 44 NGC 2371-2 (Secret Deep 36), NGC 5846 (Secret Deep 69), 5,
NGC 991, 48 161–164 292–294
NGC 1022, 48 NGC 2392, 166 NGC 5846A, 292
NGC 1035, 48 NGC 2403, 313 NGC 5850, 292
480 Index
NGC 5906, 296 NGC 7538 (Secret Deep 108), Pepper, Joshua, 53
NGC 5907 (Secret Deep 70), 296–299 454–459 Pérez-Torres. M. A., 277
NGC 6144 (Secret Deep 72), 306–310 NGC 7538 S, 455 Perseus OB2 association, 80
NGC 6207 (Secret Deep 73), 312–314 NGC 7635, 70 Phantom Frisbee see NGC 3079
NGC 6229 (Secret Deep 74), 316–319 NGC 7790 (Secret Deep 109), Pickering, Edward, C., 123–124, 302,
NGC 6293 (Secret Deep 75), 324 461–463 326–327, 329
NGC 6309 (Secret Deep 76), 125, NGC 7793, 28 Pickering, William Henry, 117
326–329 Northern Lagoon Nebula see NGC Phillips, J. P., 451
NGC 6356 (Secret Deep 77), 331–333 7538 Pinkney, Jason, 258
NGC 6522 (Secret Deep 78), 335–339 Northern Trifid see NGC 1579 Pleiades see M45
NGC 6528 (Secret Deep 79), 331, Norton’s Star Atlas, 191 Pliny the Elder, 301
335–339 Nova Aurigae (1902), 100 Poe, Edgar Allen, 170
NGC 6530, 441 Pogge, Richard W., 215
NGC 6541, 322 observatories Polakis, Tom, 428
NGC 6543, 303, 449 Armagh, 400 Pons, Jean-Louis, 316, 318
NGC 6563 (Secret Deep 80), 341–343 Dearborn, 426 Poor Man’s Double Cluster see NGC
NGC 6589 (Secret Deep 81), 345–349 Dunsink, 400 1807 & 1817
NGC 6595 (Secret Deep 82) European Southern, 49 “Prize Comet” Globular see NGC
NGC 6590 see NGC 6595 Harvard College, 191 6229
NGC 6638 (Secret Deep 83), 352–354 Leiden, 393 Pyatunia, Tamara Borisovna, 148–149
NGC 6664 (Secret Deep 84), 356 National Radio Astronomy, 393 Pyramids of Giza, 105
NGC 6712, 307 Yerkes, 425
NGC 6717 (Secret Deep 85), 352, 360 Odenkirchen, Michael, 287, 288 quasar, 254
NGC 6751 (Secret Deep 86), 364 Okazaki, Kiyomi, 184 Queen’s Reflection, The,
NGC 6755 (Secret Deep 87), 369–372 Olcott, William Tyler, 108 see Collinder 463
NGC 6756 (Secret Deep 88), 370–373 Olguin, L., 302 QX Cassiopeiae, 461, 462
NGC 6778 (Secret Deep 89), 375–377 O’Meara
NGC 6781 (Secret Deep 90), 379–381 Donna, xiii, 418 Ramya, S., 49
NGC 6785 see NGC 6778 Stephen James, home in Volcano, Reinmuth, Karl, 263
NGC 67691, 421 Hawaii, 3, 4 Reipurth, Bo, 348
NGC 6804 (Secret Deep 91), O’Meara 1 (asterism), 397 Reliquary see NGC 6811
383–386 O’Meara 2 (asterism), 397 Rey, H. A., 364, 375
NGC 6811 (Secret Deep 92), O’Meara 3 (Secret Deep 94), 396–398 Reynolds, Ron, 132
388–390, 396 O’Meara 5 (asterism), 367 Rho Ophiuchi (dust cloud), 306–307
NGC 6842, 431 Omicron Cygni, 396 Richstone, Douglas, 258–259
NGC 6891 (Secret Deep 95), 376, Orion–Eridanus Superbubble, Riddle, Dave, 120, 121
400–402 129–130, 132 Ridpath, Ian, 134–135, 196
NGC 6894 (Secret Deep 96), 404–406 Orion–Monoceros Complex, 129–130 Ring Nebula see M57
NGC 6905 (Secret Deep 98), 414–418 Orion Mystery, The, 105 Rizzo, Jose Ricardo, 157
NGC 6910 (Secret Deep 99), 408–411 Orion Nebula see M42 Rix, Hans-Walter, 245
NGC 6939 (Secret Deep 100), 420–423 Orion OB associations, 88, 109, 116, Roberts, Isaac, 118
NGC 6946, 420 129–130 Rodrigues, Irapuan, 394
NGC 7009, 303 Orion Spur, 394 Rosado, Margarita, 153
NGC 7026 (Secret Deep 101), Orion’s Belt see Collinder 70 Rosa-Gonzalez, Daniel, 175–178
425–428 Orion’s False Loop, 120 ROSAT, 293
NGC 7048 (Secret Deep 102), 129, Rosse, Lord (Third Earl), 143, 181,
430–433 Palomar 9 see NGC 6717 186, 248–249, 296, 298, 400,
NGC 7129 (Secret Deep 103), Panuzzo, Pasquale, 241 449
435–439 Paper-Kite Galaxy see NGC 4762 Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer, 192
NGC 7133, 436, 437 Parker, Stuart, 25 Rout, Bruce, 187
NGC 7144, 436 Parsamyan, Elma S., 143 RR Lyrae gap, 353
NGC 7160 (Secret Deep 104), 437, Parsons, Lawrence (Fourth Earl of RS CVn, 278
441–443 Rosse), 182 RS Sagittarii, 342
NGC 7209 (Secret Deep 105), Parsons, William see Rosse, Lord Rucinski, S. M., 421
445–447 Patel, Nimesh A., 437 Russeil, Delphine, 456
NGC 7331, 431 Patrick Starfish see NGC 1245
NGC 7354 (Secret Deep 106), Pease, Francis G., 79–80, 317, 384 Sabbadin, F., 112
449–452 Peek-a-Boo Nebula see NGC 7048 Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, 139, 141
NGC 7510 (Secret Deep 107), Peña, Jose H., 61, 446 Saika, D. J., 171
454–459 Peniche, Rosario, 446 Saint Januarius, 390
Index 481
Saint Veronica’s napkin, 184 SS Lacertae, 446 Cophenhagen Observatory’s
Samson, W. B., 32 Starfest, 312 11-inch, 84
Sandage, Alan, 268 Star Lizard see NGC 7209 Earl of Crawford’s 6-inch Simms
Sandell, Göran, 455–456 Star Wars, 44 Equatorial refractor, 400
Santa’s Sleigh see NGC 6664 Stefanik, Robert P., 446 ESO 3.6-meter, 66
Scarborough, Charles, 276 Steiman-Cameron, Y., 269 Harvard College Observatory’s
Schmidt, Edward G., 357 Stephan, Édouard Jean-Marie, 129, 8-inch f/5.5 Bache refractor,
Schmidt, Maarten, 254 182, 365, 430–431 123, 301
Schmidt, Wayne, 358 Stingray (NGC 1342), 60 Harvard College Observatory’s
Schröder, Klaus-Peter, 126 Stock 2 (Secret Deep 6), 39–41 9-inch f/12 Alvan Clark
Schwarz, Hugo E., 379 Stock 8, 98–101 refractor, 74, 111, 166, 188, 312
Sciortino, Salvatore, 40 Stock, Jürgen, 40, 100 Harvard College Observatory’s
Scutum Star Cloud, 357 Straizhys, Vitautus, 84, 85 15-inch Merz and Mahler
Seagull Nebula see IC 2177 Struve, F. G. Wilhelm, 108 refractor, 282
Sea Robin see NGC 1342 Subramaniam, Annapurni, 53 Harvard College Observatory’s
Secchi, Angelo, 265 supernovae 24-inch Bruce, 317
Senkbeil, G., 153 1950C (in NGC 5033), 278 Hubble Space (HST), 308, 21, 57,
Serling, Rod, 226 1963P (in NGC 1084), 50 66, 112, 113, 124, 139, 153,
Serpentine Column see Collinder 70 1965i (in NGC 4753), 270 162, 171, 176, 177, 182, 187,
Seyfert, Carl K., 219 1966J (in NGC 3198), 188 202, 215, 235, 240, 241, 244,
Seyfert galaxies, 171, 192, 215, 1974g (in NGC 4414), 236 245, 255, 258, 283, 293, 297,
219–220, 245, 277–278 1976G (in NGC 488), 29 302, 307, 322, 323, 327, 336,
Shapley, Harlow, 317 1976K (in NGC3 227), 194 337, 353, 366, 401, 426, 450
Shara, M. M., 337 1965i (in NGC 4753), 270 Isaac Newton 2.5-meter, 415
Sharpless 296, 148 1984E (in NGC 3169), 184 James Clerk Maxwell, 332
Sharpless 2-276 (Secret Deep 26), 1984R (in NGC 3675), 203 Lassell’s 48-inch f/9 speculum-
116 1985L (in NGC 5033), 278 metal Newtonian, 364, 375
Sheehan, William, 117, 118, 307 1994D, 212 Lick Observatory’s 12-inch
Shen, Mong, 336 1996an (in NGC 1084), 50 refractor, 347
Shevchenko, V. S., 410 1998dl (in NGC 1084), 50 Lick Observatory 36-inch, 80, 431
Shibasaki, H., 203 1999bw (in 3198), 187 Lick Observatory’s Crocker, 117
Sidus Hyantis, 301 2000ch (in NGC 3424), 197 Lick Observatory’s 36-inch
Sigma Orionis Cluster, 109 2001dp (in NGC 3953), 211 Crossley reflector, 161, 302,
Sil’chenko, Olga K., 183, 214–216 2001gd (in NGC 5033), 278 317, 365, 431
Silk Fan Cluster see NGC 6939 2003cg (in NGC3169), 184 Marseille Observatory’s 31.5-inch
singularity, 393 2003gs (in NGC 936), 45 silvered glass reflector, 129,
Skiff, Brian, 62, 81, 164, 181, 203, 2004A (in NGC 6207), 313 182, 430
360, 367, 406, 411 2006bp (in NGC 3953), 212 Motta’s 32-inch, 21
Slipher, Vesto, 219 2007gi (in NGC 4036), 216 Mount Wilson 60-inch, 79, 317, 384
Sloan Digital Sky Survey, 288 2009gi (in NGC 134), 25 NOAO 4-meter, 240
Slotegraaf, Auke, 358 2009H (in NGC 1084), 50 Paris Observatory’s 12-inch west
Smith, H. E., 393 suprahorizontal-branch (SHB) equatorial refractor, 435
Smith, Horace A., 353–354 stars, 337 Rosse’s 72-inch Leviathan at Birr
Smith, Kester W., 21 Swift, Lewis, 347 Castle, 181, 400, 449
Smith, Robert C., 126 Swimming Alligator Cluster Spitzer Space, 144, 240, 437, 451
Smoke Ring Cluster see NGC 6811 see NGC 7160 Steward Observatory 61 inch
Smyth, Admiral William Henry, Kuiper, 163
43, 95, 101, 108, 113, 148, Taraskin, Yu M., 148–149 Subaru 8-meter, 66
150, 181, 184, 193, 201, Taurus–Auriga Cloud complex, 80 Swedish European 1.5-meter
272, 316, 321, 383, 385, Taurus dark clouds, 84 Submillimeter, 342
420, 423 Teacup Cluster see NGC 6664 Tele Vue
Snowball Nebula see NGC 6804 telescopes 4-inch, Genesis, 2, 75, 178,
Snowglobe see NGC 5466 “antique” (Ross of London) 292, 296
Soker, Noam, 405 1¾-inch, 20 5-inch refractor, 3, 19, 292
Son of M76 see Secret Deep 89 Arcetri Observatory’s 11-inch Pronto, 120
Southern Ring see NGC 6563 Amici refractor, 326 Vainu Bappu, 269
Spider, The see IC 417 Burnham’s 6-inch Alvan Clark & Very Large, 24, 44, 192
Splinter Galaxy see NGC 5907 Sons refractor, 425 Very Large Array, 197, 231, 293
Spolaor, Max, 66 Canada–France–Hawaii 3.6-meter, WIYN 0.9-meter, 167
“SpongeBob Squarepants,” 54 21, 226 WIYN 3.5-meter, 240
482 Index
Telescopium Herschelii (Herschel’s Ulvestad, James S., 220 Wang, Zhong, 177
Telescope), 134 Uttely, Phil, 192 Warner and Swasey Observatory, 100
Tempel, Wilhelm, 326–327, 329 Waterbug Galaxy see NGC 5033
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 134 V376 Cassiopeiae, 20 Webb, Rev. Thomas W., 114, 412,
The Stars: A New Way to see Them, V497 Cephei, 442 414, 426
364, 375 V633 Cassiopeiae (LkHa 198), 20 Webster, B. Louise, 393
Thean, A. H. C., 277 V651 Monocerotis, 153 Weedman, Daniel W., 313
Thor’s Helmet see NGC 2359 Valenti, E., 353 Wheeler, John, 393
Torres, Guillermo, 446 van den Berg, Sidney, 18 Whipple, Fred, 166
Tran, Daniel, 365 van den Berg 1 (LBN 578) (Secret Whirligig see NGC 488
Trees, Brad, 389 Deep 1), 18 White-Eyed Pea see IC 4593
Trinchieri, Ginevra, 293 van der Marel, Roeland, 245 Widow’s Web Cluster see NGC 7790
Trumpler 1, 31 Van Dyk, Schulyer D., 198 Wilson, B. A., 130
Trumpler 37, 441 Vansevicius, V., 410, 446 WIYN Open Cluster Study, 167
Trumpler, Robert J., 61, 148, 167, Vázquez, Roberto, 124, 125 Wolf, Max, 96
389, 420, 461 Veil Nebula, 119 Wolf–Rayet stars, 157, 415, 426, 456
classification system for open Vela supershell, 130 Wood, Larry, 20, 71, 81, 386, 417
star clusters, 389 Velusamy, T., 144 Woolley, Sir Richard, 336
Tully, R. Brent, 24, 210 Verne, Jules, 181 Wozniak, Herve, 273
Twilight Zone, The, 226 Virgil, 301 WR 157, 456
Twinkling “Comet” see NGC 2420 Virgo cluster, 258
Two Micron All Sky Survey Vlasyuk, V. V., 215 Yakut, K., 442
(2MASS), 100, 101, 139, Vollmer, Bernd, 239 Yoshizawa, Masanori, 135
227, 455 Vorontsov-Vel’Yaminovof, B. A., 415
VV Cephei, 443 Zhang, Xiaolei, 264–265
U Cygni, 396 Zhu, Zi, 336
UGC 5983, 197 W Saggittarii, 339 Zinn, Robert, 321
UHURU (satellite), 392 Wagner, R. Mark, 197 Zucker, Daniel B., 405
Index 483

Deep-Sky Companions - The Secret Deep

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The Secret Deep

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Cambridge University Press

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O’Meara, Stephen James, 1956–

To Daisy Duke, such a joy,

And in memory of Milky Way, Miranda-Pyewacket, and Pele,

1 About this book 1

2 The Secret Deep 17

The Secret Deep checklist 473

Messier Caldwell Hidden Treasures Secret Deep

Open star clusters 27 28 38 23

About this book 1

2 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 3

4 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 5

6 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 7

8 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 9

Open Cluster Globular Cluster Planetary Nebula Bright Nebulae Galaxies

10 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 11

12 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 13

14 Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep

About this book 15

The Secret Deep 17

RA: 00h 11.0m

v d b 1 i s a l i t t l e - k n ow n r e f l e c - star catalogues covering the northern and

vdB 1 nebula with stars of similar magnitude

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The Secret Deep 21

RA: 00h 30.4m

n g c : Very bright, large, very much

n g c 134 i s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y, Nevertheless, NGC 134 is a treasure that’s

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RA: 01h 21.8m

n g c : Pretty bright, large, round,

n g c 488 i s a s m a l l b u t b e au t i f u l I first encountered NGC 488 in Burn-

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RA: 01h 44.0m

n g c : Cluster, irregular figure, rich,

Ne x t t o t h e b i g d i p p e r , t h e w o f That’s where you’ll find five open clusters.

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RA: 01h 45.7m

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RA: 02h 14.7m

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The Secret Deep 41