Target Type R.A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size C48 (NGC 2775) Spiral Galaxy 09h 10m 20s +07° 02′ 17″ Cancer 10.2 4.2×3.4 arcmin Overview This spiral galaxy was discovered by William Herschel in December 1783, who described it as “Considerably bright [and] considerably large”. This is a lovely object to track down in Cancer and especially […]
Challenge #2 – C48, Spiral Galaxy in Cancer Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size M67 (NGC 2682) Open Cluster 08h 53m 44s +11° 48′ 00″ Cancer +6.9 25.0 arcmin Overview Sometimes known as the King Cobra or Golden Eye Cluster, M67 was discovered by Kohler in sometime between 1772 and 1779. Messier recorded it for himself in April 1780. Messier was
M67, Open Cluster in Cancer Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size M44 (NGC 2632) Open Cluster 08h 40m 24s +19° 40′ 00″ Cancer +3.1 70.0 arcmin Overview The Beehive Cluster, also known as Praesepe, is unusual in that it is brighter than any of the stars in its home constellation. Easily seen with the naked eye, M44 is
M44, The Beehive Cluster in Cancer Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size Zeta Cancri Multiple Star 08h 12m 13s +17° 38′ 53″ Cancer +5.6, 6.0, 6.1 n/a Overview We finish March’s observation challenges with a nice double in the constellation of Cancer, the crab. This is a nice double star hunt for even a small telescope but it contains
Zeta Cancri (Famous double star in Cancer) Read More »
Although Cancer has very few bright stars – only two shine brighter than magnitude 4 – but three of the brightest make great targets for double star hunters. The image below, from SkySafari 6 shows the star field to magnitude 9, all of which are visible in a moderate scope under a dark sky. This
Double Stars in Cancer Constellation Read More »
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size M44 Open Cluster 08h 41m 34s +19° 35′ 37″ Cancer +3.1 70.0 arcmin Cancer constellation is riding high in evening skies right now, making it the perfect focus for our three challenges this month. In this first challenge, we are looking for one of the brightest objects
Beehive Cluster (M44) Read More »
