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 …
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 …
Target Type R. A. Dec. Constellation Magnitude Size M67 Open Cluster 08h 52m 25s +11° 43′ 22″ Cancer +6.9 25.0 arcmin Our second Cancer constellation challenge is also an open cluster, but M67 is harder to see because it is both smaller and fainter than the Beehive Cluster. Overview M67 is an unusual cluster because …
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 …
