Here I am pointing out an overlooked object. It's not in the Herschel 400, the Caldwell catalog, nor the original New General Catalogue. It lies less than 3º from the easily visible (4.2m) star CS Camelopardalis, which is itself a ridiculously overlooked (double) star in the 'unfashionable' constellation of the giraffe. CS Cam doesn't have a Bayer letter designation, or even a Flamsteed number and lies an unmeasurable distance away. Still, IC 289 is a lovely little(!) 12th magnitude planetary nebula - the same magnitude technically as the Owl nebula in Ursa Major, which I find a bit hard to reconcile. The nebula itself is actually over the border in Cassiopeia. There are some lovely coloured stars in the field. There is a weird pattern over to the left, which is the Southern side, centred on a 9th magnitude brightish star. Moving slightly toward the corner, there appears to be a streak or 'hair' next to the 14th magnitude star. This is actually a little row of 5 stars, all in a neat line, that are just unresolved. Just below the 9th magnitude star is a faint reddish galaxy, looking a little smudgy. I find this image an exciting little exploration of space! Details: 20" @ f/3, ISO1600, 2½' on Canon EOS 350D, linear.
Monday, 15 February 2010
IC 289
Here I am pointing out an overlooked object. It's not in the Herschel 400, the Caldwell catalog, nor the original New General Catalogue. It lies less than 3º from the easily visible (4.2m) star CS Camelopardalis, which is itself a ridiculously overlooked (double) star in the 'unfashionable' constellation of the giraffe. CS Cam doesn't have a Bayer letter designation, or even a Flamsteed number and lies an unmeasurable distance away. Still, IC 289 is a lovely little(!) 12th magnitude planetary nebula - the same magnitude technically as the Owl nebula in Ursa Major, which I find a bit hard to reconcile. The nebula itself is actually over the border in Cassiopeia. There are some lovely coloured stars in the field. There is a weird pattern over to the left, which is the Southern side, centred on a 9th magnitude brightish star. Moving slightly toward the corner, there appears to be a streak or 'hair' next to the 14th magnitude star. This is actually a little row of 5 stars, all in a neat line, that are just unresolved. Just below the 9th magnitude star is a faint reddish galaxy, looking a little smudgy. I find this image an exciting little exploration of space! Details: 20" @ f/3, ISO1600, 2½' on Canon EOS 350D, linear.
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