U 407
16:24 to 17:12
-39° to -50°
Ara, Nor, Sco
May-Aug

FEATURED OBJECTS: NGC 6124, NGC 6134 (Ben 76), Hogg 19, NGC 6153, NGC 6164, NGC 6165, NGC 6169, NGC 6167 (Ben 79a), Ru 120, NGC 6178, Lynga 11, NGC 6188, NGC 6192 (Ben 79b), NGC 6193, Ru 121, NGC 6200, Hogg 20, Hogg 21, NGC 6204, Hogg 22, vdBH 197, West 1, Lynga 13, NGC 6216 (Ben 81), vdBH 200, NGC 6227, NGC 6231, Cr 316, Lynga 14, Ru 122, NGC 6242, vdBH 205, Tr 24, IC 4628, NGC 6249, NGC 6250, NGC 6259, vdBH 211, NGC 6268, Harvard 13, IC 4637, ESO278-SC002, ESO332-SC022.

NGC 6124
Mel 145, Cr 301, Rb 111
RA 16:25:18
Dec -40°39.2'
Open cluster

This open cluster was discovered by Lacaille and included in his 1755 catalogue as Class I No. 8. In his half-an-inch 8x telescope he saw it as "a fairly big tailless comet."

James Dunlop observed this object from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 514 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a round cluster of small stars of nearly equal magnitudes, about 12' diameter, considerably congregated to the centre, not rich in small stars. This answers to the place of 44 Normae, but there is no nebula."

h: "cluster, bright, large, loosely scattered, not much compressed in the middle, fills nearly a field, consists of about 50 or 60 stars 9..11th mag." On a second occassion he wrote "Viewed; a brilliant cluster class VII.; p rich, L, irregularly scattered, fills field, stars 8,9,10,11th mag."

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 25' and the class as 1 3 r. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 6.5 mag open cluster.

Hartung: "it contains several orange stars as well as numerous pairs, triplets and small groups" and is quite well shown in a 4-inch telescope.

Tom Lorenzin, in the e-version of "1000+ The Amateur Astronomers' Field Guide to Deep Sky Observing", notes: "6M; 25' diameter; very large and bright; 70-plus 9M and dimmer members; good binocular object; if your S sky permits, look for planetary N6153 (11.5M; 25" diameter) 70' to ENE of N6124's core."

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Bright, large, round, not compressed, about 100 stars at 100X. This beautiful cluster almost fills the 30' field of view and includes several nice chains of stars and some lovely pairs of stars.

11x80: In handheld 11x80 binoculars, this is a most interesting and pleasing object. It appears as a pretty large cluster, consisting of not-too-bright stars of similar magnitude. The stars are grouped so as to form an irregular gathering, crowding together at the northern edge of the cluster. It is a remarkable object because, when sweeping quickly, the faint stars blur together, and you get the impression of vague nebulosity. When you then stop and backtrack, you immediately see the faint pinpoints of light and realize it is an open, well spread out cluster consisting of comparatively faint stars. (suburban skies) [AS]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: At 220x, this is a large, scattered cluster, about a dozen bright members and many smaller stars. It fits snuggly into a 23' field of view, and invites the eye to "connect-the-dots" and trace out asterisms, of which there are many. For example, you can find a tiny Southern Cross, a Triangulum and a Musca. The cluster is nice for creating figures, but too well spread out to be exciting as a whole. (suburban skies) [AS]

NGC 6134
Bennett 76, Mel 146, Cr 303, Rb 112
RA 16:27:47
Dec -49°09.0'
Open cluster

This cluster was discovered by Dunlop, Number 412 in his catalogue of southern nebulae.

h: "a pretty rich loose large, roundish cluster of stasr 12..14th mag, 7' diameter, not m comp M." On a second occassion he called it "VII class, rich, L, gradually a little compressed in the middle, irregularly round, 12', stars 13,14,15th mag, nearly fills field."

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 8' and the class as 2 2 r. The brightest star according to modern catalogues is magnitude 11.0, and the integrated magnitude is 7.2. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 9.0 mag open cluster.

Bennett observed it with a 5-inch short-focus refractor, including it in his list of cometary objects as number 76. His coded description describes it as irregular extended object which is fully of partially resolved into stars under a higher magnification.

10x50: Bright, four noticeable stars surrounding the cluster in mensa shape, 15' wide with 1 star resolved in the cluster (suburban skies, dew, no light pollution on horizon) [RH]

11x80: Neat! A round (irregular?) misty patch of light, 5 arcmin across, showing only a single 9.5 mag star in the south-eastern edge. Looks like a globular. (exurban skies) [AS]

11x80: “F, L (6.5'), R nebula with a star on the south-east edge. Of a soft, even light, with no concentration across the surface. Whilst sweeping for it, took it be a globular cluster. Three 8.5 mag field stars to the W, SW and S frame it nicely.” (urban; seeing good; transparency below average; dew) [AS]

2-inch refractor: At 20x, a nebulous patch, apparently on the verge of resolution. The cluster appears irregularly round, which possibly reflects the almost resolvability of the stars; although at higher powers (up to 45x), with the resulting increase in contrast, individual stars still cannot be seen. The cluster lies in an asterism of four prominent stars shown on the Uranometria 2000.0 chart. It is easy to locate, because the sourthern tip of the cluster is marked by a 9-10th magnitude star, and with the slightest averted vision, the cluster is prominent. (suburban skies) [AS]

Hogg 19
ESO226-SC011
RA 16:28:56
Dec -49°05.7'
Open cluster

NGC 6153
ESO331-PN006, PK341+05.01
RA 16:31:30
Dec -40°34.5'
Planetary nebula

Spectroscopically discovered by Copeland, this planetary nebula measures 25" across and shines at magnitude 11.5.

Burnham notes that it is "very small, faint, diam. 20", extremely faint central star." It exhibits ring structure, according to its Vorontsov-Velyaminov classification. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 11.5 mag planetary nebula.

Hartung writes: "This small nebula about 20" across is pale blue and lies at the southern corner of a small rhombus made of an orange star, a white star and a small close pair - an attractive combination. ... The nebula is easy with a 3-inch telescope."

William P. Clarke (San Diego, California, USA) writes in the The Webb Society Nebulae and Clusters Section Report No. 11, January 1993: "A small, grey disc with no visible central star, just to the south of an E-W chain of stars. (10-inch Newtonian, x80)"

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty small, round, greenish dot at 100X. There are some dark markings in the center at 320X. It is involved in an asterism that resembles Delphinus.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: The 220-power field surrounding this beautiful little planetary contains a perfect diamond asterism (similar to the Diamond Cross). The diamond is oriented west-east, and the nebula occupies the southern tip. One star of the diamond is red. The nebula appears as a colourless, perfectly round orb; no central star can be seen and the disk is featureless. (suburban skies) [AS]

NGC 6164
ESO226-EN012, PK336-00.01
RA 16:33:53
Dec -48°36.4'
Planetary nebula

The western component of the NGC 6164/6165 nebulosity.

Discovered by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "Neb violently suspected immediately preceding a double star."

Burnham: "The hot O-type star HD 148937 and its surrounding nebulosities [NGC 6164 & NGC 6165] present one of the most intriguing puzzles in the sky. This unusual complex of gas and dust lies on the Norma-Ara border .. HD 148937 lies some 4500 light-years from Earth and has an absolute visual magnitude of about -6 .. centered on the star is a strange S-shaped cloud, NGC 6164-6165, that is at least 7 light-years across. . . HD 148937 may be an older evolved O star that was wrapped in a cocoon of dust similar to that around Eta Carinae until 200,000 years ago. At that time radiation from the star broke through the absorbing shell, whose remnants are NGC 6164-6165, and began the evolution of the H II region and the cavity within it..."

Gerd Bahr-Vollrath (Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia) observing with an 8-inch f/12 SCT, writes in the The Webb Society Nebulae and Clusters Section Report No. 10, July 1992: "One of the sadly ignored southern gourmet objects. Of particular interest is the fact that we are looking at a Wolf-Rayet shell, a rare object by any standards. It is difficult to spot, as the faint nebulosity surrounds a 6th magnitude star. Clean optics and an extremely transparent night were necessary to see anything at all. Immediately visible were two, apparently disconnected, bars of nebulosity, NW and SE of the central star, hence the two NGC designations. After careful study, faint, indistinct nebulosity immediately surrounding the central star became visible, connecting the two brighter bars. A challenging object!"

NGC 6165
ESO226-EN014, Gum 52, RCW 107
RA 16:34:02
Dec -48°09.1'
Bright nebula

The eastern component of the NGC 6164/6165 nebulosity.

h: "F, S, lE, vglbM, 35 arcseconds, certain; follows a double star."

[ See NGC 6164 above for more details ]

NGC 6169
Cr 306, Mu Nor cl.
RA 16:34:05
Dec -44°02.7'
Open cluster

Discovered by h: "cluster, place of a star Mu Normae in it."

The cluster is a member of the Ara OB 1 Association. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 5.5 mag open cluster.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: According to catalogues, this cluster spans 6' of sky and shines at magnitude 7.0; from this information it would appear as if the cluster is easy to spot. However, I've never been able to see it in 11x80 binoculars or the 15.5-inch, which shows only one or two stars near Mu using averted vision at magnifications up to 650x. (suburban skies) [AS]

NGC 6167
Bennett 79a, Harvard 11
RA 16:34:16
Dec -49°46.3'
Open cluster

James Dunlop discovered this cluster from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 400 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a pretty large faint nebula, about 6' diameter, easily resolvable, round figure, with two rows of small stars following."

h: "a large irregular cluster of loose stars 11..14th magnitude which fills field; place that of an 8th magnitude star in the preceding part."

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 14' and the class as 1 3 m. Burnham calls it a loose cluster 7' diameter with 60 faint stars. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 6.5 mag open cluster.

Bennett observed it with a 5-inch short-focus refractor, including it in his list of cometary objects as number 79a. His coded description describes it as an extended object, very faint, easily missed.

10x50: Three brightest members visible, 10' ,brightness evenly spread. (suburban skies, dew, no light pollution on horizon) [RH]

11x80: Like two stars involved in faint nebulosity extending towards the north. (suburban skies) [AS]

11x80: “Three stars of differing magnitude, situated on the southern and western edge of an unresolved nebulous patch, 7' across. Although clearly seen as a nebulous object, no further detail can be discerned.” (urban; seeing good; transparency below average; dew) [AS]

2-inch refractor: At 20-power the cluster is revealed as a small, somewhat unimpressive grouping, needing averted to see details, although it is easily seen directly. The cluster is bordered on its southern edge by two very bright stars, lying on a northwest-southeast axis. Due north of the southern-most one, (in what turns out to be the centre of the cluster), lies two small stars, and due north of these lies another 10th magnitude star. This latter star marks the apparent end of the cluster. Because of the position of these brighter stars, the cluster appears triangular, although at times there seems to be an elongation slightly towards the east, making it square in shape. The general shape is clearly dictated by the brighter stars. Due north of the cluster lies a pretty wide double, which is shown on the Uranometria 2000.0 charts. (suburban skies) [AS]

6-inch f/8.6 Newtonian: “In the sweeper, appears as a regular bunch of large and small stars, with a prominent arc of stars to the SSE. At 144x, 16 stars are readily counted in this trapezium shaped grouping, measuring 4' x 2' in PA 45°. At the southern corner of the trapezium is a close knot of 4 stars. Although it is a distinct, bright grouping, it is star-poor. It bears magnification well, but has too few stars to be impressive.” (exurban, lim mag 6.2 naked eye; seeing good; dew!) [AS]

8-inch SC Meade: With a super-wide 18mm eyepiece, this appears as a large open cluster with faint and bright groupings of stars running out loosely. Two bright field stars are visible to the south just outside the cluster. [MS]

Ru 120
ESO226-SC017
RA 16:35:10
Dec -48°17.3'
Open cluster

NGC 6178
Cr 308
RA 16:35:42
Dec -45°38.6'
Open cluster

Discovered by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "middle of a small group of bright stars." On a second occassion he called it "chief star 9th mag of a small bright clustering group of from 12 to 20 pretty large stars, with stragglers."

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 4' and the class as 2 3 p. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 7.0 mag open cluster.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Bright, small, not compressed, 14 stars in a nice Milky Way field at 135X.

11x80: The cluster's location is marked by a double star, but only uncertain, subjective nebulosity can be seen here with the 11x80's. The cluster lies a few degrees south of Mu Normae; between this star and the cluster lies an interesting T-shaped asterism, with the cross-bar of the T extending north south. Also look for a nice chain of stars due east of the cluster. (suburban skies) [AS]

Lynga 11
277-SC001
RA 16:38:08
Dec -46°19.0'
Open cluster

NGC 6188
ESO226-EN019
RA 16:40:04
Dec -48°39.7'
Bright nebula

The open cluster associated with this nebula, NGC 6193, was discovered by James Dunlop, observing from Paramatta, New South Wales with a 9-inch f/12 telescope. He included it as No. 413 in his catalogue of 1827. From his description, is could be concluded that he saw the nebulosity as well: "A cluster of small stars, with a bright star in the preceding side. A very considerable branch or tail proceeds from the north side, which joins a very large cluster."

Sir John Herschel observed it at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "The brightest part of a very large, faint, diffused, branching nebula, which involves in its N.f. part the star Brisbane 5789, and extends into the cluster Dunlop 413, which it in part surrounds. No doubt about the nebula, which in the brightest part of it precedes the cluster about 1 minute of time. The following stars behind the double star, and quite free of nebula. I presume the neb and cluster to be unconnected." Hartung writes: "This region of the Milky Way is obscured by dark diffuse and also faintly luminous nebular material, so that the field is only thinly scattered with rather faint stars. A fairly bright star 20' S.p. the centre of the bright cluster NGC 6193 is involved in faint nebulosity about 1.7' across which extends irregularly towards the cluster ... A clear dark night and good aperture are needed for this object." This bright nebula has a catalogued size of 20'.

Burnham writes: "A wonderful field of bright and dark nebulosity ... The brightest portion was discovered by John Herschel in 1836, and has the form of a very irregular triangle, measuring abour 20' x 12'. On the northeast side, near the apex, is located the galactic cluster NGC 6193, whose giant stars supply the illumination for the entire cloud ... the whole unearthly picture is strongly reminiscent of the famous Horsehead in Orion ... Gum found that the group is merely the centre of a vast nebulosity which has a full diameter of over three degrees."

Hartung notes: "This region of the Milky Way is obscured by dark diffuse and also faintly luminous nebular material, so that the field is only thinly scattered with rather faint stars. A fairly bright star 20' southwest of the centre of the bright cluster NGC 6193 is involved in faint nebulosity about 100 arcsec across which extends irregularly towards the cluster . . A clear dark night and good aperture are needed for this object."

Phil Harrington (1990, Touring the Universe through Binoculars) writes "To the southwest of NGC 6193 is a large region of bright and dark interstellar clouds spanning more than three degrees. The central portion of this nebula is catalogued at NGC 6188. It will prove extremely difficult to spot visually, either through binoculars or a telescope, even under optimum conditions."

Sanford writes: "There is a bright-edged nebulosity which is made difficult to see by the 6th magnitude h4876."

NGC 6192
Bennett 79b, Mel 149, Cr 309, Rb 113
RA 16:40:23
Dec -43°22.0'
Open cluster

James Dunlop discovered this object from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 483 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a cluster of very minute stars, of a round figure, about 4' diameter, following v Normae."

h: "a coarse but rich cluster of stars 11.12th mag, which leaves dark lines unoccupied, forming sections (see fig 4, Plate V)." On a second occassion he called it "Cluster VII, pretty rich, irregularly round, gbM, 10', stars 12..14th mag, a straggling group."

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "Milky Way, coarse cluster of about 50 pretty bright stars, diameter 10'."

The NGC records it as "pretty large, pretty rich, irregularly round, consisting of 11th-14th magnitude stars." Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 7' and the class as 1 3 m. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 8.5 mag open cluster.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Bright, pretty large, pretty rich, somewhat compressed, 40 stars with many dark lanes in the cluster at 135X.

11x80: The field of the binoculars shows a large 90-degree triangle of stars, to the east of the cluster itself; the brightest star in the triangle is Mu Normae. The open cluster lies just to the west of the star opposite the hypotenuse, and appears as a nebulous patch, but does not give the appearance of being round. As your eyes rove around the field of view, glimpses of the cluster show it to be irregular - it doesn't, for example, look like a globular. No individual stars can be seen. Very conspicuous with averted vision. (suburban skies) [AS]

8-inch SC Meade: A pretty cluster, large and loose, with a selection of both bright and faint stars. Irregular in shape, it resembles an insect; one leg projects quite prominently to a more busy side of this tick-like figure. (super-wide 18mm eyepiece) [MS]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: At 220x, a moderately spread out group with quite a large brightness range. The most condensed parts of the cluster seem to lie in a large triangular shape, which itself consists of an equilateral triangle to the south and a narrow strip of stars to the north. In all, there are about 20 tenth-magnitude stars and some fainter ones. (suburban skies) [AS]

NGC 6193
Cr 310
RA 16:41:11
Dec -48°45.7'
Open cluster

James Dunlop observed this cluster from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 413 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "A cluster of small stars, with a bright star in the preceding side. A very considerable branch or tail proceeds from the north side, which joins a very large cluster."

h: "Cluster VIII; consists of about a dozen stars 10..11 magnitude, and perhaps as many less, with stragglers, which fill field. In its preceding part is a fine double star ... and yet more preceding is a very large, faint nebula, in which the preceding part of the cluster is involved." Hartung notes that "This straggling cluster needs a large field; it shows remarkable long curved chains and lobes of stars with a small group near the centre. The field is beautiful and makes a good demonstration piece which is still effective with small apertures and there is some faint nebulosity involved. The brightest star is a close pair (mag 5.6 and 8.5)..."

Burnham writes that the cluster is "a remarkable and brilliant aggregation ... the brightest star is the visual double h4876 (HD 150136), an O-type giant ... the 7th magnitude companion at 9.6 arcseconds was discovered by Herschel in 1836, and has shown no definite change in separation or PA since that time ... the close companion, at 1.6 arcseconds, was first measured in 1878. Neither star has shown any relative motion since discovery ... There is also a 10th magnitude companion at 13.4 arcseconds in PA 160 , and a fourth star at 13.9 arcseconds in PA 15 , magnitude 11. The cluster measures some 14' across and has a total magnitude of 5.2.

Hartung notes "this straggling cluster needs a large field; it shows remarkable long curved chains and lobes of stars with a small group near the centre. The field is beautiful and makes a good demonstration piece which is still effective in small apertures and there is some faint nebulosity involved [NGC 6188]. The brightest star is a close pair (5.6, 8.5, sep 1.5 arcsec pa 20 deg)."

Phil Harrington (1990, Touring the Universe through Binoculars) calls it a "rich open cluster of 30 stars, although binoculars may not show that many. The brightest cluster member is the quadruple star h4876, first catalogued by John Herschel. The system's primary sun is a 6th mag landmark to watch for when searching for the cluster. Unfortunately, its companion stars are either too faint or too close to it to be detectable in binoculars. To the southwest [lies] NGC 6188."

Sanford writes of it as "a scattered star cluster involved with faint nebulosity which is spectacular in long-exposure photographs.

Ru 121
ESO277-SC006
RA 16:41:40
Dec -46°06.5'
Open cluster

NGC 6200
Cr 311
RA 16:44:07
Dec -47°27.8'
Open cluster

h: "a great space full of milky way stars, so thickly sown as to merit being called a cluster."

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "Milky Way, coarse cluster of few bright stars, diameter 10'."

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 8.0 mag open cluster.

11x80: “Large (17' x 4') cluster of stars, magnitudes 9, 10 and fainter. The brighter stars form an elongated grouping that lies within a nebulous haze. Quite a contrast to compare this with nearby NGC 6204.” [Query: precisely how many stars are seen? It is rrr or rr?] (urban; seeing good; transparency below average; dew) [AS]

Hogg 20
ESO277-SC009
RA 16:44:29
Dec -47°37.9'
Open cluster

Hogg 21
ESO226-SC021
RA 16:45:37
Dec -47°44.0'
Open cluster

NGC 6204
Cr 312
RA 16:46:09
Dec -47°01.0'
Open cluster

James Dunlop observed it from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 442 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "seven or eight small stars in a group, about 1' diameter, with a minute line of stars on the north side."

Observed by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "cluster moderately compressed class VIII; stars 11.12th mag; S.f. is a brilliant knot of stars, one of which is 8th mag, and the others 9th magnitude." His second observation records a "singular shaped cluster, irregularly round, compressed VII class, set as it were in a nearly rectangular frame of stars detached from cluster." He sketched the cluster, showing a roughly triangular grouping which lies isolated inside a rectangle of stars with one side omitted.

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "Rich region of Milky Way." Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 6' and the class as 2 2 m. Burnham calls it pretty rich, 5' diameter, about 25 stars mags 11... compressed in the middle, fairly well compressed and compact. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 8.5 mag open cluster.

11x80: “Cluster seen while sweeping, attached to a parallelogram (half-degree sides, two lies east-west) of 7.5-mag stars; it lies to the NW of one of these stars. pB, 3' across, irregularly round, no stars resolved, of an even light. Although the shape is vaguely roundish, is may be triangular, too, pointing to the SE. The parallelogram star to the south-east has a small companion; this 1 mag fainter star lies towards between the brighter member and the cluster.”
At roughly [16:40, -46°37’] are four small stars, 9th magnitude, in a soft, nominally round haze 7.5' across. Has the appearance of a delicate clustering. (urban; seeing good; transparency below average; dew) [AS]

Hogg 22
ESO277-SC011
RA 16:46:35
Dec -47°05.2'
Open cluster

vdBH 197

RA 16:46:47
Dec -45°49.0'
Open cluster

West 1
ESO277-SC012
RA 16:48:15
Dec -45°50.3'
Open cluster

Lynga 13
ESO277-SC013
RA 16:48:51
Dec -43°26.0'
Open cluster

NGC 6216
Bennett 81, NGC 6222, Cr 314, Rb 114, Mel 152
RA 16:49:24
Dec -44°43.6'
Open cluster

James Dunlop discovered this open cluster from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a faint nebula, about 4' or 5' diameter, irregular round figure, easily resolvable into stars; with stars of larger magnitudes scattered in the preceding side of it."

Observed by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "a pretty rich cluster of small stars, 11th mag and under, broken up into two or three groups; fills two-thirds of field." His second observation was recorded as "a round cluster of 13th mag stars, gradually brighter in the middle; 4'; with two appendages of stars, north and south, making together a long cluster." His third and final observation records it as "pretty rich, round, pretty compressed in the middle, very little brighter in the middle, 4' diameter, stars discrete 12..15th mag and fainter." This set of observations was recorded as No. 3648 (NGC 6216) in his Cape of Good Hope observations, and the three observations were made on 1 June, 1 July and 27 July, 1834. On the night of 3 June 1834, he recorded No. 3650 as a "very large, very rich cluster, not brilliant, not materially compressed in the middle, full 20' diameter, stars 12..13th mag." This object received the NGC number 6222, and is now believed to be a re-observation of NGC 6216.

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "rich region of the Milky Way." Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 3.8' and the class as 2 2 m. He notes: "Melotte 152 should be identified with [NGC 6216] and not with NGC 6222." The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a nonexistent object. Their coded description reads =6222 COLLINDER. The NGC also suggests that 6222 could be Dunlop 456, but it is now believed that this Dunlop object corresponds to NGC 6259.

8-inch SC Meade: Small, loose and faint open cluster with not a lot of stars involved. Cluster irregular and slightly extended. In a busy starfield, close to NGC 6192. (super wide-angle 18mm eyepiece) (suburban skies) [MS]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: At 220x, it appears as a very small, faint open cluster, consisting of about six slightly brighter stars surrounded by a clump of much, much fainter stars. The cluster seems vaguely triangular in shape, with the triangle's base defined by about 5 of these brighter stars. The surrounding starfield is pretty rich. (suburban skies) [AS]

vdBH 200
ESO277-SC015
RA 16:49:56
Dec -44°11.3'
Open cluster

NGC 6227

RA 16:51:35
Dec -41°13.0'
Open cluster (?)

Discovered by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "a star 5th mag in a great cluster or an immensely rich milky way patch."

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a nonexistent object. Their coded description reads NOCL S.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Faint, small, pretty compressed at 135X. This object is given as a rich Milky Way field and there are several clumps in the Milky Way at the correct position so I just chose the most prominent candidate.

NGC 6231
Baby Scorpion
Mel 153, Cr 315
RA 16:54:10
Dec -41°49.4'
Open cluster

This bright open cluster lies in a magnificent region of sky at the point where the Scorpion's tail is attached to the body. Observed by Halley from St Helena, it was discovered by Lacaille and included in his 1755 catalogue as Class II No. 13. In his half-an-inch 8x telescope he saw it as a "close group of seven or eight close faint stars."

James Dunlop observed this object from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 499 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a cluster of pretty bright stars of mixt small magnitudes, considerably congregated to thge centre, about 10' diameter, with a large branch of very small stars extended on the north side; this is 150 Scorpii."

h: "a fine bright large cluster pretty rich, class VII. 10', stars 10..13th mag. Place of a double star 5th mag, the preceding but one of 7 bright stars in the middle."

This striking and impressive object, according to Burnham, "resembles a miniature edition of the Pleiades, with a central knot of 7 or 8 bright stars. The size of this central mass is about 6' but the outlying fainter members bring the total size to something like 15'." Burnham captures the cluster well in his description of "a handful of glittering diamonds displayed on black velvet." He notes that there is very little colour in the cluster, all the brighter stars appearing brilliantly white. The cluster contains three stars brighter than 6th magnitude, seven stars between 6th-7th magnitude and six stars between 7-8th magnitude.

The NGC records it as "bright, considerably large, pretty rich, consisting of stars of 10th-13th magnitude." On photographs is measures 14' and is visible to the naked eye at magnitude 2.6. Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 16' and the class as 1 3 r. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 8.5 mag open cluster.

Harrington writes that "one glance will immediately tell you that this object is something special ... when viewed with an 8-inch telescope at low power, about a quarter of its stars shine between magnitudes 5 and 13. The remaining suns, all fainter and unresolved, surround these in a wedge of celestial mist. Larger apertures and higher magnifications resolves some of the cloudiness into even more stars."

Tom Lorenzin, in the e-version of "1000+ The Amateur Astronomers' Field Guide to Deep Sky Observing", notes: "6M; 15' diameter; brilliant 5M star overlays 100-plus 10M members; cluster H-12 1.5 degrees to NE; reference- chart BCH-III-1725; add the Zeta SCO crowd and this area makes a terrific binocular field; see the field as the "Baby Scorpion" which clings to the back of its mother's tail."

Donald J. Ware:"This cluster is only about 15' in extent, but has over one hundred stars blazing in this small area. According to Burnham's Celestial Handbook, if this cluster were the same distance from us as the Pleiades, it would appear about the same size as that cluster, but it would be about fifty times brighter, and its brightest members would shine as bright as Sirius!"

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Very bright, large, rich, compressed and irregular in shape at 100X. This easy naked eye object is a fuzzy spot located where the curve in the scorpions' tail starts. It is an excellant binocular field that includes several bright stars and a rich mixture of dimmer members.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: The 220-power eyepiece shows a truly beautiful cluster of 6-8 very bright members and about twenty 10th magnitude stars. Careful viewing shows many smaller stars dispersed inbetween these brighter members. The stars display a considerable brightness range, and lie well spread out. The general impression is of a triangular shape, borne out by looking at the cluster out of focus. The cluster is clearly distinguished from the background by its sheer brightness. The bright triangle of the multiple Zeta Sco lies due south in the same field of view. The cluster lies in the bend of Sco tail. (suburban skies) [AS]

Cr 316
ESO332-SC008
RA 16:54:43
Dec -40°42.5'
Open cluster

Lynga 14
ESO277-SC018
RA 16:55:03
Dec -45°14.4'
Open cluster

This open cluster was discovered by G. Lynga. It measures 2' across, has an integrated magnitude of 9.7 and consists of only 15 stars. Trumpler described this cluster as detached from the background starfield, weakly concentrated toward the centre, small range in brightness and star poor.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: At 220x, a very small cluster, consisting of 6 faint (about 11th magnitude) stars arranged in a bow-shaped arc which points towards an 8th magnitude star shown on Uranometria Chart 407. (suburban skies) [AS]

Ru 122
vdBH 202, ESO332-SC009
RA 16:55:07
Dec -40°56.8'
Open cluster

NGC 6242
Mel 155, Cr 317, Rb 115
RA 16:55:32
Dec -39°27.7'
Open cluster

This open cluster was discovered by Lacaille and included in his 1755 catalogue as Class I No. 10. In his half-an-inch 8x telescope he saw it as an "elongated faint oval spot."

James Dunlop observed this object from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 520 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a cluster or group of small stars, about 4' diameter, with branches extending S.p. and N.f., with considerable compression of the stars towards the centre of the group. This answers to the place of 155 Scorpii, but there is no nebula."

h: "cluster VI class, B, L, rich, discrete, 12', irregular figure, vlbM, fine object; place of a red star 9th mag, rest 11th mag, white." On a second occassion he called it "a fine large rich cluster, class VII, stars 9..12th mag, fills field, place of a red star 8-9th mag in centre." His third observation was recorded as "a p rich brillaint cluster of stars 10...12th mag, with one 7-8th mag near middle."

The NGC records it as "Bright, large, rich, composed of stars 8-11th magnitude." Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 11' and the class as 1 3 m. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 8.0 mag open cluster.

Hartung calls it "a scattered star group about 10' across, somewhat extended north-south with a bright orange leader 2.5' S.f. ... merges into a fine field."

Tom Lorenzin, in the e-version of "1000+ The Amateur Astronomers' Field Guide to Deep Sky Observing", notes: "10' diameter; bright, large and rich; 40-plus 8 thru 11M members; 1.5 degrees SSE of 3M star pair, Mu 2 & 1 SCO."

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Bright, pretty large, rich, elongated 'V' shape, 12 bright stars and several dozen fainter stars at 100X.

10x50: Small, rich and condensed; many faint stars resolved (suburban skies) [RH]

11x80: The cluster is easy in 7x50 binoculars as a roughly triangular nebulous patch with 1 bright reddish star. In 11x80s it is very easy as a round puff of light with a bright star attached. (suburban skies) [AS]

2-inch refractor: Low power shows a small, compact open cluster; at first glance, triangular in shape, with a bright star on its eastern edge. Direct vision shows 5 other cluster members, not counting the eastern leader, whilst averted shows a whole sea of small stars. Casual impression is of an elongated (sausage-shaped) nebulosity with a very bright tip. Two of these brighter stars in the cluster form a small isoceles triangle with the eastern leader. (suburban skies) [AS]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: With a 15.5-inch reflector the cluster has 8 or so bright stars and numerous fainter ones, arranged so as to appear elongated north-south. In fact, the cluster appears to be divided along a north-south line by a starless strip, the western half containing the brighter stars (including the red one), whereas the eastern strip has only one pretty bright star, situated on its northern tip. At this magnification, the cluster is not well separated from the background stars, and is mostly notable for its striking red member on the southern tip. (suburban skies) [AS]

vdBH 205
ESO332-SC012
RA 16:56:09
Dec -40°40.0'
Open cluster

Tr 24
Cr 318, Harvard 12, ESO332-SC?013
RA 16:56:39
Dec -40°35.0'
Open cluster

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 60' and the class as 4 3 mN. He notes: "Mentioned by Barnard (Bd.Atl. pl 16) as a group of stars about 1 degree in diameter. IC 4628 refers to nebulosity involved in the northern part of the cluster."

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Very bright, extremely large, irregular in shape at 60X. This huge cluster just fits into the one degree field of the 13" with a 2" eyepiece. The entire Milky Way field is rich and this object stands out with a dozen bright stars and about 100 dimmer stars. Another designation for this object is H 12.

2-inch refractor: The boundaries of this cluster are ill-defined, and at 20x the region appears as a very busy scattering of large and small stars. (suburban skies) [AS]

4-inch refractor Meade ED APO: A scattered cluster, loose association, just north of NGC 6231 and connected to it by a visible chain of stars. Beautiful at 54x. (suburban skies) [EF]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: At 220x, this very large cluster appears spread out so that the edges are ill-defined; it should be more pleasing in smaller instruments. (suburban skies) [AS]

IC 4628
ESO332-EN014, Gum 56
RA 16:56:57
Dec -40°27.0'
Bright nebula

First noted by E E Barnard, this nebulosity is involved with Trumpler 24.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Faint, large, very large, very elongated on the northern edge of open cluster Trumpler 24. This nebula is about 15' X 30' in size and can barely be seen without the UHC. The filter makes a big difference and really enhances the contrast of this gas cloud.

NGC 6249
Cr 319
RA 16:57:41
Dec -44°48.7'
Open cluster

Discovered by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "cluster VIII class, coarse, p rich, stars 9..12th mag." On a second occassion he called it "VII class, p rich, loose irregular figure, large and small stars, 9..15th mag, 10' long, 7' broad."

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "Milky Way, coarse cluster of a dozen pretty bright stars, and many faint stars, diameter 10'." Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 7' and the class as 2 2 p. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 9.5 mag open cluster.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty small, not compressed, 15 stars at 100X.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: At 220 power this strange gathering looks more like an asterism of 10 stars than an open cluster. It is difficult to see which stars are cluster members and which are field stars. Centering on the cluster's position, one sees four stars forming a False Cross-asterism, to the northwest a tiny parallelogram made up of four stars, and to its northeast 3 stars lying in a curve. Dotted around these are many, much fainter stars. (suburban skies) [AS]

NGC 6250
Cr 320 / BHe 79A
RA 16:57:55
Dec -45°56.2'
Open cluster/Bright nebula

h: "Cluster class VIII; loose and straggling; place that of a double star in central more condensed group; has a 8th mag star S.f. 5' and another 7th mag more remote."

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "Milky Way, coarse cluster of half a dozen bright stars, and many faint stars, diameter 15'."

Phil Harrington (1990, Touring the Universe through Binoculars) calls it a "poor harvest of about 15 stars, with the brightest being about 8th mag. Large binoculars should be used to positively identify this weak 8' diameter open cluster. A few individual points of light can be seen against the glow of unresolved stellar members."

11x80: Binoculars show a faint small grouping of stars, not particularly well resolved, with a few brighter members. In the same field, to the north-east, lies a miniature southern Cross asterism. (suburban skies) [AS]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: 220-power shows a rich starfield containing a large number of bright stars. Two bright stars shown just outside the cluster on the Uranometria chart lie to the east of a 9th magnitude star which marks the cluster. This 9th mag star is surrounded by a three-quarter circle of eight 11th magnitude stars. This arc appears to be in two parts; there are three dim stars forming a right-angled triangle around, and to the south of, the 9th magnitude star, and a westerly curve of stars starting north of this star. This cluster lies amidst a starfield of about six 8th magnitude stars. (suburban skies) [AS]

NGC 6259
Mel 158, Cr 322, Rb 117
RA 17:00:41
Dec -44°39.3'
Open cluster

James Dunlop discovered this object from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 456 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "a very large patch of strong nebula, about 20' long, and 16' broad, rich in small and extremely minute stars."

h: "a superb, vL, v rich cluster, which fills field; R, vglbM, stars 11..12th mag, thickly sown at intervals from each other from 10 to 20 arcseconds." On a second occassion he called it "vL, v rich, fills more than a field, has one or two straggling appendages p and s; stars 11 and 12th mag, nearly equal."

Bailey, examining a Bruce plate (Harvard Annals, Vol 72, No 2), describes it as "Milky Way, coarse cluster of several hundred faint stars, diameter 20'." Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 16' and the class as 4 2 r. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 8.5 mag open cluster.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Bright, large, very rich, round, reminds me of NGC 7789 in Cassiopeia at 100X. This cluster is cut into pieces by dark lanes.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: A quarter of a degree field shows a cluster consisting of pretty faint stars that appears well spread out, the stars evenly distributed. It is not very well detached from the moderately rich starfield. (suburban skies) [AS]

vdBH 211
ESO332-SC?016
RA 17:02:10
Dec -41°06.4'
Open cluster

NGC 6268
Cr 323
RA 17:02:10
Dec -39°43.7'
Open cluster

James Dunlop discovered this object from Paramatta, New South Wales, and included it as No. 521 in his catalogue of 1827. Using a 9-inch f/12 telescope, he described it as "2 rows or lines of pretty bright small stars in the parallel of the equator, with a multitude of minute stars resembling a faint nebula, 5' diameter."

h: "cluster, rich, pL, brilliant, 8', stars irregularly scattered 10..12th mag, place of a double star in the following angle of a triangular condensed group." On a second occassion he called it "a p rich irregular cluster of nearly = stars 10th mag, not mbM, 7'."

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 7' and the class as 2 2 p. The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a 9.5 mag open cluster.

Steve Coe, observing with a 17.5" f/4.5 at 100X, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty small, somewhat rich, irregular in shape at 100X. This cluster is a long star chain with a few other members forming branches to the chain.

10x50: Small blury blob, very faint. (suburban skies) [RH]

11x80: Quite easily seen as a small glow with maybe two stars included. (suburban skies) [AS]

2-inch refractor: At 20x this cluster is very interesting; although small and faint, it looks like a dull glow. Careful examination with averting to the wide pair of stars to the east, shows a striking long chain of stars through the centre, running north-east south-west. It appears like a broken line of equally bright stars, the number indeterminate. There are three star chains; the central one (mentioned above) is flanked by two more: the western one only has three members, and is of the same length. The chain to the east is much shorter. A truly strange cluster because no other stars excepting the chain member can be seen! In all, a poor cluster, with one large prominent chain of equally bright stars flanked by 2 lesser chains. (suburban skies) [AS]

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: A 220-power eyepiece shows a poor cluster which is elongated west-east. In fact, it appears to be nothing more than 2 loose chains of stars, side by side. The northern chain terminates in a triangle of stars, and the southern chain has a pair of star, of which the southern most one is slightly red. The majority of stars are of a similar magnitude with a few considerably fainter ones also present. (suburban skies) [AS]

Harvard 13
ESO227-SC003
RA 17:03:49
Dec -48°04.9'
Open cluster

IC 4637
ESO332-PN021, PK345+00.01
RA 17:05:08
Dec -40°05.7'
Planetary nebula

Also known as Fleming 95, this planetary was discovered by Fleming at Harvard Observatory on the basis of its spectrum.

Burnham calls it "very small, faint and appears nearly stellar with a diameter of only 10 arc seconds. Magnitude 13.5." The VorontsovVelyaminov category describes it as having an irregular disk.

15.5-inch f/9 Newtonian: In a field of view 23' across, a bright star lies on the southern edge and a 9th mag star on the northern edge (both stars are shown on Uranometria Chart 407). In the centre of the field is a rectangle of stars, with the major axis aligned west-east. The "star" on the north-eastern corner is the planetary, in magnitude it is similar to the star opposite it (at the south-western corner) and brighter than the other two stars of the rectangle, but it has a definite disk, clearly seen at 220x. It glows at about 11th magnitude.(suburban skies) [AS]

ESO278-SC002

RA 17:06:14
Dec -46°07.3'
Open cluster

ESO332-SC022

RA 17:07:28
Dec -40°48.8'
Open cluster