U 320
07:44 to 08:16
-17° to -28°
Pup

FEATURED OBJECTS: NGC 2447, Ru 32, Ru 34, Ru 33, NGC 2452, NGC 2453, Ru 36, Haff 25, NGC 2455, Wray 17-8, Ru 37, Haff 16, Ru 38, Ru 39, NGC 2467(Ben 37a), Haff 18, Haff 19, Ru 41, NGC 2482, NGC 2479, Tr 9, NGC 2483, Ru 42, NGC 2509, Haff 21, Ru 46, Ru 49, Sanduleak 2-21, Ru 53, Haff 22, Ru 57.

NGC 2447
M 93, Mel 76, Cr 160, Rb 63
RA 07:44:35
Dec -23°51.0'
Open cluster

This bright open cluster in the Puppis Milky Way was discovered by Messier in March 1781. He described it as "a cluster of small stars without nebulosity... between Canis Major and the prow of Navis" Messier gave the apparent size as 8'.

In the Appendix to the 1912 'Scientific Papers of Sir William Herschel' this object is described as "1784, November 20. A cluster of scattered stars, pretty close and nearly of a size, the densest part of it about 15' diameter, but the rest very extensive."

h: "A fine cluster, scarcely scattered, pretty rich, not much more compressed in the middle. Nearly fills field. Stars 8..13th mag."

Burnham describes the cluster as "smaller but brighter than M46; the central mass being distinctly triangular or wedgeshaped with outer branches and scattered sprays of stars to a diameter of about 24'" Burnham mentiones that K G Jones, writing in "Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters", perceives the over-all appearance of the cluster as a butterfly with open wings. Hartung speaks of M93 as a beautiful cluster which merges into a rich starfield, containing "many small pairs, triplets and elegant groups, including two orange stars Sp"

Webb calls it "a bright cluster in a rich neighborhood" and Admiral Smythe wrote of it as "a neat group of a star fish shape... S.p. portion being brightest, with individuals of 7-12 mag... Mistaken for a comet by Chevalier d'Angos of the Grand Master's Observatory in Malta"

Houston notes that the cluster is visible to the naked eye under excellent sky conditions. He writes: "my 4-inch refractor showed M93 as 14' in diameter, but a 10-inch reflector made it up to 24' across."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Bright, large, rich, somewhat compressed, 59 stars of mags 9 to 13 counted at 100X. This cluster is triangularly shaped. An unusual feature of M-93 is that there are few stars in the middle, this "black hole" effect can be seen in all the observations I have ever made of this cluster."

Tom Lorenzin: "6.2M; 20' diameter; appears knotty with many vari-colored stars; 50-plus 8 thru 13M members; 1.5 degrees NW of 3.5M multiple Xi PUP."

Donald J. Ware: "Another fine open cluster. It is about 20' in diameter with a distinct triangular or wedge shape. Composed of about 50 stars, it is fairly well concentrated, with a moderate range in magnitudes of the stars."

11x80: "An open cluster, in a rich field, in two parts. The first is a triangular, capital-A shaped compact grouping, 8 arcmin long oriented SE-NW. This A-shape of brightish stars is rather lop-sided in shape, like the Star Trek com-badge/logo. Averted vision clearly shows the second, much larger, component of the cluster extending generally east and north of the A-section. This part is a discrete, delicate scattering of small stars, growing to cover an area 20 arcmin across.
The western extent of the cluster is difficult to pin down since it simply fades away into the extremel rich background. The eastern and southern boundaries, however, are more clearly delineated, by what appears to be dark nebulae. Several dark areas in the field, especially in a line to the south of the cluster. (exurban skies, seeing good; some scintillation; lim mag about 10.7 at pole; daytime view reasonably crisp) [AS]

10-inch f/5 Newtonian: A 10-inch f/5 at 30x shows that this very interesting cluster's brightest members are a very wide pair on the southwestern edge; this double also points southwest. The brightest cluster members form an isoceles triangle on the western edge of the cluster, while the eastern part has less stars. Overall, the stars are irregularly distributed, being more dense on the one side; the stars seem to lie in three arch-shaped gatherings. (suburban skies) [AS]

Ru 32
ESO493-SC009
RA 07:45:10
Dec -25°32.2'
Open cluster

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, not rich, not compressed, 21 stars counted at 135X. There is one star of about 9th mag and then the main grouping is magnitudes 11 and dimmer."

Ru 34
ESO560-SC010, Berk 38
RA 07:45:53
Dec -20°22.7'
Open cluster

The SAC 4.0 database comments: "Asterism?"

Ru 33
ESO560-SC011
RA 07:45:57
Dec -21°57.0'
Open cluster

NGC 2452
ESO493-PN011, PK243-01.01
RA 07:47:25
Dec -27°52.9'
Planetary nebula

Discovered by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. His discovery entry, taken during Sweep No. 769 reads: "An object whose nature I cannot make out. It is certainly not a star, nor a close double star; but it is not round, and I should call it an oblong planetary nebula, by reason of its decidedly marked though somewhat dim outline, were there not some suspicion of its being double, as if a very close and highly condensed double nebula. It is very small and rather faint, 8 arcseconds long, 5 arcseconds broad, and equals a star of 10th mag. In a field with at least 60 or 80 stars, all sharp and well defined but this. (N.B. The PD open to uncertainty, as the telescope rests on the gallery, and I cannot get it low enough for bisection.)" His second observation was recorded as "Planetary nebula. In a field with, and south of a cluster, and on a rich ground is the undefined object of Sweep 769. It is no doubt a very faint, small, round planetary nebula, 4 arcseconds, or, at the very utmost, 5 arcseconds diameter and = in light to a star 11th mag. There is an appearance of elongation, but this is probably owing to one or more extremely extremely small stars, as the field is full of such. All the other stars are sharp, and the definition to-night is perfectly good." The NGC records it as "planetary nebula, faint, small, slightly extended and lies amongst 60 stars." Dreyer quotes Burnham in the Notes to the NGC as commenting: "Not planetary, but bi-nuclear"

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Bright, pretty large, bright middle, round at 270X. This planetary was immediately recognized as non-stellar at 135X. The central bright section was never stellar at any power. The nebula was a light green color. It is located on the south side of the open cluster NGC 2453."

AJ Crayon, using an 8" f6 Newtonain, notes: "is another planetary nebula. It is 20"x10" 12m, in position angle north, has a star at its north edge and is with NGC 2452 10' north, at 100X. This nebula is best seen with a UHC filter, a dark hood and averted vision while waiting for moments of good seeing."

NGC 2453
Cr 162
RA 07:47:46
Dec -27°13.0'
Open cluster

h: "a small but condensed cluster, Class VII. Pretty rich. Diameter 3'. (This is the cluster referred to, as in the field with the Planetary Nebula [NGC 2452])."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty small, pretty compressed, not rich. I counted 17 stars, one of 10th mag and the others from 11 to 13. The 10th mag star is a nice dark yellow at 135X. This cluster was just seen in the 11X80 finder."

AJ Crayon, using an 8" f6 Newtonain, notes: "is an open cluster. It is 5' 9m, has a 10m star, a 9m star at the northwest edge, a 10m star to the southeast edge and 15* 12...13m limit in glow of unresolved star, at 100x. Don't forget to look for NGC 2452 10' south."

Ru 36

RA 07:48:30
Dec -26°16.0'
Open cluster

Haff 25
ESO493-SC015
RA 07:48:39
Dec -25°57.1'
Open cluster

NGC 2455
Mel 77, Cr 163, Rb 64
RA 07:48:59
Dec -21°16.0'
Open cluster

h: "Irregular cluster, pretty rich, not much compressed in the middle, 10', stars 12th mag nearly equal. General middle taken."

Tom Lorenzin: "11M; 5' diameter; small and fairly rich; 40-plus 12M and dimmer members."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, pretty rich, somewhat compressed, 26 stars of mags 11 to 13 counted at 100X."

Wray 17-8
ESO493-PN019
RA 07:49:37
Dec -27°35.6'
Planetary nebula

Ru 37
Berk 40
RA 07:49:53
Dec -17°15.0'
Open cluster

Haff 16

RA 07:50:17
Dec -25°25.0'
Open cluster

Ru 38
ESO560-SC017
RA 07:50:28
Dec -20°11.3'
Open cluster

Ru 39
ESO560-SC018
RA 07:52:19
Dec -22°26.7'
Open cluster

NGC 2467
Bennett 37a
Cr 164 / Gum 9, RCW 16
RA 07:52:35
Dec -26°22.0'
Open cluster / Bright nebula

This curious nebulosity was discovered by William Herschel (H IV-022) in 1784. Using an 18.7-inch f/13 speculum telescope, he called it "L, pB, R, easily resolvable, 6 or 7' diameter, a faint red colour visible. A star 8mag not far from the center, but not connected. By second observation, 9 or 10' diameter."

Burnham says in small telescopes the object appears as a hazy glow some 4' across, surrounding an 8th magnitude B-type star. The star mentioned in both descriptions is HD 64315 with a photographic magnitude of 8.9.

Steve Coe, in SACNEWS On-Line for February 1996, writes: "NGC 2467 is bright, pretty large, pretty rich, 31 stars counted at 100X. This cluster was easy in the 11X80 finder. The star cluster is very nice and would generate observers if it were alone, but there is some bright nebulosity associated with this cluster. The nebula was seen without the UHC filter to start, but adding the filter made the nebula much better. There is a bright, round spot of nebulosity on the southwest side of the cluster and several pretty bright streaks on the northeast sections. Covering my head with a dark cloth and using the UHC filter, I could see that the entire field of view was nebulous to some degree. To top is off, there are several dark lanes winding there way through this region. Take a look at this little known cluster with nebulosity at 7 hr 52.6 min and -26 23."

William P. Clarke (San Diego, California, USA) writes in the The Webb Society Nebulae and Clusters Section Report No. 10, July 1992: "A round glow with a bright star near the centre and a dark lane running east-west through the northern section. A broad, faint extension runs ENE. Many faint stars within the field, even with an O III filter in place. (21-inch f/20, x140)."

AJ Crayon, using an 8" f6 Newtonain, notes: "is a cluster with nebulosity. This large open cluster is not well defined in the 8" telescope. It appears to be 5' with 20 stars from 11m to 13m limit of the telescope, at 100x. There is an isoceles triangle of 8m stars that frames a glow of unresolved stars. The nebula Sharpless 311 is 10' southwest of the triangle of stars. In short I don't see a large open cluster here!"

Also known as Minkowski II-8, Colin Gum included it in his catalog of southern HII regions as number 9. He notes that the object is distinctly separated from the background Milky Way in which it lies, and measures 10' x 5' on photographs he took of it. He placed it in Class II of his classification system of nebulae, which contains objects "irregular in shape with associated dark matter..." Gum notes that the object has a faint "tail" about 30' long with the exciting star (HD 64315) in the bright "head". In the 1960 RCW catalog, the authors include it as RCW 16, call it "bright", and give its dimensions as 33' by 33'. They describe it as a "circular region." Lynds notes that the nebula is more prominent on the red Palomar plate, on which it measures 8' x 7'. It is possibly part of the Puppis OB1 association. The cluster associated with the nebula is Collinder 164.

12-inch Meade, 40mm eyepiece, 53' fov: Roundish, remarkable gaseous even glow, very large and bright with a prominent star about 7 to 8 magnitude embedded just off center in this nebula. To the northwest a few faint stars group together, looking hazier towards the south. Many faint stars in the field. [MS]

Haff 18
ESO493-SC026
RA 07:52:37
Dec -26°23.0'
Open cluster

Haff 19
ESO493-SC028
RA 07:52:45
Dec -26°16.8'
Open cluster

Ru 41
ESO493-SC031
RA 07:53:47
Dec -26°58.1'
Open cluster

NGC 2482
Cr 166
RA 07:54:53
Dec -24°17.0'
Open cluster

Discovered in 1785 by William Herschel (H VII-010) "a very large cluster of scattered stars, considerably rich and compressed, more than 15' diameter."

h: "a very rich milky way cluster, or mass of stars, 10, 11 and 12th mag, diameter 20'. The neighbourhood is rich, but much less so than this cluster."

Listed by the Herschel Club, described as "some 50 stars, large, fairly rich, stars of similar magnitude, no definite shape. 8-inch, 48x."

Tom Lorenzin: "8M; 18' diameter; large and scattered; 50-plus faint members; 80' ENE of 3.5M multiple Xi PUP."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, pretty rich, somewhat compressed, 26 stars counted at 100X. This cluster has stars of mags 11 to 13 in an outline that is elongated 3X1 NW-SE."

NGC 2479
Cr 167
RA 07:55:04
Dec -17°42.0'
Open cluster

Discovered in 1790 by William Herschel (H VII-058) "a pretty compressed and rich cluster of small stars, iR, 7 or 8' diameter."

Listed by the Herschel Club, described as "some 40 stars, small, faint, roughly circular, stars of similar magnitude, stands out well. 8-inch, 48x."

Tom Lorenzin: "11M; 8' diameter; fairly rich and small; 40-plus faint members."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, pretty rich, somewhat compressed, 10 stars of mags 11 and 12 with many faint backround stars at 100X."

Tr 9
ESO494-SC005, Harvard 2, Cr 168
RA 07:55:39
Dec -25°53.0'
Open cluster

Trumpler (Lick Obs Bul, Vol 14, No. 420) gives the diameter as 5' and the class as 2 3 p. He notes: "Found on Franklin-Adams Chart. Pretty well marked small group of about 15 bright and faint stars, slightly irregular."

Tom Lorenzin: "10M; 9' diameter; faint and sparse with 20-plus 11M and dimmer members"

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Pretty bright, pretty large, not rich, not compressed, 22 stars of mags 11 to 13 counted at 100X."

NGC 2483

RA 07:56:00
Dec -27°55.0'
Open cluster

h: "Cluster 8th class. Large, loose and straggling. A milky way cluster."

10-inch f/5 Newtonian: This cluster lies in an extremely rich milky way field, and at the first glance through a 10-inch f/5 at 30x, it appears like two lines of stars crossing at 90 degrees. There are about 5 or 6 stars in each line. Higher powers confirm this impression, bringing the starcount to 12. The exact edges of the cluster are not defined, and the background starfield here is extremely rich in faint small stars. The clearest impression is of two crossing lines of faint stars. A very strange object. (suburban skies) [AS]

Ru 42
ESO494-SC008, Berk 41
RA 07:57:36
Dec -25°55.1'
Open cluster

NGC 2509
Mel 81, Cr 171, Rb 68
RA 08:00:47
Dec -19°03.0'
Open cluster

Discovered in 1783 by William Herschel (H VIII-001) "a cluster of coarsely scattered stars. The place is that of the most compressed part which is not in the middle."

Listed by the Herschel Club, described as "some 40 stars counted, nice small cluster, quite rich, some bright stars, most are faint. 8-inch, 48x."

Tom Lorenzin: "10M; 4' diameter; small, bright, rich and compact; 40-plus 10M and dimmer members."

Steve Coe, observing with a 13" f/5.6, notes: "Bright, pretty large, pretty rich, compressed, 39 stars of mags 10 to 13 counted at 100X. This cluster can just be seen in the 11X80 finder."

Haff 21
ESO494-SC011
RA 08:01:08
Dec -27°12.5'
Open cluster

Ru 46
ESO561-SC008
RA 08:02:10
Dec -19°28.0'
Open cluster

Ru 49
ESO494-SC015
RA 08:03:14
Dec -26°46.4'
Open cluster

Sanduleak 2-21
ESO561-PN016
RA 08:08:42
Dec -19°14.0'
Planetary nebula

Ru 53
ESO494-SC032
RA 08:10:54
Dec -26°59.9'
Open cluster

6-inch f/8.6 Newtonian: Not too impressive in the 6-inch. Its pretty obvious that this is a cluster, about 3.5 arcmin on one side, just not a rich one. In the sweeper, there are three stars aligned north-east to south-west, with small stars on either side. Higher powers shows the cluster as a coarse grouping of a few large and several small stars; the brightest stars are in a row, and exhibit no colour. There's a curve of stars off to the west, appearing detached from the main grouping. (exurban skies, 6.0 (naked eye), seeing very good) [AS]

Haff 22
ESO430-SC024
RA 08:12:26
Dec -27°54.2'
Open cluster

Ru 57
ESO494-SC037
RA 08:15:05
Dec -26°58.4'
Open cluster