Observations

It was excellently clear this evening with magnitude 5.9 stars "easily" visible in Cygnus. If anything the conditions tonight were better than during my last observing session.

My plan for the evening was to look at open clusters in Cepheus, including some rather faint ones. Finding such objects is always a bit of a challenge against a rich Milky Way background. Faint star associations can look like a diffuse object to averted vision so false alarms and self-misleading observations are always a danger.

NOTES

This cluster was easy to locate since it was involved with the triangle formed by delta, zeta, and epsilon Cephei. It was relatively compact and has a bright (probably foreground) star involved. Averted vision showed some of the member stars, but it was obvious that many remain unresolved. Despite the rich field the cluster still stood out fairly well. Nice view.

NOTES

I couldn't confirm a sighting of this object. I did see a suspicious foggy area in the right location but the richness of the Milky Way background made it difficult for me to be sure it was the cluster. I did notice a line of four fairly bright stars in a distinct row involved with my suspect cluster. That would be something to look for again in a larger instrument. This object was also easy to locate because it was in the same distinctive triangle as NGC-7235.

NOTES

I couldn't help but notice this nice double as I scanned around the vicinity. The primary is one of the most famous variable stars in the sky (the prototype Cepheid variable). The secondary was quite far from the primary—easily split with my 25mm—and it had a bluish color making for a striking contrast.

NOTES

This cluster was right near a somewhat bright star. It showed up pretty easily in the 'scope although the rich background made the view a bit tricky. With direct vision the cluster appeared as a dusky patch. Averted vision showed a number of member stars and more fuzz as well. Nice view.

NOTES

This cluster was involved with a fairly bright star so it was easy to find. In the finder 'scope the cluster looked like a fuzzy star. This was not a particular dramatic looking object. Direct vision showed several fairly bright stars collected together. Averted vision showed quite a few background stars as well, although glare from the foreground stars confused things a bit.

NOTES

Nice view. In the 25mm this cluster looked like a ghostly fog with a few sugar sprinkles. There were some fairly bright stars near the object, but I suspect that they were not cluster members. Averted vision showed a few cluster members although mostly it remained diffuse. The cluster seemed fairly large.

NOTES

These clusters were plotted in SkyAtlas 2000 as diffuse nebula right near NGC-7142. I didn't expect to see them but to my surprise I was able to see a distinct fuzzy blob in the right location for NGC-7129 using the binoculars! I put the scope on the object and found a small cluster of a few stars surrounded by more fuzz than seems explainable by glare. When I later checked the NGC catalog I noticed that this object is listed as a "cluster + nebula". In retrospect I have to say that I was observing the object. It did not look particularly stunning, however. I didn't see anything that might have been NGC-7133 although I didn't look for it either.

NOTES

This cluster was easy to find because it was right near a relatively bright star. The cluster showed up to some degree in the binoculars although it would have been difficult to confirm it as a cluster there. In the telescope, however, it was obvious. In fact, it was a nice object. Quite a few stars were resolving and there was clearly quite a few more that were not. Despite the rich field, the cluster stood out nicely. The cluster appeared to have a 'V' shape.