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December Targets

These are deep sky targets seen from Caltech 8-10PM Local in December.

Object Alternative Names Type Brightness Surface Brightness Size Suggested Telescope/Eyepiece Notes Links for More Information
Pleiades M45, Subaru open cluster 1.6 11.1 110' >= 8" with 32mm+ eyepiece 100 Myr-old star cluster, 440 lyr away, containing ~500 members total. Astropixels SEDS Wikipedia
Orion Nebula M42 emission nebula 4.0 13.1 85' x 60' >= 8" with 32mm+ eyepiece Bright emission nebula inside the nearest star-forming region. The four 1 Myr-old "Trapezium" stars at the heart are responsible for ionizing the surrounding gas and making it glow. 1.3 klyr away. Astropixels SEDS Wikipedia
Double Cluster NGC869 + NGC884 Caldwell 14 Open Cluster 3.8 10.9 60' >= 10" Two bright, resolved star clusters side by side. Need wide FOV. Both are young clusters, 7 klyr away, ~14 Myr old, containing luminous B stars Astropixels SEDS Wikipedia
Owl Cluster NGC457, Dragonfly Cluster, ET Cluster Open Cluster 6.4 12.6 13' >= 8" 10 klyr distant cluster shaped like a bird with wings, with two bright stars for eyes. Brightest of "eyes" is foreground star, dimmer is a cluster member Starchart Wikipedia
Andromeda Galaxy M31 Spiral galaxy 3.4 13.4 178'x63' >= 10" Can only see core in telescope, appears as faint, white cloud. 2.5 Mlyr distant. Similar in mass and luminosity to Milky Way. Moving toward us at 70miles/s; Collision expected in 2.5 Gyr Astropixels SEDS Wikipedia
Christmas Tree Cluster NGC2264, Cone Nebula Open Cluster 3.9 8.25 20' >= 8" Young star cluster embedded in faint emission nebula; 2.6 klyr away, ~3 Myr old; brightest member is a binary O star SEDS Wikipedia
Almach Gamma Andromedae Double Star 2.3 and 5.1 - 10" apart >= 6" Often considered the most beautiful high color contrast double star visible. 350 lyrs away. Redder and brighter star is a K giant, secondary star is itself an unresolved triple star system with A and B dwarfs. Wikipedia
Topic revision: r1 - 2016-07-04 - OutreachAdmin
 
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