Sky and Telescope - January 2018 - 64

Binocular Tour

Capella

M38
M36
M37

"the Waves"

β Tau Elnath

p ROMAN CHARIOTEER Using your binoculars, see if you can spot
"the Waves" and the other clusters during the long January nights.

angular core inside a rough box of bright boundary stars.
Returning to Alpha Persei one last time, follow the tightening spiral of Delta (δ), 48, Mu (μ), and b Persei to the constellation's eastern "hand", which holds a challenging cluster
of clusters. NGC 1528 (Stop 8) is the easiest to ﬁnd, 1° northwest of b Persei, and it's bright and isolated so you'll deﬁnitely
see it. NGC 1545 is trickier - at magnitude 6.2 it's technically a hair brighter even than NGC 1528, but its diffuse light
tends to be overwhelmed by a 7th-magnitude foreground star.
For an even greater challenge, follow a lovely trail of stars
southwest of NGC 1528 and see if you can spot 8th-magnitude NGC 1513. The two clusters form the diagonal corners
of a rectangle with the stars b and Lambda (λ) Persei. NGC
1513 is both small and distant, and catching it in anything
other than big, mounted binos requires clear, dark skies and
excellent dark adaptation. Good hunting!
From Lambda Persei, shoot southeast past Mu Persei and
53 Persei to ﬁnd NGC 1582 (Stop 9). Big and sparse, this open
cluster is more recognizable as a distinct object at low power.
If your binoculars resolve the cluster, look for two curving
arcs of stars, like a loosely wound barred spiral galaxy.
Less than 1° south of NGC 1582 lies m Persei (57 Persei),
64

JA N UA RY 2 018 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

a great multiple star for small binoculars. The close pair form
a true binary system, and with a separation of 121″ they are
nicely split even at 7×. That binary pair forms a wide optical
double, only coincidentally aligned, with 7th-magnitude HD
28782, which lies 442″ almost due east.
As long as you're scanning eastward, go 3° farther to
ﬁnd the open cluster NGC 1664 (Stop 10 on the map on p.
65), approximately halfway between 59 Persei and Epsilon
Aurigae. This small cluster is somewhat challenging - several
foreground stars on its southern border are brighter. Magniﬁcation, patience, and averted vision should allow you to
separate the cluster from its neighbors.
Epsilon Aurigae forms a long, narrow triangle with Eta
and Zeta (ζ) Aurigae. Four degrees south of Eta and Zeta
you'll ﬁnd NGC 1778 (Stop 11). Like NGC 1664, NGC 1778
is a small open cluster, barely more than 10 light-years in
diameter. And it lies even farther away, 4,800 light-years
from Earth, versus 3,900 light-years for NGC 1664. In 7×50
binoculars all I see is a tiny wisp of light. The cluster starts to
resolve in 15×70s, which show its brighter stars in the shape
of a check mark.
My guideposts to central Auriga are a couple of gently
curving chains of stars that I call the Waves (Stops 12 and
13). The western one is longer and brighter and includes several 4th- and 5th-magnitude stars, particularly 14, 16, and 19
Aurigae. The smaller eastern wave, which lies northeast of its
sister, includes 5th-magnitude Phi (φ) Aurigae but is otherwise made up of nameless 6th- and 7th-magnitude stars. The
Waves are naked-eye visible under reasonably dark skies, and
they point the way to celestial treasures.
Just off the southern end of the eastern wave is the open
cluster NGC 1893 (Stop 12), a challenging object, but worthy
of careful study. The average distance to Messier and Caldwell
q THE BIG, THE BRIGHT, AND THE BEAUTIFUL M36, M37, and
M38 are three open clusters that sparkle in Auriga. M37 is the brightest of the three, while M38 is the biggest. But they are all beautiful
specimens of their class of object.

M36

TOP: A K IR A FUJII; BOT TO M: A N THON Y AYIO M A MITIS

Auriga

Sky and Telescope - January 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - January 2018