Sky & Telescope - November 2023 - 56

DSS2 ALL SKY SURVEY
NOVEMBER 2023 OBSERVING
Suburban Stargazer
Trumpler 2
FEDORA AND FAN The slender form of the
open cluster Trumpler 2, which the author has
dubbed the Fedora, is distinctive in suburban
telescopes. Less than 1° southwest of the
Fedora is a broad asterism he calls the Fan.
The Fedora
tion of its 12.0-magnitude neighbor 41″
south really surprised me. And something
even more surprising caught my
eye 10′ farther south.
The 8-inch had captured three
The Fan
ARY 72. The refractor picked up a
9.3-magnitude companion 69.2″ east
(the C component) and another 35.3″
southwest (B) of magnitude 10.0. The
8-inch reflector added a tighter and
dimmer duo 2′ farther southwest. Its
9.8- and 11.2-magnitude stars, 25″
apart, were a cinch at 41×. I noted a
very similar pair on the rim of the hat
to the east. Official binaries? No, but
they added flair to my Fedora.
Faint Fanfare
A 40′-wide asterism I call the Fan
sits 1° west-southwest of Trumpler 2.
The handheld fan is suggested by five
roughly equally spaced stars curving
southeastward from brightest (magnitude
6.5) to faintest (magnitude
9.0). The fan's straight western side is
augmented by 7.9-magnitude HD 15345,
a yellow-orange star sporting two
10.7-magnitude attendants. Together
they form a triangle 107″ across. The
bottom of the fan is marked by a single
8.8-magnitude star.
Every star in the Fan's arc-of-five has
a mate. The westernmost point, Σ268,
features a 6.7-magnitude primary and
a 8.5-magnitude secondary 2.9″ to the
southeast. The pair was a close split in
the refractor at 129×. Only 12′ east,
Σ270 consists of 7.0- and 9.7-magnitude
56 NOVEMBER 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE
stars 21.3″ apart - easy at 30×. Turning
to my larger scope for the other three
(strictly unofficial) doubles, I nabbed
the 6.8-magnitude #3 star with its
10.5-magnitude outlier 2.6′ west-southwest,
and the 8.6-magnitude #4 star
holding an 11.3-magnitude flanker 82″
northwest. The 9.0-magnitude #5 star
was obvious, but my successful detecDouble
Cluster Plus
Object
Type
NGC 884
NGC 869
OΣΣ 25
Σ230
Stock 2
OΣΣ 26
HJ 2143
NGC 957
Tr 2
ARY 72 AB
ARY 72 AC
Σ268
Σ270
Open cluster
Open cluster
Double star
Double star
Open cluster
Double star
Double star
Open cluster
Open cluster
Double star
Double star
Double star
Double star
anonymous pairings arranged in a squat
triangle 11′ wide, oriented east-west.
The magnitudes of the six stars range
from 10.6 to 11.3, and the three pairs
display separations of 18″, 22″, and
33″. The reflector at 41× resolved them
just well enough to catch my attention.
Increasing to 75× resulted in three
distinct doubles in one field of view. In
my refractor, they were fuzzy spots at
30× but clean tandems at 100×. It was a
satisfying sight.
A suburban sky can be soupy (mine
sure is), yet despite the light there are
lots of accessible attractions in Double
Cluster country. So, folks, double down
and get scoping!
¢ Contributing Editor KEN HEWITTWHITE
enjoys deep-sky rambles even
amid city lights.
Mag(v)
6.1
5.3
6.5, 7.4
7.9, 9.4
4.4
7.0, 7.3
8.1, 9.6
7.6
5.9
7.7, 10.0
7.7, 9.3
6.7, 8.5
7.0, 9.7
Size/Sep
18.0′
18.0′
102.8″
23.8″
60′
62.9″
23.5″
10.0′
20.0′
35.3″
69.2″
2.9″
21.3″
RA
2h 22.1m
2h 19.1m
2h 16.9m
2h 14.9m
2h 15.6m
2h 19.7m
2h 33.5m
2h 33.4m
2h 37.3m
2h 36.9m
2h 36.9m
2h 29.4m
2h 30.8m
Dec.
+57° 08′
+57° 09′
+57° 03′
+58° 29′
+59° 32′
+60° 02′
+57° 32′
+57° 34′
+55° 59′
+55° 55′
+55° 55′
+55° 32′
+55° 33′
Angular sizes and separations are from recent catalogs. Visually, an object's size is often smaller than
the cataloged value and varies according to the aperture and magnification of the viewing instrument.
Right ascension and declination are for equinox 2000.0.

Sky & Telescope - November 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - November 2023