H-NGC6802
Open Cluster in Vulpecula
About
A compact open cluster in Vulpecula made of dozens of distant stars, roughly 4,400 to 4,600 light-years away. It sits just east of the Coathanger asterism, whose stars are not bound to each other. It is in the Herschel 400.
Imaging tips
- Only about 5′ across, so it is too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- The Coathanger spans about 1.3°, far wider than the cluster, so a wide field or mosaic is needed to show them together.
- One imager shot a three-panel luminance mosaic of the Coathanger region, 13.2 hours in 180-second subs. It also takes in NGC 6793, dark nebulae and the small Hα nebula Sh2-83.
- Best in June and July; it peaks near 60° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 5′
- Magnitude
- 8.8
- Coordinates
- RA 19h 30.6m, Dec +20° 16′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Jun, Jul
- Peak altitude
- 60° from 50°N, 75° from 35°N