H-NGC6823
Open Cluster in Vulpecula
About
A young open cluster in Vulpecula, about 6,000 light-years away, whose core formed around two million years ago. It sits inside the emission nebula Sh2-86, where starlight from the cluster pushes the gas outward into pillar shapes. It is in the Herschel 400.
Imaging tips
- At 2020–3370 mm on APS-C the cluster fills a third to half of the frame, and Sh2-86 is only 4.3′ away in the same field.
- The nebula is reported to span about 40′, so a mosaic or wide lens is needed to take in all of it.
- One imager built luminance from 140 minutes of Hα, adding 30 minutes each of red, green and blue. Another used an Hα channel beside luminance and colour.
- A pillar of gas and dust on the cluster's northeast side is linked to star formation, with the protostars HH365 and HH165 nearby.
- Best in July; it peaks near 63° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 12′
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Coordinates
- RA 19h 43.2m, Dec +23° 19′
- Framing, APS-C
- 2020–3370 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 3090–5160 mm
- Best months
- Jul
- Peak altitude
- 63° from 50°N, 78° from 35°N
Nearby
- Sh2-86 · 4.3′ away