Celestron 22026 Royal Observatory FirstScope Manual

Loading ...

ENGLISH | 15

Star Clusters

Star clusters are groups of stars that are packed into a small area. Clusters that have loosely distributed stars are called

open clusters and can contain hundreds of stars. Clusters that are very tightly packed in a small area are called globular

clusters, which can contain hundreds of thousands of stars. For open clusters, you should use low power eyepieces to

better frame the cluster. For globular clusters, try low power ﬁrst, and then boost up to a higher power to try to resolve as

many of the stars as possible.

Observing the Pleiades

The Pleiades is an open cluster located in the

constellation Taurus the Bull. It is a large open cluster

of very bright blue stars and is easily seen with the

naked eye. It is only about 400 light years from Earth.

This cluster is large and best appreciated with low

power eyepieces. This cluster has been recognized and

recorded by many cultures all over the world. In Japan,

this cluster is known as Subaru and was adopted as the

name and logo of the automobile manufacturer.

Observing the Double Cluster

The Double Cluster in the constellation Perseus is a beautiful telescopic object, or more accurately, objects, since there

are two distinct open clusters in the same ﬁeld if view. To the unaided eye, this cluster appears as a fuzzy patch in Perseus,

but a small telescope or binoculars resolves this into to open clusters approximately one degree apart. Each cluster

contains a few hundred stars. Be sure to use low power eyepieces with this object to get both clusters together, and then

switch to higher magniﬁcation to inspect each cluster in more detail.

Observing the Hercules Globular Cluster

The Hercules Globular Cluster is the most beautiful example of a globular cluster in the northern skies. It is conveniently

located between two bright stars in the constellation Hercules and is just barely visible to the unaided eye on a dark

night as a fuzzy star. It can be seen easily in binoculars, but looks better through a telescope using low to moderate

magniﬁcation. This cluster contains hundreds of thousands of densely packed stars.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED: OBSERVING STAR CLUSTERS

Loading ...

Celestron 22026 Royal Observatory Greenwich FirstScope Table Top Telescope