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The Castaway Cluster

September 4, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The open star cluster NGC 6520, the "Castaway Cluster", and the dark foreground nebula Barnard 86. Credit: NOAO
The open star cluster NGC 6520, the “Castaway Cluster”, and the dark foreground nebula Barnard 86. Credit: NOAO

The Castaway Cluster, catalogued as NGC 6520, is located just above the spout in the “Teapot” of Sagittarius. This is a rich region of the Milky Way containing many gas clouds and star clusters, including the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. NGC 6520, a tiny jewel of a cluster, is often forgotten amongst these more famous sites [Read more…] about The Castaway Cluster

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Filed Under: Deep Sky deep sky, milky way, sagittarius, star cluster

Touring the Summer Triangle

July 3, 2015 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Long-exposure images of the Summer Triangle (credit: Tien-Chu Chang, Flickr)
Long-exposure image of the Summer Triangle (credit: Tien-Chu Chang/Flickr)

While not a constellation itself, the Summer Triangle dominates the overhead sky in the northern summer and autumn months and guides stargazers to other stars, constellations, and deep-sky sights. The vertices of the triangle are marked by three bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair, each of which belong to true constellations Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila, respectively. The image below shows the Summer Triangle rising as seen from mid-northern latitudes at 10 p.m. in mid July. The triangle is big: it spans about two full hand widths held at arm’s length. The triangle can be seen well south of the equator, too, above the northern horizon. Southern stargazers call it the “Northern Triangle” or the “Winter Triangle” [Read more…] about Touring the Summer Triangle

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Filed Under: Deep Sky deep sky, milky way, sky tour

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