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Date: 10 Dec 2006 23:22:00
From: Marty
Subject: meeting NGC 2174
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After stopping in at the APOD and seeing the last few days pics, I
noticed that on December 8th they posted a picture of a bright emission
nebula that I couldn't remember seeing... NGC 2174 in Orion.
Today has been really warm for this deep in December, (right now, at
11:10pm, it's 32 degrees F (0 degrees C,) so tonight, after checking
it's location in the Uranometria 2000, I stepped outside my house with
11x80 binocs to take a quick look. Despite a fair amount of local light
pollution and almost no dark adaptation, I picked up a little circular
glow in the right spot, just east of the end of Orion's upraised arm.
At least it was in the right spot among the stars, and just the right
distance (just under one binocular field,) from M35. Still, I'm not
certain whether I'm seeing the nebula or the associated cluster, NGC
2175.
Gotta get out with the scope when I've got a little more time...
Marty
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Date: 11 Dec 2006 04:31:53
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: meeting NGC 2174
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Hi Marty:
I'm certainly not suggesting you didn't see it--it's a pretty tough
object telescopically, but sometimes these sorts of things are easier
to pick out in binocs. It is at least visible, even from pretty bad
light pollution, but you do have to work at it.
Marty wrote:
> After stopping in at the APOD and seeing the last few days pics, I
> noticed that on December 8th they posted a picture of a bright emission
> nebula that I couldn't remember seeing... NGC 2174 in Orion.
> Today has been really warm for this deep in December, (right now, at
> 11:10pm, it's 32 degrees F (0 degrees C,) so tonight, after checking
> it's location in the Uranometria 2000, I stepped outside my house with
> 11x80 binocs to take a quick look. Despite a fair amount of local light
> pollution and almost no dark adaptation, I picked up a little circular
> glow in the right spot, just east of the end of Orion's upraised arm.
> At least it was in the right spot among the stars, and just the right
> distance (just under one binocular field,) from M35. Still, I'm not
> certain whether I'm seeing the nebula or the associated cluster, NGC
> 2175.
> Gotta get out with the scope when I've got a little more time...
> Marty
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Date: 11 Dec 2006 15:02:47
From: Marty
Subject: Re: meeting NGC 2174
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Uncle Rod was saying
>I'm certainly not suggesting you didn't
> see it--it's a pretty tough object
> telescopically, but sometimes these
> sorts of things are easier to pick out in
> binocs. It is at least visible, even from
> pretty bad light pollution, but you do
> have to work at it.
Well, I definitely saw the fuzzball in the right spot... The Uranometria
2000 is great for confirming that. However, until I can prove to myself
whether I was seeing 2174 or 2175 it'll go down on my list as nothing
more than the sighting of a fuzzball. They overlap on the Uranometria
charts, so it'll take a bit more resolution to nail down what I saw.
Marty
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Date: 12 Dec 2006 09:08:43
From: W. H. Greer
Subject: Re: meeting NGC 2174
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On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 23:22:00 -0600, movac5@webtv.net (Marty) wrote:
> I'm not
>certain whether I'm seeing the nebula or the associated cluster, NGC
>2175.
Hi Marty,
I was out last night and (after having read your post) decided to
check out NGC 2174 with 8x42 and 20x80 binoculars. A star is plotted
near the southern edge of NGC 2174 in the Uranometria and Millennium
atlases. This same star is plotted on the north end of NGC 2175 (the
nearby "cluster"). The nebulosity I saw with my binoculars was mostly
north of that star. Conclusion: IMO you (and I) saw NGC 2174 -- the
nebula.
Now for the "cluster", NGC 2175: I failed to notice any obvious star
cluster -- assuming it actully exists at the plotted location. Another
(more careful) look in the near future with tripod-mounted 25x100
binoculars ought to clear this up for me . . .
--
Bill
Celestial Journeys
http://cejour.blogspot.com
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Date: 12 Dec 2006 15:55:20
From: Marty
Subject: Re: meeting NGC 2174
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>Hi Marty,
>I was out last night and (after having
> read your post) decided to check out
> NGC 2174 with 8x42 and 20x80
> binoculars. A star is plotted near the
> southern edge of NGC 2174 in the
> Uranometria and Millennium atlases.
> This same star is plotted on the north
> end of NGC 2175 (the nearby "cluster").
> The nebulosity I saw with my binoculars
> was mostly north of that star.
> Conclusion: IMO you (and I) saw NGC
> 2174 -- the nebula.
>Now for the "cluster", NGC 2175: I failed
> to notice any obvious star cluster --
> assuming it actully exists at the plotted
> location. Another (more careful) look in
> the near future with tripod-mounted
> 25x100 binoculars ought to clear this up
> for me . . .
>--
>Bill
>Celestial Journeys
Thanks for the feedback Bill. I agree with you that we were probably
seeing the nebula. I see the star you're talking about on the
Uranometria charts, but I'm not sure how it sits with what I was seeing.
On my brief trip out, I was aware of something "stellarish" in the
fuzzball, but I was hand holding my 11x80's... sufficient to "find"
something, but pretty shaky for really "observing" it. :) I'll have to
check things out with my scope, or at least a tripod under my binocs.
CLOUDY now...
Marty
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Date: 14 Dec 2006 05:53:29
From: W. H. Greer
Subject: Re: meeting NGC 2174
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I was able to take a closer look at NGC 2174 from approximately 5:15
until 6:00 U.T. on 14 December with tripod-mounted 25x100 binoculars.
The nebulosity was apparent; but no obvious star cluster was noticed.
I made a sketch near the end of the session and subsequently posted it
to my blog.
Though I didn't mention it with my earlier saa post, on the same night
I had checked out this object with smaller binoculars I also took a
look with a 30cm Newtonian. The wide-field eyepiece I had been using
earlier that evening managed to acquire some frost, so I had to switch
to an eyepiece with a relatively narrow 0.57 degree field.
Anyway, the nebulosity was quite obvious in the Newtonian; but when I
panned around the immediate area I found the star density to be fairly
rich everywhere. Nothing stood out as an obvious concentration or
cluster.
--
Bill
Celestial Journeys
http://cejour.blogspot.com
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Date: 14 Dec 2006 07:48:06
From: Marty
Subject: Clouded out of Geminids and 2174...
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I was planning on watching the Geminids with a quick peek at NGC 2174
through tripod mounted 11x80 binocs. I walked out with my enormous old
tripod, but there wasn't a star in sight. 100% cloud cover. Tried
again a little after midnight. Still nothing but clouds. :( Shoot.
Marty
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Date: 14 Dec 2006 17:40:27
From: Ben
Subject: Re: Clouded out of Geminids and 2174...
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Marty wrote:
> I was planning on watching the Geminids with a quick peek at NGC 2174
> through tripod mounted 11x80 binocs. I walked out with my enormous old
> tripod, but there wasn't a star in sight. 100% cloud cover. Tried
> again a little after midnight. Still nothing but clouds. :( Shoot.
> Marty
SIR:
I had the same quandry after scouring that area with a 10in. So
did Sue French who wrote in her Feb 2004 column in S & T that 2175 is
plotted in many atlases (including
Uranometria) as a star cluster. She goes on to say that neither
characterization is correct
and that 2174 is actually a bright knot of nebulosity imposed on the
North edge of 2175.
She further states that the presence of an open cluster seems
debatable and that
Collinder noted a loose association and mistook it for 2175.
(Collinder 84) She concludes
by asking, "Does it look like a cluster to you?"
Well, no. But it does pass for a typical Collinder cluster with
stellar points flung out over a 30 arcmin radius.
To double check it I called it up on SIMBAD and they log about 120
stars being members of the cluster NGC 2175.
Sue also noted the presence of a Sharpless object, Sh2-252 located
3.3min ENE of the
central 8 mag star.
Clear skies,
Ben Therrell
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Date: 14 Dec 2006 23:58:25
From: Marty
Subject: Re: Clouded out of Geminids and 2174...
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Thanks for the info Ben! I'll have to dig out my Feb. 2004 S&T and take
a look. That thing turns out to be kind of an interesting little
fuzzball, if only for the confusion...
Marty
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