Cr140/132
Splashy Open Cluster in Canis Major

 

            
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 Two Superimposed
            star clusters lie in this unique field of view. In the center,
            the dozen or so brightest stars are a loose aggregation known
            as CR132, a loose but very colorful collection of 5th through
            7th magnitude stars arranged in a V pattern. This inner cluster
            is large by any standards, recalling that this field is 2.5 degrees
            across! The cluster is located just under the basal three triangle
            of stars in the constellation of Canis Major, and can be easily
            seen with the naked eye on a moon less night. I first heard of
            this object from a friend and fellow visual observer Steve Coe,
            who kept remarking that this startling object should indeed have
            some sort of as of yet unknown catalog designation. So he named
            it "Coe 1", and every time I see this object I can
            think of no other name. (The Coe catalog is two objects - Coe
            2 is the large open cluster next to the double cluster in Perseus
            - Stock 1)

            
The second cluster
            here is the entire field itself, a rich patch in the winter Milky
            Way which was named CR132. It is so huge and faint that I cant
            say for sure from this image if it is visible as a separate cluster.

Optics:  8" f/4 Newtonian Astrograph w/Baader MPCC Coma Corrector
Platform:  Homemade GEM w/Byers Starmaster Drive  
Camera:  Hutech Modified Canon XTi @ ISO800
Exposure:  3 x 5m
Location:  Happy Jack, Arizona
Elevation:  6800 ft.
Sky:  Seeing  8/10, Transparency 8/10  First Quarter Moon
Outside Temperature:  35F
Processing Tools:  Photoshop CS2, Images Plus 3.82
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