RE: (SNES) Clusters in Scutum

["Bartolini, David E (David)" <dbartolini@lucent.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ernest R. Evans [mailto:pilotstar@mindspring.com]
> 
> Hi Gang,
> 
> On Friday night Sept. 6th at FDO,  I searched for several 
> open clusters
> in Scutum/Aquila with my 6" f/4. A gentleman named Carl had set his
> 14.5" truss dob GOTO scope up next to me. I looked for, but could not
> verify, the clusters NGC 6682, 6683, 6664, 6712, 6724,  6709, and a
> cluster with a Harvard (H) designation. 
....
> Has anyone ever seen any of these clusters?  

Ernie,

Open clusters can often be challenging objects to distinguish from
background stars. It is useful to know the size of the clusters as well as
the number of stars in the cluster and the rough magnitude of a good portion
of the stars. Here is my history with these clusters:

6682, 6683 - no logs for these objects

6664 - I've seen this with a 10" Meade Starfinder and a 20" Starmaster dob.
I rated it as being somewhat interesting in both scopes (3 on a scale of
0-5).

6709 - I rated this as a 3 as well in the 10", no log against the 20"

6712 (globular cluster) - Rated it a 3 in the 10", 3.5 in the 20".

6724 - Skymap shows this as a mistaken NGC object that is really a star.

I couldn't locate any Harvard clusters in the imnmediate vicinity of Scutum.
Perhaps you were talking about Harvard 20 in Sagitta, but I don't have any
records of that cluster.

> After failing to find the
> recent near-Earth asteroid flyby, perhaps a GOTO scope would 
> help me in
> the future??  I'm reading mixed reviews about Meade's LXD-55 
> 10" SN, is
> anyone else contemplating buying one?
> 

GOTO is a personal preference item, and you'll find a variety of (strong)
opinions on the subject. My 20" has it, but I almost never use it. The GOTO
option on my scope also allows tracking of objects, which is the main reason
why I got the option. It is nice when viewing at high powers or when showing
several people an object. I *do* use the DSC's (Digital Setting Circles) at
public events, as it is very convenient when someone walks up and asks to
look at a given object. I also use the DSC's at home when I'm just going for
a "stroll" around the sky rather than studying one particular area. 

>From what I've heard, I would be hesitant about picking up an LXD-55 10".
I've heard spotty reports at best. I suggest that you search the archives of
sci.astro.amateur newsgroup on the groups.google.com web page or else the
archives of the telescopes discussion group on yahoo to get some first hand
accounts. 

Dave B.
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