# Object ID Bennett ID Type Size Con RA Dec D Vis Interesting Facts Distance from Discoverer Earth (light- years) 1 NGC 55, LEDA 1014 Glxy 32’x5.6’ Scl 00 15 – 39 11 06,25 Sep–Feb The String of Pearls. A barred galaxy that is 7200000 James Dunlop on August 4, 1826 edge-on to us. It has a bright elongated center with a small round cloud to the east of it. If you look to the side of it while still concentrating on the object you might be able to see additional bright clouds and dark Ben 1 rifts in this galaxy. 2 NGC 104, 47 Tucanae Glcl 31’ Tuc 00 24 – 72 05 05,06 Sep–Feb The cluster appears roughly the size of the 16700 Abbe Lacaille from South Africa, 1751. At the full moon in the sky under ideal conditions. Cape, Abbé wanted to test Newton's theory of It is the second brightest globular cluster in gravitation and verify the shape of the earth in the the sky (after Omega Centauri), and is southern hemisphere. His results suggested the noted for having a very bright and dense Earth was egg-shaped not oval. In 1838, Thomas core. It is also one of the most massive Maclear who was Astronomer Royal at the Cape, globular clusters in the Milky Way, repeated the measurements. He found that de containing millions of stars Lacaille had failed to take into account the gravitational attraction of the nearby mountains. Ben 2 3 NGC 247, LEDA 2758 Glxy 18’ x 5’ Cet 00 47 – 20 46 06,25 Sep–Feb Very dusty galaxy therefore not bright, 11000000 ? Ben 3 magnitude 9.2, challenging to find. 4 NGC 246, PN G118.8-74.7 Plnb 4’ x 3.5’ Cet 00 47 – 11 53 25 Oct–Feb Skull Nebula. The fainter member of the Surrounds a 1785 by William Herschel binary star system seen at the nebula's dying star at center, is entering its final phase of 1600 light- evolution, becoming a dense, hot white years dwarf 5 NGC 253, Silver Coin Glxy 22’ x 6’ Scl 00 48 – 25 17 06,25 Sep–Feb Sculptor Galaxy. A starburst galaxy, which 11400000 Caroline Herschelaroline Herschel in 1783 means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation. Can be seen through binoculars. It is considered one of the most easily viewed galaxies in Ben 4 the sky after the Andromeda Galaxy. 6 NGC 288, Melotte 3 Glcl 14’ Scl 00 53 – 26 35 06,25 Sep–Feb Binocular observers can view NGC 288 29000 William Herschel on October 27, 1785. together with the bright galaxy NGC 253 in one field. NGC 288 attracted attention of astronomers in the late 1980s when it was compared with the otherwise similar globular cluster NGC 362 on about the same right ascension (but much more southern), and found that NGC 288 must be about 3 billion years older. This result was found because of differences in the color- magnitude diagrams: The so-called Horizontal Branch of NGC 288 is bluer, and the turnoff point of the main sequence (hottest/bluest/most massive main Ben 5 sequence stars) is redder (and fainter). 7 SMC, Small Magellanic Cloud Glxy 5° x 3° Tuc 00 53 – 72 50 05,06 Sep–Feb Dwarf galaxy, several hundred million stars. 200000 The Magellanic clouds have long been included Milky way has 200–400 billion. Is a satellite in the lore of native inhabitants, including south of the Milky Way galaxy like the Moon is a sea islanders and indigenous Australians. satellite of Earth Persian astronomer Al Sufi labelled the larger of the two clouds as Al Bakr, the White Ox 8 NGC 362, Melotte 4 Glcl 13’ Tuc 01 03 – 70 51 05,06 Sep–Feb The stars around the cluster core are stars 30000 James Dunlop on August 1, 1826 similar to our Sun nearing the end of their lives. Astronomers study these stars to Ben 7 learn about the future of our Sun 9 NGC 1068, Messier 77 Glxy 7.1’ x 6.0’ Cet 02 43 – 00 01 25 Oct–Feb Has an Active Galactic Nucleus, emitting a 47000000 Pierre Mechain 1780 Méchain in 1780 lot radiation across the entire electromagnetic specttum, from radio to gamma rays. This is a result of a super- massive black hole in the middle accreting Ben 9 matter. 10 NGC 1261, GCl 5 Glcl 7’ Hor 03 12 – 55 13 5 Oct–Apr In a cluster, stars are all formed at 53100 James Dunlop on November 24, 1826 approximately the same time. This cluster, amongst others, has stars that are more luminous and bluer than the rest called the Ben 11 blue stragglers. Not well understood why. 11 NGC 1291, LEDA 12209 Ben 12 Glxy 11’ Eri 03 17 – 41 08 05,12,15 Nov–Mar 12 NGC 1316, Fornax A Ben 14 Glxy 12‘ x 8.5’ For 03 23 – 37 12 05,12,15 Oct–Mar 13 NGC 1365, LEDA 13179 Ben 16 Glxy 9’ x 4’ For 03 34 – 36 08 05,12,15 Oct–Mar 14 NGC 1535, PN G206.4-40.5 Ben 22 Plnb 20” x 17” Eri 04 14 – 12 44 12,15 Nov–Mar 15 NGC 1851, GCl 9 Glcl 11’ Col 05 14 – 40 03 05,07,09 Nov–May Has two groups of stars knowns as 39400 James Dunlop on May 29, 1826. subgiants (bigger than the dwarf stars like the Sun but not as big as the giant stars). Many subgiants are rich in metals, and Ben 32 commonly host orbiting planets 16 LMC, Large Magellanic Cloud Glxy 11° x 9° Dor 05 24 – 69 45 04,05 Oct–Apr Irregular galaxy, satellite of the Milky Way. 157000 First recorded by Persian astronomer Al Sufi, 10 billions stars 964. Ferdinand Magellan sighted the LMC on his voyage in 1519, and his writings brought the LMC & SMC into common Western knowledge. The galaxies now bear his name. 17 NGC 1904, Messier 79 Ben 34 Glcl 3’ Lep 05 25 – 24 33 07,09 Nov–May 18 NGC 1976, M 42, Orion Nebula BrtN 1.1° x 1° Ori 05 35 – 05 27 07,09,12,13 Nov–May 19 NGC 1977, C 0532-048 BrtN 20’ x 10’ Ori 05 36 – 04 52 07,09,12,13 Nov–May 20 NGC 2070, Tarantula, 30 Dor BrtN 40’ Dor 05 39 – 69 06 04,05 Oct–Apr Tarantula Nebula. Its luminosity is so great 160000 (in the It was originally thought to be a star, but in 1751 that if it were as close to Earth as the Orion LMC) Abbe Lacaille recognized its nebular nature (from Nebula, the Tarantula Nebula would cast South Africa) shadows. In fact, it is the most active star formation region known in the Local Group Ben 35 of galaxies 21 NGC 2287, Messier 41 OpCl 38’ CMa 06 46 – 20 46 07,09 Nov–May 22 NGC 2362, Tau CMa cluster OpCl 8’ CMa 07 19 – 24 57 04,07,09 Nov–May 23 NGC 2422, Messier 47 OpCl 30’ Pup 07 37 – 14 30 07,09 Dec–Apr 24 NGC 2437, Messier 46 OpCl 27’ Pup 07 42 – 14 49 07,09 Dec–Apr 25 NGC 2451, Collinder 161 OpCl 45’ Pup 07 45 – 37 58 4 Nov–May In 1994, it was postulated that this was A: 642 B: 1167 Giovanni Batista Hodierna 1654 actually two open clusters that lie along the same line of sight. This was confirmed in 1996. The respective clusters are labelled NGC 2451 A and NGC 2451 B 26 NGC 2447, Messier 93 OpCl 22’ Pup 07 45 – 23 52 4 Nov–May 27 NGC 2477, Melotte 78 OpCl 27’ Pup 07 52 – 38 33 4 Nov–May The cluster appears roughly the size of the 3600 Abbe Lacaille from South Africa, 1751 full moon in the sky under ideal conditions with 300 stars. In binoculars or a small telescope it appears as a beautiful round fuzzy patch of sparkling stars. Larger scopes will resolve the many fainter stars into a truly wonderful cluster. 28 NGC 2516, OCl 776.0 OpCl 30 Car 07 58 – 60 52 4 Nov–May The Diamond Cluster. 100 stars roughly the 1300 Abbe Lacaille from South Africa, 1751 size of the full moon. Contains two beautiful 5th magnitude red giants and three double stars. A small telescope would be required to split the double stars. It contains about 100 stars that appear about the same size as a full moon. NGC 2516 and the recently discovered nearby star cluster Mamajek 2 in Ophiuchus have similar age and metallicity. Recently, kinematic evidence suggests that these two stellar groups may have formed in the same star-forming complex some 135 million years ago. 29 NGC 2547, C 0809-491 OpCl 20’ Vel 08 11 – 49 16 4 Nov–May Is in the constellation Vela of which two of 1960 Abbe Lacaille from South Africa, 1751 its stars, Kappa and Delta and two stars from nearby Carinae, form the "The False Cross" sometimes confused with the Southern Cross 30 NGC 2548, Messier 48 OpCl 55’ Hya 08 14 – 05 48 13 Jan–May 31 IC 2391, Omi. Velorum Cluster OpCl 50’ Vel 08 40 – 53 04 4 Nov–May 32 NGC 2808, GCl 13 Ben 41 Glcl 14’ Car 09 12 – 64 52 4 Nov–May 33 NGC 2818, PN G261.9+08.5 OpCl 9’ Pyx 09 16 – 36 37 4 Nov–May 34 IC 2488, VdB-H 69 OpCl 15’ Vel 09 28 – 56 59 4 Nov–May 35 NGC 3114, VdB-H 86 OpCl 35’ Car 10 03 – 60 07 4 Nov–May 36 NGC 3115, Spindle Galaxy Ben 42 Glxy 7.2’ x2.5’ Sex 10 05 – 07 43 17 Feb–May 37 NGC 3132, Eight-Burst Nebula Ben 43 Plnb 84” x 53” Vel 10 08 – 40 26 4 Nov–May 38 NGC 3201, GCl 15 Ben 44 Glcl 18’ Vel 10 18 – 46 25 4 Nov–May 39 NGC 3242, Ghost of Jupiter Ben 45 Plnb 16” Hya 10 25 – 18 38 17 Feb–Jul 40 IC 2581, VdB-H 97 OpCl 8’ Car 10 27 – 57 38 4 Nov–May 41 NGC 3293, Collinder 224 OpCl 40 Car 10 36 – 58 14 4 Nov–May 42 NGC 3324, C 1035-583 OpCl 6’ Car 10 37 – 58 38 4 Nov–May 43 IC 2602, Southern Pleiades OpCl 50’ Car 10 43 – 64 24 4 Nov–May 44 NGC 3372, Eta Carina Nebula BrtN 120’ Car 10 44 – 59 52 4 Nov–May 45 NGC 3532, VdB-H 109 OpCl 55’ Car 11 06 – 58 40 4 Nov–May 46 NGC 3766, VdB-H 120 OpCl 12 Cen 11 36 – 61 37 02,04 Feb–Sep 47 NGC 3918, Blue Planetary Plnb 12 Cen 11 50 – 57 11 02,04 Feb–Sep 48 NGC 4361, PN G294.1+43.6 Plnb 45” Crv 12 25 – 18 48 17 Mar–Jul 49 Dark Doodad, SDC 301.0-08.6c DrkN 80’ x 3’ Mus 12 27 – 71 25 02,04 Feb–Sep 50 NGC 4594, M 104, Sombrero Ben 52 Glxy 8.7’ x 3.5’ Vir 12 40 – 11 37 17 Apl–Jul 51 Coalsack DrkN 6.5° x 5° Cru 12 53 – 63 00 02,04 Feb–Sep 52 NGC 4755, Herschel's Jewel Box OpCl 10’ Cru 12 54 – 60 20 02,04 Feb–Sep 53 NGC 4833, GCl 21 Ben 56 Glcl 14’ Mus 13 00 – 70 53 02,04 Feb–Sep 54 NGC 4945, LEDA 45279 Ben 57 Glxy 20’ x 3.8’ Cen 13 05 – 49 28 2 Feb–Sep 55 NGC 5128, Centaurus A Ben 60 Glxy 18’ x 14’ Cen 13 26 – 43 01 2 Feb–Sep 56