No NGC Clusters
Most of the star clusters we amateur astronomers observe are included in the famed New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (NGC), but that compilation does not include any objects discovered after 1887. Since then many more clusters have been found that are well within the reach of backyard scopes, so let’s visit some of these oddities in the world of open clusters and learn who found them.
Our featured deep sky wonders dwell within the realm of the all-sky chart at the centre of this magazine. I’ll introduce our quarry from west to east so that each succeeding cluster climbs higher as you eyeball the one before. In case you prefer to stalk clusters by constellation, that info is given in the table on page 54.
In 1961 Madona
