| Open
Cluster
aka NGC 2682, Melotte 94, Collinder 204, Raab 81, OCL 549 RA: 08h51m26.1s Dec: +11°48'43" (Cancer) Integrated Visual Magnitude: 7.4 Angular Diameter: 29.0' Distance 2300 ly Age: 5.1 Byrs Minimum requirements to detect: naked eye under dark skies |
I
recently came across this splendid open cluster in my finder while star
hopping to Abell 31. I didn't at first recognize it's tight, round
glow. It's fun to come across some of the more well-visited
objects by accident. I must admit that I hadn't passed M67's way
in some time and I was delighted to see it. In my 18-inch it appears
beautifully round, with a regular shape born of similar stars.
Burnham's describes M 67 only as a "rich galactic cluster," and I'd
have to agree. Walter Scott Houston claimed that, "When conditions
are right, M67 can be seen with the naked eye in the barren sky of Cancer
within about 8o of
M44." Scotty also estimated the integrated visual magnitude to be
5.9, which is probably more realistic than the fainter value often quoted.
M67 nearly fills my field of view at 270x, and I was quite struck by the sharp, regular edge to the cluster. The impressions was as if looking through a round porthole at distant stars. Myriad interesting star patterns abound.
At over 5 billion years, M67 is one of the oldest open clusters and it is uniquely high above the galactic plane. Carefully studied, this open cluster represents a cornerstone in our understand of how stars and star clusters evolve.
The field in an 6-inch f/8
at 50x. North is down and east is to the right.
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol II Chart 736
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 12 Uranometria 2000 Vol I Chart 187 Herald-Bobroff Astroatlas B-05 C-40 |
