| Multiple
Star System
aka HD 37643, SAO 150652, PPM 216077, HIP 26602, BD -17 01199, GC 7058, ADS 4254, CCDM 5393-1751, TYC 05921-1652 1 RA: 05h39m16.2s Dec: -17°50'58" (Lepus) Integrated Visual Magnitude: 6.4 Distance: 1300 +/- 510.0 ly Minimum requirements to detect: any telescope under dark skies |
The
open cluster NGC 2017 may not really be an open cluster at all, nonetheless
this tight grouping of stars is a pleasing sight. The
five brightest stars are quite colorful and can be viewed in any instrument.
Ron Bhanukitsiri describes the grouping in his TV-102 as "A group of 4
stars at 30x with yellow, blue and dark orange color, quite lovely.
A 5th star popped into view at 110x."
On closer inspection two of these stars split into close pairs. AB is the close double BU 321, a 6.4+7.9 mag pair separated by 0.61" at PA 156o. CD is the close double HJ 3780, a 8.5+9.2 mag pair separated by 1.5" at PA 357o. The AB pair is usually described as blue. I had difficulty describing the color of the CD pair, finally settling on purple-green. Star F is invariably described as deep orange or red.
In my 18-inch F/4.5 my best view of the grouping as a whole came at 270x. I noted a slight fuzz surrounding the group. This fuzz did not respond to the OIII filter and I concluded that it consisted of scattered light from the bright stars. Interestingly, a similar oval haze can be seen in DSS images if processed extremely. I wonder, is this scattered light too, or is there some nebulosity here?
The field in an 6-inch f/8
at 270x. North is down and east is to the right.
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol I Chart 326
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 11 Uranometria 2000 Vol II Chart 316 Herald-Bobroff Astroatlas B-06 C-58 |
