M52 and NGC 7635

Objects: Messier 52 (NGC 7654) and NGC 7635 (Caldwell 11)

Type: Open Cluster and Nebula

Distance: 5100 light years (cluster); 7100 light years (nebula)

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Date: 31 December 2005
Equipment: SXV-H9, Vixen 114mm f5.3 ED refractor

Subframes: 20 x 180 second, unguided, no darks or flats.

A night of poor seeing rendered the cluster stars not as sharp as they could be in the above image, but the ghostly form of NGC 7635 and its component "Bubble Nebula" can still be readily discerned. I plan to return to the Bubble with the VC200L and a Ha filter sometime.

In terms of the M52 cluster, I think the digital camera effort below (afocal, 25mm eyepiece with the VC200L, eight 60 second frames combined in AIP4Win) from October 2004 actually shows it as it appears through the eyepiece and does the object some justice. Click on either to enlarge.