This is an enjoyable target for backyard astronomers as the cluster is composed of nearly 100 stars with nebulosity surrounding it. Since Cygnus is a rich area full of nebula and clusters, NGC 6866 is easily overlooked.
On a midsummer night in 1783, Caroline Hershel discovered the open cluster nestled in Cygnus. A little bit of history about Caroline: She is the sister of British astronomer William Hershel who is best known for his discovery of the planet Uranus.
Caroline joined her brother in England, assisting him with cataloging his astronomical work. In due course, Caroline started her own observations with a small refractor telescope (think of a small a spy glass) until her brother built her own larger telescope. She cataloged more than 2,500 objects and was the first woman to discover a comet. Her first star cluster discovery is viewable in Canis Major and is appropriately called Caroline’s Cluster.
My Observations
| Date | October 11, 2021 |
| Time | 9:12 p.m. |
| Location | Seattle, WA |
| Magnification | 127x |
| Scope | Meade 8″ SCT |
| Eyepiece | 16mm |
| Seeing | Above Average |
| Transparency | Average |
This is a nice open cluster, somewhat compact, with 3-4 prominent brighter stars. Even on this cold, hazy night, this cluster has stars bright enough to break through as I can count a good number of them.
Key Stats
| Constellation | Cygnus |
| Best Viewing | Summer |
| Visual Magnitude | +7.6 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -2.8 |
| Distance from Earth | 3,900 ly |
| Diameter | 16 ly |
| Apparent Size | 14 arcmin |
| Milky Way Location | Orion Spur |
| My Viewing Grade | B+ |
Sources
- The photo of NGC 6871 by Roberto Mura is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
- Sketch by Wayne McGraw
- AKA: Kite Cluster
The Garden Astronomer 