During springtime, you can find the Corvus constellation in the southern skies. To locate Corvus, follow Spica in Virgo, and you’ll land near the squarish-looking constellation. Corvus, the crow, has many fascinating objects, including an enjoyable asterism called Stargate.
The cluster, also officially known as Struve 1659, first got its “Stargate” name because it apparently resembles a Buck Roger’s TV show travel portal device. I think it looks like a spaceship from an old 8-bit video game! Regardless of its resemblance, this asterism features a triangle within a triangle, making it an interesting star cluster worth your time.
Six stars make up the asterism. Their apparent magnitudes range from +6 to +11. Three bright stars make the outside triangle, and three dimmer stars make up the triangle inside. Nearby is the popular target, Messier 104 The Sombrero Galaxy.
By the way, after a visit to this asterism, pop over to Struve 1664 in Virgo for another nice star arrangement that looks like a hockey stick, or Jaws!
My Observations
| Date | May 13, 2023 |
| Time | 10:35 p.m. |
| Location | Seattle, WA |
| Magnification | 169x |
| Scope | Meade 8″ SCT |
| Eyepiece | 12mm |
| Seeing | Above Average |
| Transparency | Above Average |
While searching the internet for interesting objects around Virgo, this Stargate Cluster appeared. I never heard of the asterism until now. What a great and fun target. Most of the stars look white, but the bottom brightest star looks pale yellow.
Key Stats
| Constellation | Corvus |
| Best Viewing | Spring |
| Visual Magnitude | 6.61 to 11.56 |
| Designations | STF 1659 |
Sources
Banner made from photo by Mark Johnston. Info here. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Sketch by Wayne McGraw
The Garden Astronomer 
