The most observed object in the constellation Gemini is the rich open cluster Messier 35. Its faint companion cluster, NGC 2159, is better known to the astronomical cognoscenti than more casual observers. The excellent double star Castor, STF 1110, and the planetary...
The multiple star HJ 3780 is a colorful and pleasing binocular object in the somewhat neglected constellation of Lepus, crouching just south of Orion. The blazing star in the Simbad image above is Arneb, a 2nd magnitude class F0 1b supergiant, the brightest star in...
This post is for a special friend who recently had trouble locating Hind’s Crimson Star, aka R Leporis. R Leporis is a famously red carbon star of spectral class C7,4e in the constellation Lepus, the hare. It’s a Mira-type variable 1300 light years from...
The first question one might ask is what makes a star cluster super-sized? And the answer is easy – star clusters that are relatively close to us appear larger in the sky. The first of these three clusters is arguably the best known star cluster of all. It is the...
