(IAAC) Mis-identification of Stock 5 as "Stephenson 5"

[Brent A Archinal]

The first observation below caught my attention since it was listed as 
being of "Stephenson 5", a cluster I didn't know existed.  Sure enough, 
some checking shows that this is probably of Stock 5 (St 5 as the body of 
the message indicates) at (2000.0) 02 04.4 +64 23 (from Archinal and 
Hynes, 2003, p. 51), near Epsilon Cassiopeiae (not Eta Cassiopeiae).  That 
cluster matches the nice visual description given.  The westernmost star 
mentioned could be 53 Cas, the brightest star of the group, but the B8Ib 
spectrum (from MegaStar 5.0.08 and also SIMBAD) of 53 Cas doesn't match 
the cited red color.

In the second observation, it appears the cited star is also Epsilon 
Cassiopeiae and not Eta, since IC 1747 is close to Epsilon. Alternatively, 
perhaps the observation was made near Eta and that's why IC 1747 was not 
located?

Anyway, this illustrates the importance of giving both a name _and_ a 
position (along with a reference to the source of the position if 
possible!) of objects observed.

- Brent Archinal

----- Forwarded by Brent A Archinal/GD/USGS/DOI on 01/10/2005 04:33 PM 
-----

Message: 1
Date: 6 Jan 2005 05:55:10 -0000
From: anonymous at sedna.atmob.org
Subject: (IAAC) Obj: Stephenson 5 - Inst: Televue 102, 102mm, f8.6
To: Internet Amateur Astronomers Catalog
                 <netastrocatalog at visualdeepsky.org>
Message-ID: <20050106055510.5450.qmail at sedna.atmob.org>

----

Observation Poster: Jay M. <wsr88d at hotmail.com>

Observer: Jay M.
Your skills: Intermediate (some years)
Date/time of observation: 01/05/05 2230EST
Location of site: Near KSC, FL (Lat 28.5N, Elev 10m)
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: 5.0 <Limiting magnitude>
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Moon presence: None - moon not in sky
Instrument: Televue 102, 102mm, f8.6
Magnification: 27X - 97X
Filter(s): None
Object(s): Stephenson 5
Category: Open cluster.
Class: 
Constellation: CAS
Data: mag   size 
Position: RA :  DEC :
Description:
A light cirrus haze was present during the session. 

Cluster St5 was easily located from Eta Cassiopeiae and is situated in a 
very nice, bright, star field. Cluster is noticeably detached and features
a distinct crux shape. The westernmost star ending the crux is of special
beauty, as it is richly red in contrast to the other members. This redness
was further confirmed by defocusing the image. The center of the cluster
features a broad double star whose components are of near equal magnitude.
Numerous dim stars flicker into view with careful study, the majority of
these stars situated in the southeast quadrant of the cluster. 

Object is pleasing and easy to locate, reminding me of a slightly dimmer
version of M103.
...
------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: 6 Jan 2005 06:01:34 -0000
From: anonymous at sedna.atmob.org
Subject: (IAAC) Obj: IC1747 - Inst: Televue 102, 102mm f8.6
To: Internet Amateur Astronomers Catalog
                 <netastrocatalog at visualdeepsky.org>
Message-ID: <20050106060134.5693.qmail at sedna.atmob.org>

----

Observation Poster: Jay M. <wsr88d at hotmail.com>

Observer: Jay M.
Your skills: Intermediate (some years)
Date/time of observation: 01/05/05 2230EST
Location of site: Near KSC, FL (Lat 28.5N, Elev 10m)
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: 5.0 <Limiting magnitude>
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Moon presence: None - moon not in sky
Instrument: Televue 102, 102mm f8.6
Magnification: 27x - 220x
Filter(s): UHC, OIII, Hbeta
Object(s): IC1747
Category: Planetary nebula.
Class: 
Constellation: CAS
Data: mag   size 
Position: RA :  DEC :
Description:
A light cirrus haze was present during the session.

I sought out IC1747, a small (13.0") magnitude 12.1 (visual) planetary 
nebula
near Eta Cassiopeiae for about an hour to no success. Despite using 
multiple
nebula filters, the tiny - nearly stellar - planetary proved to be 
elusive.
Larger aperture and/or a more specialized filter would likely reveal this
object.
...
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