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Re: (IAAC) (WebbSoc) Observations of Feinstein 1? Roslund 1?




Brian Skiff notes:
>Just look up the stars (say those plotted on the MSA for Feinstein 1,
>although the cluster itself is not marked) and make a list of the motions
>shown. I'll betcha a double cappucino that a plot of the motions will show
>them to be randomly scattered, rather than parallel as would be expected
>if the cluster were real.

Thank you very much for your note on these obscure "clusters", Brian! They
are indeed often hard to distinguish from the field, particularly anywhere
near the Milky Way. And of course, their possible lack of any gravitational
and evolutionary relationship is never a deterrent for amateurs to try them
anyway: witness all the fine logs of asterisms and visual doubles we see. :)


BTW it interested me that Brian Skiff's observation of Feinstein 1 differed
a bit from that of the CAS observers'. (The CAS newsletter does say the OC
had a "depleted centre", but they also reported that its outer regions were
readily distinguishable from the field.) In addition, an observation by Auke
Slotegraaf and Phil Harrington (which I hope to repost) also shows SOMETHING
can be seen under the right conditions: I would enjoy reading other people's
negative AND positive reports of Feinstein 1, noting aperture, magnification,
conditions, etc. It seems based on logs so far, that this OC's very observa-
bility may be dependent on some or all of those variable factors. This also
leads me to wonder how many such "maybe/maybe-not OCs" are in the catalogs?

Clear skies all,
Lew Gramer


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