NGC 1807 & NGC 1817 -- Open Clusters in Taurus
Poor Man’s Double Cluster and 21mm Ethos
This morning I had first light with a new eyepiece, the 21mm Ethos by Tel Vue. This eyepiece
might just be the heaviest and most expensive eyepiece currently on the market. A great deal
of thought and research went into the purchase of this eyepiece. I bought it about a week ago,
but the nights have remained stubbornly cloudy until today. True, I had a bright gibbous moon
in the sky most of the night, but I waited until just before dawn, when the moon was well behind
the trees to the west. Orion and Taurus (my targets) were in the eastern sky well away from the
setting glowing orb. The Great Orion Nebula (M42), was the first object that I looked at with the
new eyepiece. It did not disappoint, but then again what eyepiece has the Great Orion Nebula
not looked good in?
The Poor Man’s Double Cluster is located on the Orion/Taurus border. It is a single cluster with
a dual core of stars but is treated and named as two separate clusters (NGC 1807 and NGC
1817). The two-degree field-of-view provided by the new eyepiece framed the two clusters
nicely. The common name “Poor Man’s Double Cluster” is a good name for it. Of course, it is
referencing the much richer and more famous “Double Cluster” in Perseus.
might just be the heaviest and most expensive eyepiece currently on the market. A great deal
of thought and research went into the purchase of this eyepiece. I bought it about a week ago,
but the nights have remained stubbornly cloudy until today. True, I had a bright gibbous moon
in the sky most of the night, but I waited until just before dawn, when the moon was well behind
the trees to the west. Orion and Taurus (my targets) were in the eastern sky well away from the
setting glowing orb. The Great Orion Nebula (M42), was the first object that I looked at with the
new eyepiece. It did not disappoint, but then again what eyepiece has the Great Orion Nebula
not looked good in?
The Poor Man’s Double Cluster is located on the Orion/Taurus border. It is a single cluster with
a dual core of stars but is treated and named as two separate clusters (NGC 1807 and NGC
1817). The two-degree field-of-view provided by the new eyepiece framed the two clusters
nicely. The common name “Poor Man’s Double Cluster” is a good name for it. Of course, it is
referencing the much richer and more famous “Double Cluster” in Perseus.