NGC 2527 -- Open Cluster in Puppis
The constellation of the “Stern of the Ship Argo” (Puppis) is for the most part too far south from
my location in Central Maryland to view – but not all of it. There is a wide northern extension of
the constellation that rides the milky way north just to the east of Canis Major culminating in the
well-known Open Clusters of M46 and M47 (also do not forget the Open Cluster M93 south of
them). In addition, there are many additional Puppis Open Clusters along this stretch of the
Milky Way worth visiting. Two local Parks provided me far better southern views of the sky
than from my backyard, which I sketched eight of the best of the northern non-Messier Puppis
Open Clusters on the evenings of March 2nd and March 3rd (NGC 2421, 2479, 2482, 2489,
2509,2527, 2567 and 2571).
NGC 2527 is a loose collection of stars with no central concentration that I could make out.
Several of its members are of the magnitude 8.5 to 10 causing the Open Cluster to easily be
identified. Hidden behind the brighter members are over a hundred stars that were below the
resolution of my telescope. Their presence, as a background haze was surprisingly faint,
probably due to the brighter star members overpowering their background glow.
my location in Central Maryland to view – but not all of it. There is a wide northern extension of
the constellation that rides the milky way north just to the east of Canis Major culminating in the
well-known Open Clusters of M46 and M47 (also do not forget the Open Cluster M93 south of
them). In addition, there are many additional Puppis Open Clusters along this stretch of the
Milky Way worth visiting. Two local Parks provided me far better southern views of the sky
than from my backyard, which I sketched eight of the best of the northern non-Messier Puppis
Open Clusters on the evenings of March 2nd and March 3rd (NGC 2421, 2479, 2482, 2489,
2509,2527, 2567 and 2571).
NGC 2527 is a loose collection of stars with no central concentration that I could make out.
Several of its members are of the magnitude 8.5 to 10 causing the Open Cluster to easily be
identified. Hidden behind the brighter members are over a hundred stars that were below the
resolution of my telescope. Their presence, as a background haze was surprisingly faint,
probably due to the brighter star members overpowering their background glow.