Harvard 20 (Collinder 408) -- Open Cluster in Sagitta
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The subtle Open Cluster Harvard 20 (Collinder 408) is marked by a pair of ninth
magnitude stars on its western edge. It has few stars and is spread out with no central
concentration. In the 155mm refractor a faint smudge of mist marks those cluster stars
that were below the reach of the telescope. However, this cluster is not something that
would often be visited by amateur astronomers if not for its location just half-a-degree
southwest of the arrow’s famous (and only) Globular Cluster, M71.
Two celestial objects so close together in the sky, especially if one happens to be a
Messier object often makes the other object also a target on one’s must-see list. And
why not? Are not two objects better than one?
magnitude stars on its western edge. It has few stars and is spread out with no central
concentration. In the 155mm refractor a faint smudge of mist marks those cluster stars
that were below the reach of the telescope. However, this cluster is not something that
would often be visited by amateur astronomers if not for its location just half-a-degree
southwest of the arrow’s famous (and only) Globular Cluster, M71.
Two celestial objects so close together in the sky, especially if one happens to be a
Messier object often makes the other object also a target on one’s must-see list. And
why not? Are not two objects better than one?