NGC 7039 -- Open Cluster in Cygnus
The charming Open Cluster NGC 7039 lays about one-degree from the giant North
American Nebula in Cygnus. Its 100+ stars are mostly below the resolution of my
telescope under suburban skies, but when using a low-power eyepiece the faint glow
of the cluster stands out against the dense background stars of the milky way. The
glowing distant stars appeared to take on the shape of a pair of spherical smudges
just touching at the center. I wonder if I was under a truly dark sky the impression would
remain.
Higher powers seemed to spread out the star cluster too much. I liked the overall view
best at 64x in a 1.5-degree field of view. This cluster is not on any of the major observing
lists, that I am aware of, and therefore not often visited. If NGC 7039 happens to be a
deep-sky object that you have not yet observed, I would recommend it – it will not disappoint.
American Nebula in Cygnus. Its 100+ stars are mostly below the resolution of my
telescope under suburban skies, but when using a low-power eyepiece the faint glow
of the cluster stands out against the dense background stars of the milky way. The
glowing distant stars appeared to take on the shape of a pair of spherical smudges
just touching at the center. I wonder if I was under a truly dark sky the impression would
remain.
Higher powers seemed to spread out the star cluster too much. I liked the overall view
best at 64x in a 1.5-degree field of view. This cluster is not on any of the major observing
lists, that I am aware of, and therefore not often visited. If NGC 7039 happens to be a
deep-sky object that you have not yet observed, I would recommend it – it will not disappoint.