NGC 6552: Galaxy (Draco) RA: 18h 00.1m / DEC: +66° 36'.9 Instrument: 10-inch Starfinder |
This faint little wisp of a galaxy neatly splits the gap separating 42 and 27 Draconis. 4.8 magnitude 42 Dra resides 2.9 degrees to the southeast and 5.1 magnitude 27 Dra shines 3 degrees to the northwest. NGC 6552 is presented in the sketch at left, which captures its and NGC 6543's appearance in my 10-inch Starfinder Newtonian at 129X. NGC 6543, the Cat's Eye Nebula, is west of center. NGC 6552 lies within a bowl of four 11th through 13th magnitude stars about 9' east of the planetary nebula. This SB-type galaxy appears slightly elongated, north-to-south, over a 30"x15" area. With a blue magnitude of 14.6, this object's visible magnitude is probably about 13.4. It's a challenge to observe in my 10-inch and a good test of transparency at the observing sites I use. |
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