NGC 6910: Open Star Cluster (Cygnus) RA: 20h 23.1m / DEC: +40° 47'.0 Instrument: 10-inch Starfinder |
Open star clusters make up about a quarter of the Herschel 400 objects. Most are jewels of the winter sky but there are quite a few summer gems, too. NGC 6910 adorns Cygnus, the swan, and can be found about one-half degree south-southeast of Sadr, the 2.2 magnitude star at the junction of the short and long legs of the Northern Cross asterism. The sketch at left presents a 129X view in my 10-inch Starfinder Newtonian. The cluster is centered in the field. The brightest members shine at magnitude 7.1 and 7.4, respectively. 7.4 magnitude HD 194241 shines just northwest of center with 7.1 magnitude HD 194279 standing 3' to the southeast. NGC 6910 includes 50 stars and is some 7'.0 in size, according to Lynga. My drawing records 24 members brighter than about 12th magnitude and another 47 stars beyond. NGC 6910 is enveloped within a subtle nebulosity, which was not recorded this observation. While in the area, don't miss the nearby Messier cluster, M29, 2.3 degrees to the south, which I refer to as the Little Sisters due to its resemblance to M45, the Pleiades. |
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