WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 45M67
Our first target is the “other” open cluster in the
constellation Cancer — in other words, not the more
famous Beehive Cluster (M44). You’ll easily find M67
through binoculars or a small telescope 1.7° due west
of magnitude 4.3 Alpha (α) Cancri. At magnitude 6.9,
M67 glows just past the limit of the human eye.
Through a 4-inch telescope, you’ll resolve roughly
two dozen stars in M67 across an area two-thirds the
width of the Full Moon. Increase the aperture to
6 inches, and 50 stars will shineby Michael E. Bakich
forth. The official listed
diameter of M67 is 29', which is almost identical
to the Full Moon.
A dozen of M67’s stars shine brighter than 11th
magnitude. When you view the cluster through a
telescope, you’ll undoubtedly notice a yellow star on
its northeastern edge. Identified as SAO 98178, this
star shines at magnitude 7.8 but is not a member of
the cluster.or myself and other “more sea-
soned” readers of Astronomy
magazine, 1963 doesn’t seem
all that long ago. The space race
with the USSR (not Russia yet)
was in full swing, and NASA
had to accomplish a Moon land-
ing to fulfill a national goal set
by President John F. Kennedy. It
seemed everyone was talking about
space, rockets, and astronauts. And
not all the talk was strictly about science; interest in science
fiction was also on the rise.
In this environment, a new television program debuted
Monday, September 16. Each episode began with a brief scene
followed by a “Control Voice” speaking the words, “There is
nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to
adjust the picture. ... You are about to experience the awe and
mystery, which reaches from the inner mind to [dramatic
pause] the Outer Limits.”
A total of 49 black-and-white episodes of The Outer Limits
aired over two seasons. But although the show ran only for a
few years, it forever changed the face of televised science fic-
tion. The first episode, “The Galaxy Being,” addressed the pos-
sible danger involved in contacting an extraterrestrial. By the
end of the hour, I was hooked! The last thing that caught my
eye, however, even at the tender age of 10, was the sequence
that concluded each episode: As the credits rolled, eight
deep-sky objects appeared in the background.
The members of this group — one open cluster and
seven galaxies — are all spectacular targets, especially
for beginning observers with small- to medium-sized
telescopes who have access to a dark observing site.
In order of their appearance during the credits,
they are M67, NGC 891, M104, M101, NGC 5128,
NGC 1300, M81, and M31. Let’s take a detailed
look at each of these celestial jewels so that,
on the next clear moonless night, you can
begin your journey to [dramatic pause]
the outer limits.TV SET: CHEPKO ELELNA/DREAMSTIMERICHARD MCCOYM67
e terrific targets for today’s amateur astronomers.