–1Star
magnitudes0
1
2
3
423
h2 h5 hh
2+60°+80°+80°+60°+20°–20°–40°EQUATOR^ECLIPTICERIDANUSCANIS
MAJORMONOCEROSPUPPISCOLUMBALEPUSORIONTAURUSTRIANGULUMPISCESPERSEUSANDROMEDAARIESCASSIOPEIACEPHEUSCAMELOPARDALISAURIGAGEMINICANIS
MINORLYCETUSSirius
M41M46M47M93M50NGC
2244RigelBellatrixBetelgeuse
M42AldebaranPleiadesHyadesAlgolM33M31M34DoubleClusterM52PolarisCapellaM35M37M38
M36Castor
uxProcyon¡_a_``_b
¡_`_
`agc `__`_a`_ ` a`_`_`+b¡ ba a
_`acf_ dr^2 r 1_
`_b¡jd``_c¡a¡ce+ dhb
¡ bjk/g
+agnicaFaFicgn
N
WF
acing
West^Faci
ngSWSouth^JupiterMoon
Mar 4Moon
Mar 7Moon
Mar 11Collinders in
Canis Major
Everyone has heard of the Messier list, Dreyer’s NGC,
and even the IC, but you might be surprised to fi nd
that there are binocular-worthy targets to be found in
other, more obscure sources. The Collinder catalog
in particular holds a number of interesting objects,
several of which reside in southern Canis Major.
Let’s begin our Collinder quest at Delta (δδ)
Canis Majoris. Delta is situated in a nice binocular
fi eld featuring a curving row of stars that partially
encircles it to the southeast. The arc of stars looks
like a parachute, and Delta serves as the parachutist.
Shift your binocular gaze south by 4° and you come
to Collinder (Cr) 132. This cluster is very easy
to resolve even in my 10×30 image-stabilized
binoculars. Its shape resembles a miniature Great
Square of Pegasus, but tipped at an odd angle. Cr
132 is sparse with a smattering of reasonably bright
stars, but few faint ones.
Next door to Cr 132 is Cr 140. It’s more obviously
a cluster than its neighbor and can even be perceived
with the unaided eye under dark skies. My 10×30s
show roughly a half-dozen stars arranged like a Greek
letter lambda (λ). Within the cluster’s core is a haze.
My 15×45 image-stabilized binos resolve this into a
smattering of faint stars that give the cluster an extra
level of richness.
For our fi nal off ering, we need to head due south
and over the border into neighboring Puppis. There we
fi n d Cr 135. The fi eld is dominated by 2.7-magnitude
Pi (π) Puppis, which forms an isosceles triangle with
a pair of nearby 5th-magnitude neighbors. Swarming
around Pi is a clutch of dim stars that tantalizingly pop
in and out of view in the 10×30s. ✦Cr 132Cr 135Cr 140NGC
2451
NGC
2477δd ¡/
PUPPIS5 °^ binocular^viewCANIS
MAJORWhen
Late January Midnight
Early February 11 p.m.
Late February 10 p.m.
Early March 9 p.m.
Late March Nightfall
These are standard times.When
Gary Seronik
Binocular Highlight4444Gatefold March2014.indd 44 12/26/13 6:49 PM