The finest open cluster in Canis Major, about 4° south of Sirius. Easily
visible in binoculars, or to the naked eye from a dark site. Contains about 100 stars within 30 arc
minutes diameter magnitude 7 and fainter, total magnitude 5.0.
NGC 2383
07hr 24.8m
-20° 56'
A fainter, compact open cluster, only 2 arc minutes in size.
Contains 50 stars, magnitudes 12 and fainter. Total magnitude 8.8. Use higher power to resolve.
NGC 2362
07hr 18.7m
-24° 58'
Another bright compact cluster surrounding a 4th magnitude star.
One of the youngest star clusters, approx. 1 million years. 60 stars mag. 7.5 to 13, 6 arc minutes in
diameter. Total magnitude 4.1
NGC 2243
06hr 29.8m
-31° 17'
A rich open cluster of 100 stars, compressed into 5 arc minutes.
Total magnitude 9.4. Resembles a globular cluster. Use high power to resolve.
A magnitude 12.5 planetary nebula, 6 arc seconds in
size. Bluish in colour, use high power to distinguish it from nearby stars.
NGC 2207
06hr 16.4m
-21° 22'
An Sc spiral galaxy, 4.3 x 2.9 arc minutes. Magnitude 10.6 with a
bright nucleus, and a dark lane cutting across the minor axis. Forms an interacting pair with
IC 2163, magnitude 12.6, 3 x 1.2 arc minutes.
NGC 2217
06hr 21.7m
-27° 14'
An SBa barred spiral galaxy, elongated E-W. 4.8 x 4.4 arc
minutes, magnitude 10.4.
NGC 2359! (Gum 4)
07hr 18.6m
-13° 12'
A more challenging emission nebula. 8 x 6 arc minutes
in size. Responds well to UHC or OIII filters. (110NGC)
NGC 2283
06hr 46m
-18° 14'
A faint 13th magnitude galaxy located 1.5° south of Sirius.
3.7 x 2.8 arc minutes in size, in a rich star field.
Located just NW of NGC 2359 (above), this faint patch of nebulosity
covers 20 x 20 arc minutes of sky and will require filters to observe.
IC 2177 complex
07hr 05m
-11° 20'
An enormous complex of emission and reflection nebulosity,
with several embedded open clusters. About 2° in length, oriented N-S. Filters and good
skies will be more important than telescope size.
