Post by glactus on Feb 17, 2008 8:52:34 GMT
Crater the Cup is one of those constellations that is remarkable simply because it is so unremarkable. It contains a quiet corner of sky. There are no good observing targets for beginners. The stars in Crater are no brighter than magnitude 3.56. Most of the galaxies in the constellation are magnitude 12 and dimmer, so larger telescopes are required to view this constellation, however it is part of our collection and therefore needs to be included as it is interesting to see the galaxies presented. Crater can be found below the head of Virgo and below the tail of Leo.
Its brightest star is Delta Crater at magnitude 3.56. Delta Crater is lies 195 light-years distant.
Gamma Crater is a magnitude 4.05 star lying 89 light-years away.
Slightly dimmer is Alkes, or Alpha Crateris, at magnitude 4.08. It lies 174 light-years away.
The Beta star is a dim 4.46 magnitude lying 266 light-years away. All would be hard to see in urban and other light-polluted locations.
Notable objects:
There are no Messier objects in Crater, but there are a number of galaxies from the NGC and IC catalogs, with NGC 3887, NGC 3981, NGC 3511 and 3513 being the more often observed items.
NGC 3887
NGC 3887 lies between Crater and Corvus. It is an 11th magnitude barred spiral suitable for large telescopes. Distance from us is 32.6 light years. Magnitude 11.6.
NGC 3981
This galaxy is for 12 to 14 inch scopes. It is tapered at the ends and has a uniform surface brightness. The distance from us is 652 light years and the magnitude is 11.
NGC 3511
NGC 3511 is in the southern corner of the constellaion. it is 45.8 light years away and has a magnitude of 11.5.
NGC 3513
Siutable for large telescopes, NGC 3513 is at the southern end of Crater. It is 46.5 light years away and has a magnitude of 12.
of men and galaxies
credits:
Map and text: Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_(constellation)
image: NGC 3887
www.observatory.cz/.../Souhvezdi/crt.html
image: NGC 3981
www.noao.edu/.../aop/observers/observer107.html
image: NGC 3511
www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/mar/NGC_3511.html
image: NGC 3513
www.astrosurf.com/skylink/deepsky/ngc_cat.html