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NGC 6231 & (Aka The Table of Scorpius)

Open Cluster in Scorpius

 (ra: 16:54.0 / dec -41:48)

 

 

 

 

April 2011, Home Backyard in Martinez

Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

 

 

DATA

TYPE: Open Cluster

VISUAL MAGNITUDE: 2.6

SIZE: 15 arc minutes

DISTANCE: 5.900 light years

   

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

A young cluster with a estimated age of 3.2 million years. The cluster is quite bright and a nice target for binoculars and any type of telescopes. It star are gravitationally bounded and gave its compact structure. A good target to image from light polluted places.

 

NGC 6231, is located at the south-western bend of the Scorpion's tail in the constellation of Scorpius. The cluster, is approaching us at the speed of 22 kilometres per second.


NGC 6231 was first discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna prior to 1654, and later that same year he listed the cluster in his book De Admirandis Coeli Characteribuse published in Palermo, Italy. 

 

IMAGE INFORMATION

SCOPE: Celestron SCT 8" working around 6.3

MOUNT: Sky Watcher HEQ6

SKY CONDITIONS: Regular. Transparency bad.

CAMERAS: QSI 583 WS -10Cº

FILTERS: Astronomik Type 2, Ha 6nm

EXPOSURES: LRGB (20,20,20,20)

GUIDING: William Optics ZenithStar 66 f6. Starlight Xpress Lodestar Camera. AA 3.71 Control Camera Plug-in

PROCESSING: No darks, nor flats, nor offsets. Images Plus (Sigma Median Combination) CCD Sharp Richardson Lucy Deconvolution NASA Photoshop Fits Liberator, Photoshop CS