In the May 2014 issue of Astronomy, I wrote the four-page story “24 gems near the North Celestial Pole.” In it, I included descriptions of various star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies you can spot year-round because their location means they never set for observers who live north of latitude 25° north. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough room to include all of my favorite circumpolar objects. Here, then, are descriptions of eight more within five far-northern constellations. So, when you’re ready to observe the region around the North Celestial Pole, print out this article, and take it and the magazine story with you to your favorite observing site.
Fit for a King
Our next three objects lie in the constellation Cepheus the King, and the first is a pair of emission nebulae: NGC 7822 and Cederblad 214. Both are challenge objects through a 12-inch telescope. You’ll find these clouds not quite 7.5° east of magnitude 3.5 Iota (ι) Cephei. I suggest using a nebula filter like an Oxygen-III. NGC 7822 appears like a thin cloud 0.5° long and one-third as wide. Cederblad 214, just 5' to the northeast, appears more circular and a bit brighter.
Our next target carries the catalog number GM 1–29, but observers call it Gyulbudaghian’s (gyool bu day' gee an’s) Nebula. It bears the name of Armen Gyulbudaghian, the Russian astronomer who discovered it in 1977.
This variable reflection nebula lies 6° north of magnitude 3.4 Eta (η) Cephei. It is a wedge-shaped object illuminated by the variable star PV Cephei.
The nebula changes its brightness and shape on a non-regular basis. Use at least a 12-inch telescope at 150x to look for it. Make monthly observations, and keep good notes to record its changes.
You’ll find our last target in Cepheus a bit more than 6° east-northeast of magnitude 3.5 Iota (ι) Cephei. Look carefully. Open cluster
NGC 7762 has a tendency to fade into the background when viewed with medium to high magnifications. Back off the power initially, and then increase it in steps to see several dozen 11th- and 12th-magnitude stars across this cluster’s face.
The Cub's commodity
Our only object in Ursa Minor the Little Bear, NGC 6217, rewards large-telescope owners. This is a nearly face-on, ringed spiral galaxy.
It lies equidistant from magnitude 4.3 Zeta (ζ) and magnitude 5.0 Eta (η) Ursae Minoris, 2.5° east-northeast of Zeta and 2.6° north-northeast of Eta. Through an 8-inch telescope, you’ll see a faint oval twice as long as it is wide. That’s not the galaxy’s true shape, just the part you can spot through small instruments.
A 20-inch or larger scope begins to fill in the gaps. At magnifications above 300x, you’ll spot the bar and the beginnings of both spiral arms. The northernmost (and definitely brighter) arm curves eastward, and the southernmost one curves toward the west.