Observations of The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)

NGC 248

8 arc minutes to the north east of NGC 242 is the open cluster NGC 248.

The cluster is 25 arc seconds in diameter with a bright nucleus. The nucleus is 10 arc seconds in diameter and should be visible in a 6" telescope. The brightest members are visible in a 12" scope scattered across the face. The 12" will also reveal an extended halo extending to the north away from the cluster for almost 40 arc seconds. This gives the cluster an almost comet like appearance in the 20" telescopes several 13th and 14th magnitude stars are also visible in the halo.