Observations of The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)

NGC 249>

This open cluster with associated nebula can be located 20 arc minutes north of NGC 248.

The nebula is 2 arc minutes across and almost round in shape. A star of 12th magnitude can be found just north of the centre of the nebula. It has a low surface brightness and no central condensation. Several low brightness stars are scattered across the face of the nebula, these being the cluster members. The northern edge of the cluster appears well defined against the background. Even though it has a low surface brightness owners of 6" telescopes may wish to try for NGC 249 at medium to high power with a UHC filter. When a filter is used with the 20" scope the nebula changes dramatically. A faint outer envelope becomes visible with the added contrast making the object about 4 arc minutes in diameter, and changing shape to be more oval in appearance. The star near the centre is drowned out and a distinct brightening can be seen toward the middle. A very faint extension of the nebula seems to project east toward NGC 261. An 11.5 magnitude star lies 2½ arc minutes to the Southwest.