Observations of The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)

NGC 261

This bright nebula is almost a twin with NGC 249 and can be found only 5 arc minutes east from the border.

It is similar in size being 2 arc minutes in diameter and also contains a 12 magnitude central star. No other stars are visible across the face of the nebula, the northeastern edge of the nebula appeared to the flattened, and otherwise it appeared oval in shape. The nebula had a higher surface brightness than NGC 249 and no central brightening could be seen. Immediately east is a large star cloud so the sky background is quite bright and peppered with 15-16 mag stars. NGC 261 was well defined from this background.

This slightly higher surface brightness will make this an easier object for the 6" scope owner. The UHC filter increased the contrast on this nebula making is appear 4 arc surrounding the object and a faint extension could be glimpsed projecting to the west toward NGC 249. The central star remained visible, this made the nebula appear like a planetary nebula.

When I consulted the Hodge atlas of the SMC I discovered that the surrounding halo around the 2 objects is known as Henize 12.

Through large scopes the surrounding area is filled with emission nebula. The large star cloud to the east of NGC 261 is a complete nebula complex with the designation of Henize 19. In what size scope this complex could be seen I do not know, why not write about your observation and tell.