Observations of The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)

NGC 267

This cluster lies in a large star cloud in the SMC.

The cluster is almost 2 arc minutes in diameter. There is no central condensation, and because it lies in the star cloud, the cluster is harder to pick from the background. The brightest stars should be visible in a 10" telescope and appears to be fully resolved in the 20". Herschell's description advised that it included some associated nebula. When a UHC filter is employed the whole field of eyepiece came to life. The cluster NGC 267 is enshrouded in nebula, which appears to extend the object to 6 arc minutes. Directly to the east is a second separate nebulous area classified as N28. This nebula was fainter in surface brightness than the nebula surrounding the cluster.

The Cephid variable HV1454 is embedded in the southern extreme of the nebula. It has a maximum brightness of 11th and a minimum of 13th. Unfortunately I don't know over what time period it varies. 10-arc minutes north is another complex of nebulosity, this time made up from a small round nebulae. N30, which is quite diffuse, and a large oval nebula nearly 8 arc minutes in the long axis. This complex is prepared with 13th and 15th magnitude stars. In larger telescopes the nebula show a fair bit of detail.

This area of the SMC is quite astounding and deserves some extra attention. 10" to 12" telescopes at low to medium power and armed with a UHC filter should be able to fit this entire complex of nebula into 1 field of view.