The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manualTrouvelot, E. L. (Etienne Leopold)
Science
The Trouvelot astronomical drawings manual
Trouvelot, E. L. (Etienne Leopold)
Astronomy -- Pictorial works
A little to the north of _γ_ Centauri may be found the great _ω_
Centauri cluster, No. 3,531, already referred to above. This magnificent
object, which appears as a blazing globe 20' in diameter, is, according
to Herschel, the richest in the sky, and is resolved into a countless
number of stars from the twelfth to the fifteenth magnitude, which are
greatly compressed towards the centre. The larger stars are so arranged
as to form a sort of net-work, with two dark spaces in the middle.
The great globular cluster No. 52, involved in the lesser Magellanic
cloud, in the constellation Toucan, is a beautiful and remarkable
object. It is composed of three distinct, concentric layers of stars,
varying in brightness and in degree of condensation in each layer. The
central mass, which is the largest and most brilliant, is composed of an
immense number of stars greatly compressed, whose reddish color gives to
this blazing circle a splendid appearance. Around the sparkling centre
is a broad circle, composed of less compressed stars, this circle being
itself involved in another circular layer, where the stars are fainter
and more scattered and gradually fade away.
Many other great globular clusters are found in various parts of the
heavens, among which may be mentioned the cluster No. 4,678, in
Aquarius. This object is composed of several thousand stars of the
fifteenth magnitude, greatly condensed towards the centre, and, as
remarked by Sir J. Herschel, since the brightness of this cluster does
not exceed that of a star of the sixth magnitude, it follows that in
this case several thousand stars of the fifteenth magnitude equal only a
star of the sixth magnitude. In the constellation Serpens the globular
clusters No. 4,083 and No. 4,118 are both conspicuous objects, also No.
4,687 in Capricornus. In Scutum Sobieskii the cluster No. 4,437 is one
of the most remarkable of this region. The stars composing it, which are
quite large and easily made out separately, form various figures, in
which the square predominates.
Among the loose irregular clusters, some are very remarkable for the
curious arrangement of their stars. In the constellation Gemini the
cluster No. 1,360, which is visible to the naked eye, is a magnificent
object seen through the telescope, in which its sparkling stars form
curves and festoons of great elegance. The cluster No. 1,467, of the
same constellation, is remarkable for its triangular form. In the
constellation Ara the cluster No. 4,233, composed of loosely scattered
stars, forming various lines and curves, is enclosed on three sides by
nearly straight single lines of stars. In Scorpio the cluster No. 4,224
is still more curious, being composed of a continuous ring of loosely
scattered stars, inside of which is a round, loose cluster, which is
divided into four parts by a dark cross-shaped gap, in which no stars
are visible.
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