NGC 1967 = ESO 056-126 = S-L 478

05 26 43 -69 06 06; Dor
V = 10.8; Size 0.9′

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): very bright, fairly small cluster, ~30″ diameter. 8 to 10 stars are resolved, many in a string along the west side. A mag 13 star is at the E edge. NGC 1967 is the first of 3 or 4 clusters with NGC 1984 5.4′ ESE, NGC 1994 9′ ESE, and BSDL 1781 just 2.5′ NE. NGC 1967 is situated 9′ SW of the NGC 1983 star cloud/association (LH 61).

Notes: John Herschel discovered NGC 1967 between Nov 1836 and Mar 1837 with a 5-inch refractor and listed it as object #456 in his table of “Stars, Nebulae and Clusters in the Nubecula Major.” His position is 1.8′ too far NW.

 

BSDL 1781

05 27 06 -69 04 34; Dor
Size 1.7’x1.0′

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): this group of ~10 stars mag 12.5-14 is elongated ~N-S and extends 1.5’x0.5′. It was picked up just 2.5′ NE of NGC 1967.

 

NGC 1984 = ESO 056-132 = S-L 488

05 27 40.8 -69 08 05; Dor
V = 10.0; Size 1.2′

30″ (10/12/15 – OzSky): at 303x; extremely bright, small, high surface brightness knot of stars, mottled. Several stars are resolved around the edges of the 30″ clumpy glow. A nice 4′ string of stars begins at the W edge of the cluster and extends to the SSE, ending at a 12th mag LMC red supergiant (M0.5-type). There was no response to a NPB filter, although emission nebula N145 is on the SW edge.

NGC 1984 is situated in a very rich region of the LMC with NGC 1994 3.8′ ESE and NGC 1967 5.4′ NW. NGC 1983, an excellent cluster and star cloud, lies 9′ N.

Notes: James Dunlop possibly discovered NGC 1984 = D 135 = h2882 on 24 Sep 1826. During his second drift of the night he noted a “small faint round nebula”. His reduced position is 20′ to the SW, but reference to his handwritten drift notes shows it was logged 8 minute 18 sec after recording NGC 1916 and 14′ to its north. This offset places it just 2′ south of NGC 1984 and 3′ SW of NGC 1994. He recorded a second object only 17 seconds of RA separation but a difference of 4′ in declination (the two clusters are very close in declination).

John Herschel rediscovered NGC 1984 = h2882 on 16 Dec 1835 and described as “a cluster; a double star in it taken.” His position is accurate and the double star is HJ 3771 = 11.4/13 at 5″.

 

NGC 1983 = ESO 056-133 = LH 61 = S-L 492

05 27 45.1 -68 59 08; Dor
V = 8.8; Size 5’x3′

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): at 318x; NGC 1983 is a large star cloud (LH 61) that includes the embedded cluster S-L 492 = HD 269578. It appeared as a very bright small knot, 30″ diameter, with a half-dozen stars resolved. LH 61 is elongated N-S and rich in bright and faint stars (too many to count). A very striking N-S string (6′ length) of 10 bright mag 10.5-12 stars passes just east of the cluster, including the mag 10.7 yellow supergiant CD-69 310 near the south end and mag 11.1 HD 269582 (Wolf-Rayet or LBV) 0.8′ E of S-L 492. Just outside the field to the S (9′ from S-L 492) is NGC 1984, along with NGCs 1994 and 1967.

Two additional clusters were picked up nearby to the east (nearly collinear with S-L 492). H-S 314, 3.7′ E of S-L 492 and H-S 319 just 2′ E of H-S 314. The association LH 61 lies in the interior of the Supergiant Shell LMC 3.

Notes: John Herschel discovered NGC 1983 = h2881 on 11 Nov 1836 and described “a pretty rich irregular cluster which fills the field; a knot in it taken.” S-L 492 is the “knot” he measured, but the object that “fills the field” is the association LH 61.

 

S-L 495 = KMHK 933

05 28 03 -68 48 42; Dor
V = 11.7

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): very bright, very small knot of stars, 20″ diameter. It was difficult to resolve this clump, but a few stars would pop out. A mag 12.5 star is just off the west edge. Located 3.5′ W of a mag 10.7 star, which is at the SW end of the NGC 2001 star cloud (LH 64). LH 58, a large star cloud and HII complex that includes NGCs 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1970, is ~7′ W.

Notes: Shapley-Lindsay: 50″ diameter. “Irregular, condensed.”
Age: ~25 million years (Baumgardt+, 2013)

 

NGC 1994 = ESO 056-136 = S-L 499

05 28 22 -69 08 30; Dor
V = 9.8; Size 1.6′

30″ (10/12/15 – OzSky): extremely bright, fairly small, high surface brightness knot, 25″ diameter, clumpy, irregular. The main patch is too dense to cleanly resolve (a few stars within the multiple HJ 3775 sparkle over the background glow) but a large number of mag 13-15 stars are nearby, forming a larger cluster. Two mag 11.5 stars are less than 1′ NE (B6I-type) and 1.5′ ESE (OB-type). NGC 1994 forms a striking pair with NGC 1984 3.8′ W with NGC 1967 9′ WNW. It lies in a gorgeous, rich region of the LMC with scattered brighter stars extending 10′ N to NGC 1983.

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): at 318x; very bright, small, very high surface brightness knot, 25″ diameter, slightly elongated E-W. A few stars are resolved in the cluster and many are scattered very nearby. NGC 1994 is the third in a trio of clusters with NGC 1984 and 1967. Situated in a very rich region of the LMC.

Notes: John Herschel discovered NGC 1994 = h2887 on 16 Dec 1835 and described “a little knot, a triple, perhaps a quadruple star, forming a point of reference in a cluster of the 7th class. The knot looks like a nebula till analysed.” On a second sweep he logged “the second knot in a rich cluster of irregular figure of stars 11..16th mag. The knot seems to be a close double or triple star.” His position is accurate. The cluster is listed in the Washington Double Star catalog as the multiple star HJ 3775 with the brightest two components (mag 11.5/11.8) at 9.5″ separation (2002 measure). In addition, three additional components (C/D/E) are listed.

 

H-S 314

05 28 27 -68 58 54; Dor
V = 11.6; Size 0.5′

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): at 318x; bright, small, high surface brightness, compact glow, 20″ diameter, no resolution. A mag 11.5 yellow supergiant is 1′ SSW (also classified as a LBV). H-S 314 was picked up 3.8′ E of S-L 492 in the NGC 1983 star cloud/association. H-S 319 is 2′ E.

 

H-S 319

05 28 48 -68 59 04; Dor
V = 12.5

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): this compact cluster was picked up 6′ E of S-L 492 – the central cluster of the NGC 1983 star cloud (LH 61) – and 2′ E of H-S 314. It appeared fairly faint, small, round, 18″ diameter, no resolution. A mag 11.5 yellow supergiant (HD 269612) is off the SE side [35″ from center], a mag 12.3 star is 0.7′ E, and a mag 12.2 red supergiant is 1′ N.

 

NGC 2001 = ESO 056-137 = S-L 507 = LH 64

05 29 02 -68 46 12; Dor
V = 9.5; Size 7.3’x3.6′

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): a gorgeous, elongated star cloud/association (LH 64), extending 7’x2.5′ NNE-SSW. Roughly 65 stars were resolved, including a number of mag 12-13 stars, over a glowing background. A mag 10.7 star is at the SW end and a non-stellar mag 12 knot (KMHK 955) is N of center. A curving chain of a dozen stars pokes out of the W side and heads S towards S-L 495 (3.4′ W of the mag 10.7 star).

Notes: James Dunlop probably discovered NGC 2001 = D 178 = h2888 on 25 Sep 1826. He recorded (copied from handwritten notes) “a small faint nebula with a faint ray proceeding from it, about 6′ or 7′ long; following a small star south preceding.” Dunlop’s position is 11′ ENE of the cluster, consistent with other previous objects in this drift, including D 136 = NGC 1962-1970 complex.

John Herschel rediscovered NGC 2001 on 30 Dec 1836 (sweep 759) and recorded “the middle of the most condensed part of a cluster of stars 13th mag which runs off to the south-preceding and joins No. 39 of this sweep.” In a separate entry on the same sweep he also mentioned “Here commences a very starry or resolved region of the greater Nubecula.”

 

NGC 2009 = ESO 056-140 = S-L 534

05 30 59 -69 10 54; Dor
V = 11.0; Size 0.9′

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): at 318x; very bright knot, moderately large, round, 45″ diameter, mottled. A dozen mag 13-15.5 stars are resolved. Sits in a beautifully rich star field (association) with numerous mag 12 and fainter stars including an arc of 4 mag 12-13 stars off the SW side (the closest is a B3-type emission star). The NGC 2015 star cloud and cluster S-L 557 lies to the SE and NGC 1994 and 1984 lie 14′ and 18′ WNW. NGC 2009 was found ~40′ WSW of the Tarantula Nebula.

Notes: John Herschel discovered NGC 2009 = h2897 on 3 Nov 1834 and recorded “pB, R, bM, 40″; in a field rich with clustering stars.” On a second sweep of four he logged “pB, R, gradually little brighter middle, 80″, in the north-preceding part of a cluster.” His mean position is accurate.

 

S-L 552 = LMC-N148C = KMHK 1024 = LH 71

05 31 41 -68 32 22; Dor
Size 2′

18″ (4/6/16 – Coonabarabran, 236x): unfiltered, this LMC nebulous cluster appeared very faint, fairly small with a couple of brighter resolved stars. A mag 10.5 star (HD 269700, a B1.5Iae supergiant and luminous blue variable) is at the SE edge and two additional mag 13/14 stars are 1′ S. An NPB filter lights up the emission component N148C at 139x; it increases in size and has an irregular shape and brightness. The brightest knot is about 30″ NW of the bright star. N148B, located 2.6′ to the S, appeared as a very faint, small, detached piece. N148E is a similar very faint and small detached piece ~4′ N.

Notes: Robert Innes discovered S-L 552 on a photograph taken with the 10-inch Franklin-Adams camera of the Johannesburg (Union) Observatory. It was catalogued in his 1924 “Catalogue of Clusters and Nebulae Near the Large Magellanic Cloud” as a “small but bright nebula and stars.”

 

NGC 2015 = ESO 056-147 = S-L 557 = LH 74

05 31 47 -69 14 54; Dor
V = 10.4; Size 5.6′

30″ (10/12/15 – OzSky): this bright star cloud extends up to 8′ diameter, spreading out on the west side and reaching NGC 2009 in the NW corner. Near the east end is open cluster S-L 557, which is often taken for NGC 2015.

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): at 318x; large star cloud with a few dozen mag 11-15 stars. Not well detached in this rich region of the LMC as the clouds extends to the west and north. On the east end is S-L 557.

Notes: John Herschel discovered NGC 2015 = h2901 on 24 Nov 1834 and reported “the general middle of a cluster of loose stars 11…16m. It is rich and fills the whole field.” The “whole field” contains the smaller cluster S-L 557 on its east side, which Shapley-Lindsay and the Hodge-Wright Atlas took as NGC 2015. But based on Herschel’s description, Brent Archinal states in his book “Star Clusters” that “This is not NGC 2015.” Instead he identifies NGC 2015 as the entire association LH 74 at 05 31 48, -69 14.9 with a size of 5.6′.

 

S-L 557 = ESO -56-147

05 32 07 -69 14 36; Dor
Size 1.0′

30″ (10/12/15 – OzSky): fairly bright, fairly small, very irregular outline, 35″ diameter. It contains a brighter mag 13.5 star and at least a half-dozen mag 14.5-16 stars over haze. S-L 557 is on the east side of a large star cloud (NGC 2015) containing at least 70 stars in the association extending W and N to NGC 2009 7′ NE. The background glow of unresolved stars is bright and mottled in this entire region. Open cluster BRHT 15b is 1′ SE and mag 9.7 HD 269720 (foreground star) lies 2.3′ NE.

25″ (10/10/15 – OzSky): at 318x; this small cluster is embedded on the E side of NGC 2015, a large association/star cloud. It includes a single brighter mag 13.5 star and ~6 total, over unresolved glow.

Notes: Shapley-Lindsay: 80″, “NGC 2015, few fairly bright scattered stars”

 

BRHT 15b

05 32 17.8 -69 15 00; Dor
Size 0.6′

30″ (10/12/15 – OzSky): Open cluster BRHT 15b is a small knot 1′ SE of S-L 557, which is fairly bright, very irregular outline, 35″ diameter. It contains a brighter mag 13.5 star and at least a half-dozen mag 14.5-16 stars over haze.

 

LMC-N150 = DEM L 233

05 33 42 -68 46; Dor
Size 0.8’x0.6′

25″ (4/3/19 – OzSky): at 244x unfiltered; faint elongated E-W glow. A mag 12 star is 50″ W and a faint star [mag 14.6-14.8] is at the NW edge. Good contrast gain adding a NPB filter: Moderately bright, good definition. S-L 585 lies 6′ SE. Located in outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula, 33′ NW of center.

Notes: HST image in the 2017 paper by Stephens et al: “Stellar clusterings around “Isolated” Massive YSOs in the LMC” (2017ApJ…834…94S)