Open Cluster NGC 188

History

This open cluster was discovered on 3 November 1831 by John Herschel using his 18.3 inch reflecting telescope. He cataloged it with the number h 34 in his «Slough Catalogue» and noted: «Cluster, very large, pretty rich 150...200 stars 10...8m; more than fills the field» [466] Dreyer added it 1888 as NGC 188 to his «New General Catalogue». [313]

In 1995 this cluster was added by the British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore as first and northernmost object C 1 in his Caldwell Catalogue. [299]

Physical Properties

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Designation NGC 188
Type OCL (II2r)
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 00h 47m 30.0s
Declination (J2000.0) +85° 15' 30"
Diameter 15 arcmin
Visual magnitude 8.1 mag
Metric Distance 2.000 kpc
Dreyer Description Cl, vL, R, 150-200 st 10…18
Identification, Remarks h 34; GC 92; OCL 309

Finder Chart

The open cluster NGC 1888 can be found in the constellation Cepheus, circa 4° away from the pole star and hence visible all year long in Europe.

Cepheus: Open Cluster NGC 188
Finder Chart Open Cluster NGC 188
always
12:03 | 51.6°
never
Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. Times are shown for timezone UTC, Latitude 46.7996°, Longitude 8.23225°, Horizon height 5°, Date 2025-03-25. [149, 160]

Objects Within a Radius of 20°

Abell 1
Abell 86
CTA 1
Hidden Galaxy
IC 342
IC 1454
Lemon Slice Nebula
IC 3568
Shark Nebula
LDN 1235
Minkowski 2-55
Bow-Tie Nebula
NGC 40
NGC 1961
Iris Nebula
NGC 7023
NGC 7822
S5 0014+81
Integral Sign Galaxy
UGC 3697
Ghost Nebula
vdB 141

References

  • [149] SkySafari 6 Pro, Simulation Curriculum; skysafariastronomy.com
  • [160] The STScI Digitized Sky Survey; archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form
  • [277] Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge; Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke; 2021-02-17
  • [299] Beyond Messier: The Caldwell Catalog; Patrick Moore; Sky and Telescope, December 1995, page 38; archive.org/details/sim_sky-and-telescope_1995-12_90_6; 2023-11-11
  • [313] A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, being the Catalogue of the late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., revised, corrected, and enlarged; Dreyer, J. L. E.; Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 49: 1–237 (1888); Bibcode:1888MmRAS..49....1D
  • [466] Observations of nebulæ and clusters of stars, made at Slough, with a twenty-feet reflector, between the years 1825 and 1833; John Frederick William Herschel; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1 January 1833, Pages: 359-505; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1833.0021