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unusually large telescope. These catalogs were assembled because if you study enough of them, it is possible to determine information about the size and age of the universe. The Zwicky catalog lists 9,134 clusters in the northern sky. The Abell catalog lists over 5,000 clusters in all parts of the sky. Don't confuse the Abell catalog of clusters of galaxies with the Abell catalog of planetary nebulae (p. 12). One can also find a galaxy by its Hickson designation. The Hickson catalog lists 100 compact clusters of galaxies, similar to Copeland's Septet and other close groupings. The Hickson designation consists of a number from 1 to 100, followed by a letter; for example, Hickson 42E would be the fifth galaxy found in cluster #42. The Arp catalog contains "peculiar" galaxies and groups of galaxies listed by Halton Arp. Many of these objects make for interesting observing with small telescopes. Their numbers run from 1 to 338. 5c: Finding nebulae When you click on the "Nebula" option in the "Go to" menu, you will get the following menu: Sharpless Lynd's Bright Neb PK (Strasbourg) Van den Bergh Barnard Dark Neb Common Name Abell Planetary To find an object by its Sharpless, Lynd's Bright Nebula, Abell, van den Bergh, or Barnard number, click on the option and type in the catalog number; Guide will recenter on that object. By the way, don't confuse the Abell catalog of planetary nebulae with the Abell catalog of clusters of galaxies (p. 11). The PK (Perek-Kohoutek), or Strasbourg catalog of nebulae, requires a pair of numbers. (These numbers actually form a coordinate for the object.) For this option, you enter both numbers, as in "249-5.1" or "215+11.1". The numbers will be separated by either a plus or minus sign. Most nebulae are known by their common names, such as the Eskimo nebula or the Trifid nebula. The "Common Name" menu provides a list of these names from which to choose. 5d: Entering coordinates Guide has provisions for entering coordinates in five different systems: equatorial (RA/dec), ecliptic, galactic, supergalactic,
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