Monday, December 30, 2013

Kemble's Cascade (Kemble 1) a Straight Line of Stars Through Camelopardalis

Another new object (asterism) was introduced to me this month by the December observing list. Kemble's Cascade (Kemble 1 from a very small catalog) is an apparent straight line of stars intersecting the dim constellation Camelopardalis. The strange constellation name seems to be a Latin word based on three Greek words: giraffe, camel, and leopard (Wikipedia). Sounds like a wonky animal to me!

Because the dim stars of the constellation were near impossible to see in my viewfinder or on live view, I pretty much aimed the camera in the general direction and took some 4 second exposures looking for the line. Once I saw it, it was very obvious! Like a little parade of stars!

kemble's cascade straight line of stars
Stack of 17 subs, 23 darks, 21 bias at ISO 6400, f/5.6, 300mm, 1.3sec
Kemble's Cascade
Single frame at ISO 6400, f/5.6, 300mm, 1.3sec
Kemble's Cascade in stellarium
Kemble's Cascade isn't an object in Stellarium, but it's located here relative to Camelopardalis in this screen shot.

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