salutations celestial sight seers i'm david fuller from eyes on the sky. ngc 663 is a
wonderful grouping of stars that... well according to some people's imaginations looks a bit like a
lawn mower. and if the orientation in a telescope is correct and you squint the right way it kind of
does! but more on that later. this open cluster located in cassiopeia is fascinating because
it not only is 400 stars strong it contains a rather large group of a certain kind of stars
called Be stars that show a specific spectral line of hydrogen and they are generally smaller
often hotter stars too. helpfully for us in the entire cluster there are about two dozen stars
that are from 8th to 10th magnitude and another 3 dozen to 12 magnitude. so with moderately dark
skies and or sufficient aperture a lot can be seen. here's how to locate this open cluster.
to find ngc 663 look for the W or M shape of the constellation cassiopeia in the northern sky.
if you're not sure where to look for it check out my shapes in the sky
cassiopeia video for how to find it a link for that is in the description of this video.
ngc 663 is on the side of cassiopeia with the dimmer stars delta and epsilon. the cluster is
nearly equidistant between the two but it's not on a straight line between them we'll have to look
on the outside of the W or M shape just a little. remember what direction this is as users of
reversed image finder scopes will see stars go the opposite direction of the motion you need to move
and there are several clusters in this area so in a moment i will explain how not to get confused.
with a magnified finderscope having a seven degrees field of view
place delta and epsilon cassiopeiae that are about four and a half degrees apart
both in the field of view one on each side of what you can see through your finder.
from most skies even a small finder scope will also show several dimmer stars between
delta and epsilon. if you imagine the exact halfway point between those two bright stars
then look just outside of the W or M shape of cassiopeia here you'll notice one of the brighter
stars in this area though there's another slightly brighter one further out and not as centered.
aim for the more centered star and then move half that distance again in the same direction.
looking in this area in your main telescope with an eyepiece showing a one degree field of view
you should see that star you were aiming for at the eyepiece and these two dimmer
eighth magnitude stars these three stars point right to ngc 663 which may already be in your
field of view. just center it and there you are. more on observing it in a moment.
for telescopes with a red dot finder this cluster is a bit more challenging but it can be found aim
the red dot finder at the spot directly between delta and epsilon that are nearly 5 degrees apart
imagine moving at a right angle outward from the W or M about 1/4 the distance of that five degrees
you might try starting at 1/2 the distance first then moving halfway back. in
if not then move a little less if you're unsure and then you'll find the stars mentioned above
in your main telescope. once looking through it use them to aim at and then center the cluster.
this open cluster is fairly good sized at about 15 arc minutes across which translates to around
a quarter of one degree. if you have a medium magnification eyepiece it may frame the cluster
nicely and if you have only a couple eyepieces and it's filling the view entirely use the lower
magnification. and as for the lawn mower it's there. these stars form what could be the body
and wheels here's the engine and there's the handle do you see it? no? if not let me know
what you do see here. i just see a gorgeous open star cluster. and if you liked this video and it
helped you to find this object successfully check out the other 39 telescopes on the sky objects.
i lead you step by step to the best and easiest objects to find from the northern hemisphere.
and don't forget to subscribe to this channel by clicking the subscribe button just below
this video to the right on youtube. i make regular updates on how to find all kinds
of interesting objects in the night sky naked eye with binoculars telescopes and occasional reviews
too and have since 2010. thanks for watching i'm david fuller wishing you clear and dark skies.