NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 2323 (M 50) has an apparent core-halo structure on the sky survey prints/ films and DSS. The overall diameter is roughly 30 arcmin by 25 arcmin, with the core being just 10.5 by 8.0 arcmin. Most previous catalogues put the diameter at about 15 arcmin, but I have no idea now whether that is just an eyeball estimate, or is based on photometric and proper motion studies. The diameters I measured are obviously just estimates. I also put the position slightly southeast of Brian Skiff's or the one from him adopted by Brent Archinal and Steve Hynes in "Star Clusters". The core- halo structure is well-shown in the DSS image reproduced in "Star Clusters" as Figure 4.70.

===== NGC 2323 18" (3/15/10): very bright, fairly scattered cluster, though contains a richer subgroup. About 125-150 stars were resolved at 175x in the central 10'-12'. The cluster has roughly a triangular or wedge-shaped outline, highlighted by an 8' string of stars oriented ~E-W on the north side (including mag 9.0 HD 52965) and a longer 10' string oriented NW-SE on the SW side that includes the brightest cluster star - distinctly orange mag 7.8 HD 52938 near the SE end of the string. Along this string are also four easy pairs of stars. There is a rich circular group of stars, ~5' diameter, a little north of center. On the east side of the cluster is an unequal double, h748 = 8.5/11 at 15". A faint, unequal pair of stars, BRT 392 = 11.5/11.6 at 4", is due west of the unequal pair by 3.5' at the edge of the rich group of stars. A number of stragglers extend out the cluster increasing the size significantly and a scattered group with some brighter stars including mag 9.0 HD 52720 appears detached to the NW. 13.1" (3/24/84): ~75 stars including some brighter stars at the south and northeast borders. There are a few dense spots and many stragglers. An orange/red mag 8 star is at the south edge and a nice 16" pair of mag 9/11 stars (h748) is 1' NW. There is an elongated 4'x3' region that is devoid of stars just north of the colored mag 8 star. Located 42' E of mag 6.0 HD 52312.