NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 2467. The Herschel's saw this as a relatively large nebula, mentioning only a single star near the center. There is a small cluster northwest of the center (I put the cluster at 07 50 42, -26 14.2 for 1950), but neither father nor son mention it. When WH published his observations, he wrote, "L, pB, R, er, 6 or 7' d; a faint red color visible. A * 8 mag not far from the center, but not connected. 2nd obs 9 or 10' d". I've tracked down one of the two observations in the Herschel Archives by the observation date 9 Dec 1784. There, the description reads "L, almost R; 6 or 7' dia; entirely milky, a pS star not far from the center; a very curious appearance." In CH's fair copy, she has the reduced position "RA 7h 43' 53" PD 115d 55'::". This position is for equinox 1800, and precesses to 07 50 06, -26 17.6 for 1950.0. Another position is available from Auwers's reduction of WH's observations: 07 45 17, -25 55 (for 1830.0) where he notes the RA is uncertain. This precesses to 07 50 16, -26 13.2 (1950). Finally, reducing the offsets that WH published give 07 50 16, -26 12.7 for 1950.0 (I believe that Auwers worked from these published offsets). JH used his own position in the GC, and Dreyer copied it unquestioned into the NGC, though JH has a double colon on the RA. His description is curious, too: "A * 9 m with a W [sic] of sts and nebulosity or ? if not a vF neb about the stars -- (no red colour seen)." So, the historical position of the object is uncertain, and even the descriptions are not as clear as we'd like. But looking at the sky, there is a bright nebula with the diameter of its brightest inner section at 6.5 x 4.1 arcmin. Fainter extentions push it a good deal further with a diameter of 10 x 8 arcmin being a reasonable "outer" diameter as seen on the DSS2 red image. Nebulosity extends much further than that, but is quite faint; I don't expect it to be visible at the eyepiece beyond the 10 x 8 arcmin limit except under splendid conditions. I could be wrong -- give it try some evening. The star near the center is HD 64315 with V = 9.2, so JH's estimate was correct (he still adopted his father's estimate of m = 8, however). I've taken the position of the nebula to be this star though it is somewhat off the actual center. I give an approximate center for the brightest part of the nebulosity, as well one for the somewhat more extended nebula, too. Choose whichever one suits your purpose.

===== NGC 2467 13.1" (1/30/06 - Costa Rica): bright, large nebulosity at 75x using an OIII filter, ~4-5' diameter, surrounding a mag 7.5 star. The main section is roughly mushroom shaped, extending generally south of the bright star. The southern border is locally brighter along a strip oriented NW to SE. There is a sharp light cut-off (apparently due to dust) passing to the north of the central star and oriented E-W. Faint haze extends ~15' to the east. To the north, fainter nebulosity extends 12' E-W, and brightens towards the east end at an elongated group of brighter stars (Haffner 18), oriented NW-SE. Removing the filter this is a gorgeous low power Milky Way field with numerous faint stars peppered in the region of the nebula. 17.5" (3/2/02): Using a 31 Nagler at 64x and an OIII filter, this is a prominent 7' nebulosity surrounding a mag 8 star. A dark lane appears to cut through the nebula from west to east starting NW of the central star. Fainter nebulosity extends beyond the dark lane but then fades out to the north. The south and southeast border of the main mass has a bright, distinct edge and the southern border has a small extension on the west edge which hooks towards the NW. A finger of nebulosity extends north from the main body and involves a scattered group of brighter stars. This strip dims but nearly merges with a much larger, elongated mass of fairly faint nebulosity extending NW to SE at a roughly right angle. This section is ~15' in size with an irregular border that is bounded on the NE side by a string of brighter stars (Haffner 18). This is a fascinating HII complex to explore in a rich star field! 17.5" (1/23/88): at 82x with OIII filter appears as a large, bright, circular nebulosity about 10' diameter. A mag 7.8 star is involved north of center and several fainter stars are involved. The nebulosity is brightest along the south side in a strip oriented NW-SE. A group of brighter stars is NE (Haffner 18). A separate larger (~15') but fainter section is 10'-15' NE and appears elongated. 8" (3/24/84): fairly bright, moderately large, roughly circular. A mag 8 star is north of center. This is a prominent nebulosity even with this aperture.