NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 5281 14" (4/4/16 - Coonabarabran, 184x): very bright, striking cluster including a 2' string containing (from southwest to northeast) four stars mag 8.4, 7.9, 8.5 and 6.6 (at the northeast end). A 2' linear chain of 7 mag 10-11 stars intersects the bright stars. The central 4'-5' region contains ~50 stars, but many stars are scattered outside this region extending the size of roughly 10'. NGC 5269 (probably an asterism) lies 12.5' W. 18" (7/6/05 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this large, rich cluster is striking at 128x. A curving 2' string of four stars mag 6.6-8.6 oriented SW-NE dominate the view, with a pale yellow star and an orange star at opposite ends adding color. Overall, perhaps 150 stars are visible (many mag 11-12) in an irregular 10' region although the boundaries are arbitrary as the cluster blends into the surrounding fields. Most of the brighter stars are within a 3' region and in fact the catalogued diameter is only 5'. At 228x, another fainter layer of 15th magnitude stars emerged from the background.