NGC/IC Project Restoration Effort

===== NGC 6204. This is a pretty well-defined cluster found by JH in two sweeps, the first on 1 July 1834, the second on 20 April 1836. The RAs on the two nights are significantly different, the second apparently including a knot of four stars to the southeast that JH mentions specifically in the first sweep: "... sf is a brilliant knot of sts, one of which is 8 m, and the others 9 m." Without evidence, I don't believe that the knot is associated with the cluster, so ignored it when I estimated my own position and diameters for the cluster. Proper motions will tell us whether I am right or not. I also note a striking line of ten stars centered at 16 45 44.0, -46 58 23 (J2000) about 5.5 arcminutes northwest of the cluster. The PA of the line is close to 173 degrees. I suspect that this, too, is a random grouping. During his second observation, JH drew a rather fanciful sketch of the cluster and some of the surrounding stars; he reproduces it in CGH as Figure 6 of Plate 5. The figure is drawn so that the cluster appears to be situated in an open-topped box, with the open side being south of the cluster. The line of stars to the northwest apparently forms part of the right edge of the box, while JH's knot of stars is the clump to the upper left in his sketch. This configuration is probably more striking at the eyepiece than it is in the DSS images.

===== NGC 6204 22" (6/28/06 - Hawaii): ~100 stars mag 10-14 in an 8' group. A number of the stars are arranged in interesting chains and loops. One N-S chain on the east side ends in a knot of bright stars including mag 7.5 HD 150958 and a mag 8.5 star, although this detached group may be a separate cluster (Hogg 22). Another long curving string of stars (extended N-S) is located in the NE edge of the cluster. But the richest clustering is a 3' circular group including a nice trio of mag 13 stars with separations of ~10". 18" (7/9/02 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): at 171x, this is a bright cluster with roughly 80 stars in a 7' circle. Near the center is knot of four stars with additional very faint stars huddled around at 228x. Many of the stars in the cluster are arranged in a few loops and chains. Most of the brighter stars in the cluster are situated around the edges including a line of four stars at the east edge. Four bright stars are off the SE side including mag 7.3 SAO 227189 (catalogued as Hogg 22). 8" (7/13/91 - Southern Baja): about 40 stars in 8' diameter at 63x. Rich appearance over an unresolved haze. A close triple star is in the center with four bright mag 8-9 stars in a tight group off the SE edge (this is a separate cluster Hogg 22). 8" (7/16/82): only a few faint stars are visible over unresolved haze but appears to be rich. This is one of the southernmost clusters I've viewed from Northern California latitude.