Kemble's Cascade
Encyclopedia
Kemble's Cascade located in the constellation
Camelopardalis
, is an asterism
— a pattern created by unrelated star
s. It is an apparent straight line of more than 20 colorful 5th to 10th magnitude
stars over a distance of approximately five moon
diameters, and the open cluster
NGC 1502
can be found at one end.
It was named by Walter Scott Houston
in honor of Father Lucian J. Kemble (1922–1999), a Franciscan Friar
and amateur astronomer
who wrote a letter to Houston about the asterism, describing it as "a beautiful cascade of faint stars tumbling from the northwest down to the open cluster NGC 1502" that he had discovered while sweeping the sky with a pair of 7x35 binoculars.
Houston was so impressed that he wrote an article on the asterism that appeared in his "Deep Sky Wonders" column in the astronomy magazine Sky & Telescope
in 1980, in which he named it "Kemble's Cascade".
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis is a large but faint constellation in the northern sky. The constellation was introduced in 1612 by Petrus Plancius. Some older astronomy books give an alternative spelling of the name, Camelopardus.-Etymology:...
, is an asterism
Asterism (astronomy)
In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars recognized on Earth's night sky. It may form part of an official constellation, or be composed of stars from more than one. Like constellations, asterisms are in most cases composed of stars which, while they are visible in the same general direction,...
— a pattern created by unrelated star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s. It is an apparent straight line of more than 20 colorful 5th to 10th magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
stars over a distance of approximately five moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
diameters, and the open cluster
Open cluster
An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way Galaxy, and many more are thought to exist...
NGC 1502
NGC 1502
NGC 1502 is a small open cluster of approximately 45 stars in the constellation Camelopardalis, or the Giraffe. It is considered one of the finest objects in this constellation. Kemble's Cascade seems to "flow" into NGC 1502....
can be found at one end.
It was named by Walter Scott Houston
Walter Scott Houston
Walter Scott Houston was an American popularizer of amateur astronomy. He wrote the "Deep-Sky Wonders" column in Sky and Telescope magazine from 1946 to 1993.-Biography:...
in honor of Father Lucian J. Kemble (1922–1999), a Franciscan Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
and amateur astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
who wrote a letter to Houston about the asterism, describing it as "a beautiful cascade of faint stars tumbling from the northwest down to the open cluster NGC 1502" that he had discovered while sweeping the sky with a pair of 7x35 binoculars.
Houston was so impressed that he wrote an article on the asterism that appeared in his "Deep Sky Wonders" column in the astronomy magazine Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescope is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:*current events in astronomy and space exploration;*events in the amateur astronomy community;...
in 1980, in which he named it "Kemble's Cascade".
External links
- Kembles Cascade locator – Various web sites put together by B Fenerty. Retrieved January 27, 2010
- Astronomy Picture of the DayAstronomy Picture of the DayAstronomy Picture of the Day is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University . According to the website, "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer."The photograph is not necessarily...
- Kemble's Cascade August 14, 2000
- Kemble's Cascade – January 28, 2010