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Camelopardalis (also Camelopardus) is a modern constellation, named by Jacob Bartsch in 1624. Something was needed to fill in the space between the queen Cassiopeia, and the great bear, Ursa Major. It was a space with only a few dim stars that did not inspire any particular form, so he used the shape of the space itself, which suggested the figure of a giraffe. He used the Greek name for giraffe, which literally means leopard camel. Camelopardalis hugs the north celestial pole, keeping watch over the north star, Polaris, and harbouring some interesting deep sky objects.
NGC 2403 is a large spiral galaxy discovered by William Herschel in 1788. With a magnitude of 8.4, and 17.8 arc minutes wide, it is easily visible in binoculars. The galaxy is 37,000 light years in diameter, and twelve million light years away.
With a magnitude of 10.9 and only 4.9 arc minutes wide, the spiral galaxy NGC 2655 does not appear as large and bright as NGC 2403, but it is still visible - just barely - in large binoculars on a dark night. In small telescopes it is characterized by a bright central core, surrounded by a soft, indistinct halo. Larger telescopes reveal faint wispy spiral arms. The galaxy is 220,000 light years in diameter, and 71 million light years away. Photo below by Hubble Space Telescope. Click to enlarge.
NGC 1501 is a planetary nebula. Planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets, and are so named because of their historically round, planetary appearance in early telescopes. The nebula is a small, faint object, less than one arc minute in size, with a central star of magnitude 14. It is 5,000 light years away. Photo below by Pollux telescope. Click to enlarge.
NGC 1502 is an open star cluster. It contains approximately 45 stars at a distance of 2,700 light years, and is a fine sight for small telescopes, considered by many to be the finest sight in the entire constellation. Click on the photo below to enlarge.
The star cluster is made even more notable by Kemble's Cascade, pictured below in a photo by Walter MacDonald. This is a "waterfall" of about twenty magnitude nine stars that "cascades" into the sparkling "pool" of NGC 1502. Kemble's Cascade is named for the famed Canadian astronomer, Father Lucian Kemble.
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