Answer the CAL(dwell)!

By Aaron B. Clevenson, ALCor

”To infinity and beyond!”
- Buzz Lightyear

Welcome to the 9th article on Astronomical League Club certifications. This month we will we go beyond Messier to a more challenging and diverse certification: The Caldwell Club.

Well Charles Messier catalogues many of those fuzzy little blurs, but he missed some fantastic objects as well, the biggest example being the Hyades Cluster. Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore felt that there were many other interesting and beautiful objects, well worth seeking out, that were not included in the Messier catalogue. There are a lot of similarities between the Caldwell list and the Messier list. Caldwell has 109 objects (Messier has 100). You can go for the easier certification of 70 objects, or go for the complete certification of all 109. Both certifications are manual: no “go-to functionality” and no setting circles. But there are some differences. The most significant difference is that to complete the list you will need to travel, and go south. The objects range in declination from +85 to –80 degrees. So for us, at our comfortable +30 degrees latitude, there is a rough 25 degrees of sky that we can’t observe. Sounds like a road trip to me!

The objects are diverse and exciting. Two of the objects never even rated an NGC designation. They range from magnitude 1 to 13, so some are a bit of a challenge. In the list are 40 galaxies, 28 open clusters, 15 nebulas, 13 globular clusters, and 13 planetary nebulas. All in all it is a really nice collection.

So when are we going to “answer the Cal(dwell) and go to Chile? My bags are packed. Join us next month for the granddaddy of all certifications, the Herschels. Until then, Happy Hunting!