A small and very faint constellation of the southern sky, one of the worst to identify. In our latitudes only the northern part of it rises above the horizon, in the evening in late autumn or early winter. Its northernmost part peaks at midnight in early December about 10 degrees above the southern horizon. The southernmost parts can only be seen in Europe at Mediterranean latitudes.
α Cae - The brightest star of the constellation, although it only reaches a magnitude of 4.52. In reality, it is a binary star, with a companion of magnitude 12.4 located at a separation of 6.6". However, we would need a larger telescope to verify this. The system is located at a distance of 66 light-years from us.
γ Cae - Double star distinguishable only with a larger telescope. The main yellow-orange star with a brightness of 4.7mag has a companion at a separation of 2.9 arcseconds with a brightness of 8.5mag.
R Cae - A relatively bright variable star of the Mira Ceti type, which changes its brightness between 6.7mag and 13.7mag in a period longer than 13 months.
NGC 1679
John Herschel discovered NGC 1679 = h2666 on 18 Nov 1835 and described "pB, L, irreg round; involves four stars, and is very gradually brighter about the chief of them." Joseph Turner sketched the galaxy on 24 Nov 1877 with the Great Melbourne Telescope. He drew it boomerange shaped with one side between the mag 12 star at the north edge and the 13th mag star on the east side (central part of galaxy) and a second side beginning at the mag 13 star extending southwest (this section is an irregular spiral arm). He also sketched nebulosity south of the 12th mag star. (p. 150 in logbook).
400/500mm - 17.5" (1/23/93): moderately bright and large, 2' diameter, irregularly round, brighter core. Unusual appearance as four stars are closeby; a mag 12 star is at the NW edge, two mag 13/14.5 stars are near the SW edge and a mag 13.5 star at the E edge. This is a fairly bright galaxy for low elevation viewing. Images reveal an irregular extension on the south side.
Notes by Steve Gottlieb