2037 2035
Men
☀12.8mag
Ø 36''

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BSDL 2464 = OGLE-CL LMC 611 was noticed 2.6' NE as a very faint, small glow, 20" diameter. A couple of very faint stars were resolved at the east end. The mag 10.7 star noted above lies 2.7' NW.

John Herschel discovered NGC 2036 = h2917 on 11 Nov 1836 and recorded "vF; R; gbM; 90"." There is nothing at his position, but one degree south is the cluster S-L 587. Herschel's added a note to his description that there was likely an error of 1° in the polar distance and clearly this was the case. Eric Lindsay, in the 1964 paper "Some NGC objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud" (IAJ, 6, 286-289) comments "The Decl. seems to be in error. The object is probably the small cluster S/L 587 at 1° south. Herschel found strong ground to suspect an error of a degree in P.D. which should most likely be 160° and not 159°." As this cluster is exactly 1° S of h's position, the identification is virtually certain.

Also, see historical notes for NGC 2043, which may be a duplicate observation with the 48" Great Melbourne Telescope.

600/800mm - 30" (10/14/15 - OzSky): very bright, fairly large, irregular, mottled, brighter core, 50" diameter. A bright, tiny knot of mag 15.5 stars is at the southeast end. A couple of additional mag 16 stars are resolved near the edges. A mag 10.7 star lies 4' NNE. NGC 2028 lies 8' NW.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb