 |
The Jack Bennett Catalogue of Southern Hemisphere Objects |
 |
| |
| An Astrophotography Essay |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| Background |
|
|
For two decades, starting in the late 1960's, the southern sky was patrolled by a dedicated South African comet-hunter named Jack Bennett. Using a 5-inch low-power refractor from his backyard he discovered two comets. Jack also picked up a 9th magnitude supernova in NGC 5236 (M83), becoming the first person ever to visually discover a supernova since the invention of the telescope.
John Caister Bennett was born on April 6th, 1914 in Estcourt Natal; his mother was British and his father was from Longford, Tasmania. A long-standing member of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA), he was elected President in 1969. The Society awarded him the prestigious Gill Medal for services to astronomy in 1970 and in 1986 he received an Honorary Degree of Master of Science from the University of Witwatersrand. In 1989, at the recommendation of Rob McNaught of Siding Springs Observatory, the asteroid VD 4093 was named after him. Bennett passed away on May 30th, 1990 in Pretoria. |
| |
|
|
| Jack Bennett |
 |
|
|
|
| Jack Bennett |
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
This picture was taken on occasion of Jack's visit to the USA to accept an award for the M83 supernova visual discovery.
Source: Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of
Southern Africa (MNASSA), Volume 49, No. 9, page 114 |
|
|
|
This photo, taken in 1977, shows Bennett at the eyepiece of the 12" telescope belonging to the Pretoria Centre of the ASSA. On the back of the photograph, in Bennett's handwriting, and initialled by him, in his typical humorous shy style: "With antiquated observer." |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
Jack was a skilled observer and in the spirit of Charles Messier drew up two lists of southern objects that appeared comet-like in his telescope. He referred to them as "shades of Messier...". His first list (Bennett, 1969) was published four months before he discovered his first comet. The supplementary list (Bennett, 1974) was followed three months later by his second discovery. These two lists have been combined to form the Bennett Catalogue (Table below).
Bennett's Catalogue reads like the "Who's Who of the (Southern) Deepsky". Among the 152 objects are the Tarantula, Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae, Sombrero, Helix, Centaurus A and the Silver Coin. Twenty-six of Messier's objects are listed. Bennett noted that including such bright objects may be unnecessary, but added: "it is surprising how easily even these can be mistaken for comets when seen at low altitudes and poor conditions." Almost half the objects in Bennett's list are globular clusters, which makes sense since these bear a striking resemblance to comets. The constellation richest in Bennett objects is Sagittarius, followed by Ophiuchus. Bennett wrote that "the constellations Scorpio, Ophiuchus and Sagittarius . . contain a bewildering variety of comet-like objects. These are mostly globular clusters and all except the largest defy attempts to distinguish them from tailless comets. This relatively small area of sky contains about a third of all the comet-like objects visible with small telescopes south of the equator." Dorado also contains many "Bennetts" - five galaxies and six clusters and nebulae. The latter lie within the Large Magellanic Cloud which, according to Bennett, "should normally be avoided like the plague by anyone looking for comets. There are, however, a few objects on the outskirts of the Clouds which are regularly encountered in comet sweeps, and these have been included in the list, if only as a warning to the observer of the perils that lie ahead of him!" |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
The Essay |
|
| C1969Y1 Bennett |
 |
|
| |
|
When I was a young student in my native Belgium, Jack Bennett's first comet discovery - C/1969 Y1, the great comet Bennett that reached mag 0 (!) in March-April 1970 - constituted a landmark and major motivation point in my personal astrophotography roadmap.
The image of Comet Bennett on the right was taken in 1970 near the town of Waasmunster in Flanders (Belgium) using Kodak Tri-X B&W 400 ASA film developed in Promicrol, a popular astrophotography methodology in those years. The camera was a Pentax Spotmatic SLR camera riding piggy-back on an 4" Polarex-Unitron refractor and mount. I made a whole stack of 30 x 40 cm prints and offered them for sale to help finance my astrophotography endeavors.
It is thus with a special dedication and fondness that I go about imaging and documenting Jack's collection of "comet-like" objects. This is a work in progress: the table below lists all 152 Bennett objects.
A click on the Bennett number in the first column will take you to the image. The second column shows the corresponding NGC number for all but three objects and other designations if available. My special thanks to South-African Auke Slotegraaf for the background info on Jack Bennett and especially for the two images of the late Mr. Bennett, courtesy of ASSA (Astronomical Society of Southern Africa) http://www.saao.ac.za/assa .
Daniel Verschatse, Santiago de Chile in March of 2005 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
| |
Bennett |
Other designation(s) |
R.A. |
Dec. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
1 |
NGC 55 |
0:14:54 |
-39:11 |
| |
2 |
NGC 104, 47 Tuc |
0:24:06 |
-72:05 |
| |
3 |
NGC 247 |
0:47:06 |
-20:46 |
| |
4 |
NGC 253, Sculptor, Silver Coin Gal. |
0:47:36 |
-25:17 |
| |
5 |
NGC 288 |
0:52:48 |
-26:35 |
| |
6 |
NGC 300 |
0:54:54 |
-37:41 |
| |
7 |
NGC 362 |
1:03:12 |
-70:51 |
| |
8 |
NGC 613 |
1:34:18 |
-29:25 |
| |
9 |
NGC 1068, M 77 |
2:42:42 |
-00:01 |
| |
10 |
NGC 1097 |
2:46:18 |
-30:17 |
| |
10a |
NGC 1232 |
3:09:48 |
-20:35 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
11 |
NGC 1261 |
3:12:18 |
-55:13 |
| |
12 |
NGC 1291 |
3:17:18 |
-41:08 |
| |
13 |
NGC 1313 |
3:18:18 |
-66:30 |
| |
14 |
NGC 1316 |
3:22:42 |
-37:12 |
| |
14a |
NGC 1350 |
3:31:06 |
-33:38 |
| |
15 |
NGC 1360 |
3:33:18 |
-25:51 |
| |
16 |
NGC 1365 |
3:33:36 |
-36:08 |
| |
17 |
NGC 1380 |
3:36:30 |
-34:59 |
| |
18 |
NGC 1387 |
3:37:00 |
-35:31 |
| |
19 |
NGC 1399 |
3:38:30 |
-35:27 |
| |
19a |
NGC 1398 |
3:38:54 |
-26:20 |
| |
20
|
NGC 1404 |
3:38:54 |
-35:35 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
21 |
NGC 1433 |
3:42:00 |
-47:13 |
| |
21a |
NGC 1512 |
4:03:54 |
-43:21 |
| |
22 |
NGC 1535 |
4:14:12 |
-12:44 |
| |
23 |
NGC 1549 |
4:15:42 |
-55:36 |
| |
24 |
NGC 1553 |
4:16:12 |
-55:47 |
| |
25 |
NGC 1566 |
4:20:00 |
-54:56 |
| |
25a |
NGC 1617 |
4:31:42 |
-54:36 |
| |
26 |
NGC 1672 |
4:45:42 |
-59:15 |
| |
27 |
NGC 1763 |
4:56:48 |
-66:24 |
| |
28 |
NGC 1783 |
4:58:54 |
-66:00 |
| |
29 |
NGC 1792 |
5:05:12 |
-37:59 |
| |
30 |
NGC 1818 |
5:04:12 |
-66:24 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
31 |
NGC 1808 |
5:07:42 |
-37:31 |
| |
32 |
NGC 1851 |
5:14:06 |
-40:03 |
| |
33 |
NGC 1866 |
5:13:30 |
-65:28 |
| |
34 |
NGC 1904, M 79 |
5:24:30 |
-24:33 |
| |
35 |
NGC 2070, Tarantula Nebula, 30 Dor |
5:38:36 |
-69:05 |
| |
36 |
NGC 2214 |
6:12:48 |
-68:16 |
| |
36a |
NGC 2243 |
6:29:48 |
-31:17 |
| |
37 |
NGC 2298 |
6:49:00 |
-36:00 |
| |
37a |
NGC 2467 |
7:52:36 |
-26:23 |
| |
38 |
NGC 2489 |
7:56:12 |
-30:04 |
| |
39 |
NGC 2506 |
8:12:00 |
-10:47 |
| |
40 |
NGC 2627 |
8:37:18 |
-29:57 |
| |
40a |
NGC 2671 |
8:46:12 |
-41:53 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
41 |
NGC 2808 |
9:12:00 |
-64:52 |
| |
41a |
NGC 2972 |
9:40:18 |
-50:20 |
| |
41b |
NGC 2997 |
9:45:36 |
-31:11 |
| |
42 |
NGC 3115 |
10:05:12 |
-07:43 |
| |
43 |
NGC 3132, 8-Burst, S. Ring Nebula |
10:07:00 |
-40:26 |
| |
44 |
NGC 3201 |
10:17:36 |
-46:25 |
| |
45 |
NGC 3242, Ghost of Jupiter |
10:24:48 |
-18:38 |
| |
46 |
NGC 3621 |
11:18:18 |
-32:49 |
| |
47 |
Melotte 105 |
11:19:39 |
-63:30 |
| |
48 |
NGC 3960 |
11:50:52 |
-55:41 |
| |
49 |
NGC 3923 |
11:51:00 |
-28:48 |
| |
50 |
NGC 4372 |
12:25:48 |
-72:40 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
51 |
NGC 4590, M 68 |
12:39:30 |
-26:45 |
| |
52 |
NGC 4594, M 104, Sombrero Gal. |
12:40:00 |
-11:37 |
| |
53 |
NGC 4697 |
12:48:36 |
-05:48 |
| |
54 |
NGC 4699 |
12:49:00 |
-08:40 |
| |
55 |
NGC 4753 |
12:52:24 |
-01:12 |
| |
56 |
NGC 4833 |
12:59:36 |
-70:53 |
| |
57 |
NGC 4945 |
13:05:24 |
-49:28 |
| |
58 |
NGC 4976 |
13:08:36 |
-49:30 |
| |
59 |
NGC 5061 |
13:18:06 |
-26:50 |
| |
59a |
NGC 5068 |
13:18:54 |
-21:02 |
| |
60 |
NGC 5128, Centaurus A |
13:25:30 |
-43:01 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
61 |
NGC 5139, Omega Centauri |
13:26:48 |
-47:29 |
| |
62 |
NGC 5189, Spiral Nebula |
13:33:30 |
-65:59 |
| |
63 |
NGC 5236, M 83, S.Pinwheel |
13:37:00 |
-29:52 |
| |
63a |
NGC 5253 |
13:39:54 |
-31:39 |
| |
64 |
NGC 5286 |
13:46:24 |
-51:22 |
| |
65 |
NGC 5617 |
14:29:48 |
-60:43 |
| |
66 |
NGC 5634 |
14:29:36 |
-05:59 |
| |
67 |
NGC 5824 |
15:04:00 |
-33:04 |
| |
68 |
NGC 5897 |
15:17:24 |
-21:01 |
| |
69 |
NGC 5927 |
15:28:00 |
-50:40 |
| |
70 |
NGC 5986 |
15:46:06 |
-37:47 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
71 |
NGC 5999 |
15:52:12 |
-56:28 |
| |
72 |
NGC 6005 |
15:55:48 |
-57:26 |
| |
72a |
Tr 23 (Trumpler) |
16:01:30 |
-53:32 |
| |
73 |
NGC 6093, M 80 |
16:17:00 |
-22:59 |
| |
74 |
NGC 6101 |
16:25:48 |
-72:12 |
| |
75 |
NGC 6121, M 4 |
16:23:36 |
-26:32 |
| |
76 |
NGC 6134 |
16:27:42 |
-49:09 |
| |
77 |
NGC 6144 |
16:27:18 |
-26:02 |
| |
78 |
NGC 6139 |
16:27:42 |
-38:51 |
| |
79 |
NGC 6171, M 107 |
16:32:30 |
-13:03 |
| |
79a |
NGC 6167 |
16:34:24 |
-49:36 |
| |
79b |
NGC 6192 |
16:40:18 |
-43:22 |
| |
80 |
NGC 6218, M 12 |
16:47:12 |
-01:57 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
81 |
NGC 6216 |
16:49:24 |
-44:44 |
| |
82 |
NGC 6235 |
16:53:24 |
-22:11 |
| |
83 |
NGC 6254, M 10 |
16:57:06 |
-04:06 |
| |
84 |
NGC 6253 |
16:59:06 |
-52:43 |
| |
85 |
NGC 6266, M 62 |
17:01:12 |
-30:07 |
| |
86 |
NGC 6273, M 19 |
17:02:36 |
-26:16 |
| |
87 |
NGC 6284 |
17:04:30 |
-24:46 |
| |
88 |
NGC 6287 |
17:05:12 |
-22:42 |
| |
89 |
NGC 6293 |
17:10:12 |
-26:35 |
| |
90 |
NGC 6304 |
17:14:30 |
-29:28 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
91 |
NGC 6316 |
17:16:36 |
-28:08 |
| |
91a |
NGC 6318 |
17:17:48 |
-39:27 |
| |
92 |
NGC 6333, M 9 |
17:19:12 |
-18:31 |
| |
93 |
NGC 6356 |
17:23:36 |
-17:49 |
| |
94 |
NGC 6352 |
17:25:30 |
-48:25 |
| |
95 |
NGC 6362 |
17:31:54 |
-67:03 |
| |
96 |
NGC 6388 |
17:36:18 |
-44:44 |
| |
97 |
NGC 6402, M 14 |
17:37:36 |
-03:15 |
| |
98 |
NGC 6397 |
17:40:42 |
-53:40 |
| |
98a |
NGC 6440 |
17:48:54 |
-20:22 |
| |
98b |
NGC 6445 |
17:49:12 |
-20:01 |
| |
99 |
NGC 6441 |
17:50:12 |
-37:03 |
| |
100 |
NGC 6496 |
17:59:00 |
-44:16 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
101 |
NGC 6522 |
18:03:36 |
-30:02 |
| |
102 |
NGC 6528 |
18:04:48 |
-30:03 |
| |
103 |
NGC 6544 |
18:07:18 |
-25:00 |
| |
104 |
NGC 6541 |
18:08:00 |
-43:42 |
| |
105 |
NGC 6553 |
18:09:18 |
-25:54 |
| |
106 |
NGC 6569 |
18:13:36 |
-31:50 |
| |
107 |
NGC 6584 |
18:18:36 |
-52:13 |
| |
107a |
NGC 6603, in M 24 |
18:18:24 |
-18:25 |
| |
108 |
NGC 6618, M 17 |
18:20:48 |
-16:11 |
| |
109 |
NGC 6624 |
18:23:42 |
-30:22 |
| |
110 |
NGC 6626, M 28 |
18:24:30 |
-24:52 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
111 |
NGC 6638 |
18:30:54 |
-25:30 |
| |
112 |
NGC 6637, M 69 |
18:31:24 |
-32:21 |
| |
112a |
NGC 6642 |
18:31:54 |
-23:29 |
| |
113 |
NGC 6652 |
18:35:48 |
-32:59 |
| |
114 |
NGC 6656, M 22 |
18:36:24 |
-23:54 |
| |
115 |
NGC 6681, M 70 |
18:43:12 |
-32:18 |
| |
116 |
NGC 6705, M 11 |
18:51:06 |
-06:16 |
| |
117 |
NGC 6712 |
18:53:06 |
-08:42 |
| |
118 |
NGC 6715, M 54 |
18:55:06 |
-30:29 |
| |
119 |
NGC 6723 |
18:59:36 |
-36:38 |
| |
120 |
NGC 6744 |
19:09:48 |
-63:51 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
121 |
NGC 6752 |
19:10:54 |
-59:59 |
| |
122 |
NGC 6809, M 55 |
19:40:00 |
-30:58 |
| |
123 |
NGC 6818 |
19:44:00 |
-14:09 |
| |
124 |
NGC 6864, M 75 |
20:06:06 |
-21:55 |
| |
125 |
NGC 6981, M 72 |
20:53:30 |
-12:32 |
| |
126 |
NGC 7009, Saturn Nebula |
21:04:12 |
-11:22 |
| |
127 |
NGC 7089, M 2 |
21:33:30 |
-00:49 |
| |
128 |
NGC 7099, M 30 |
21:40:24 |
-23:11 |
| |
129 |
NGC 7293, Helix Nebula |
22:29:36 |
-20:48 |
| |
129a |
NGC 7410 |
22:55:00 |
-39:40 |
| |
129b |
IC 1459 |
22:57:00 |
-36:28 |
| |
130 |
NGC 7793 |
23:57:48 |
-32:35 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|