The Caldwell Objects

seems to fragment into tiny stars, like snow
shaken from a fur-trimmed parka. Do you see the
cluster shining with a soft aqua hue?
At 72x NGC 6541 is a wonderful object
sporting a very extensive halo glittering with
starlight. Several fuzzy arms can be seen, especially
to the south, southwest, and west, but only
stubs jut out to the east and north. The core
remains tight. At high power the cluster is a most
remarkable sight. The core is undeniably small,
perhaps 2' across, and it is the site of much visual
chaos. A crescent of clustered suns outlines the
innermost core's northern rim. Just beyond it to
the northwest is a dark lane, which separates the
core from a broader crescent of variegated
starlight with two jutting spikes of stars — one to
the northwest and one to the west. A bright lash
of suns lies on the southeastern side of the core,
and it, too, is separated from the core by a dark
lane. A roughly 13th-magnitude star blazes to the
east of the core and a similarly bright double star
resides just outside the inner halo to the
southwest. Much of the halo's midsection
remains irre-
78
solvable, but its outer
layers appear peppered
with strings and pairs of
suns oriented in random
directions. Look for a
prominent river of
darkness coursing
through the outer halo to
the southeast; the river
runs from southwest to
northeast and is best seen
by defocusing the scope
ever so slightly, tapping
the tube, and using
averted vision.
If your telescope can
get you to 15th magnitude, you're well on your
way to nearly resolving this enigmatic jewel of a
cluster. Partial resolution is attainable even with
small apertures, since the cluster's brightest
member stars shine at magnitude 12.1, which is
within the range of a 2-inch telescope. With a 12inch
instrument Luginbuhl and Skiff saw the core
elongated along a north-south axis. Barbara
Wilson was most excited with the view of NGC
6541 she had through her 20-inch f/4 behemoth:
"Totally resolved at 72x [except for the core,
which] is very brilliant. Huge globular; easy in [a]
10x70 finder." It's that core that will keep your
eye transfixed. And if you take the time to relax
and peer into that stellar vortex, you should see
why, because at the very heart of the core is a
"star" shining with the luster of burning steel. It is
there, in that tiny little pip of light, that countless
thousands of suns are battling each other with
their gravity. It's a point of imagination, a visible
"white hole." What we see there in the mind's eye
is limited only by our sense of reason.
The Caldwell Objects 313