3) LMC-N158/159/160

LMC-N158
NGC 2074 (24"): this prominent HII region (LMC-N158C) and cluster (OB-association LH 101) appeared as a very bright, very large "C" shaped nebula surrounding a semi-circular chain or crown of stars open to the SW. Two bright mag 10.4 and 11 stars oriented SW-NE (50" separation) lie on the northwest end of this crown. The northeastern luminary is a very close pair of OB-stars (TDS 3273 = 11.4/11.8 at 2") and the star at the southwest end (HD 269923) is the brightest in the cluster. On the opposite southeast end of the chain is a brighter mag 12.5 star (O3-class supergiant). A small bright knot, ~35" diameter, is superimposed on the general glow in the northeast side of the "C". At 216x at least 20 fainter stars were resolved in the chain besides the brighter stars at the ends. NGC 2074 is part of a huge complex (LMC-N158) stretching 11' SW-NE with NGC 2081, a bright HII region that lies just 8' NE. LMC-N158 is located roughly 20' SSE of the center of the Tarantula Nebula.

NGC 2081 (24"): At 214x, this is a gorgeous star cloud consisting of two dozen stars in a 5' region (stellar association LH 104 dominated by B-class supergiants), including many mag 13-14 stars as well as mag 12.2 star HD 38489 (an extreme luminous blue variable) on the northeast side. Adding a UHC filter enhances a fairly bright HII glow that nearly surrounds the entire cluster in a triangular wreath (weak in the center)! The brightest portion is a ribbon with a bright region (identified in SIMBAD as BSDL 2722) at one end just south of the cluster and extending due east. With closer inspection BSDL 2722 actually consists of a couple of knots and fainter streaks intersecting! Just beyond the east end of this ribbon is NGC 2091, a slightly elongated cluster that is collinear with the streamer. HDE 269936, a mag 11 "star" (found to be an extremely compact cluster) is just off the SW side and NGC 2074, a bright HII region and cluster (part of the same complex LMC-N158), lies 8' SW.

LMC-N159
NGC 2078 (24"): this is the northwest component of an impressive 4' emission nebula filled with bright knots (LMC-N159), several of which form a curving "S" shape. At 200x and UHC filter it appeared as a fairly bright, moderately large glow surrounding a mag 12 star (B5 supergiant R148) and two fainter stars. This knot is elongated ~E-W, ~1.2'x0.8' and is encased in a fainter outer halo that extends perhaps 1.5', mostly to the north. NGC 2079, an extremely bright isolated patch, lies 1.7' S, NGC 2083 is a similar distance to the east, and NGC 2084 is 2.5' SE.

R148 forms a 6" pair - not logged - with the optical counterpart (V~14.8) of LMC X-1, a 10 solar-mass black hole and variable X-ray source. Nearby is the impressive LMC-N160 complex with NGC's 2077 and 2080, another very bright patch of nebulosity, 6' N and NGC's 2085 and 2086, a smaller bright pair, a similar distance to the NE. This complex along with LMC-N159 is within the O-association LH 105.

NGC 2079 (24"): this is the brightest section of an impressive 4' collection of perhaps 8 different emission knots (collectively LMC-N159) that are encased in a diffuse glow and carry four separate NGC designations. NGC 2079 (LMC-N159A) is situated on the southwest end of the complex and appeared extremely bright, ~1' diameter,with a uniform very high surface brightness. The outline has an unusual triangular shape (one vertex at the north end) with a well-defined border and appears detached from the the main section. Without a filter, a faint star and ionizing source (DD 13, an unresolved pair of O-stars) is located at the center of the glow.

NGC 2079 is collinear with two mag 12 stars 1.7' N (at the center of 2078) and another mag 12 star 3.5' N. The main section of the complex to the northeast forms a large "S" shaped group of multiple knots with NGC 2078 1.7' N, 2084 to the east and 2083 to the NE.

NGC 2083 (24"): at 214x and UHC filter, NGC 2083 appeared as a bright, large, slightly elongated glow ~1.8' diameter, surrounding a mag 12.5 star (O-class supergiant). A brighter knot is embedded within the glow on the west side (LMC-N159I) on a line with NGC 2078. Removing the filter, the bright central star has a companion at ~7" and several other mag 14 stars are embedded in the periphery of the glow. On the southeast side is the 15th magnitude "star" N159-5, known as the LMC "Papillon Nebula". This very compact object (not resolved) is classified as a Young Stellar Object (YSO) and High Excitation Blob (HEB).

NGC 2083 is situated in the northeast section of the curving "S" shaped NGC 2078/79/83/84 complex (LMC-N159 and OB-association LH 105). This complex shares the same field with two additional bright emission regions - NGC 2085/86 4' N and NGC 2077/80 ~5.5' NNW (LMC-N160), and the combined complex forms a superb field of bright HII regions ~35' SSE of the center of the Tarantula Nebula. Although Herschel assigned 4 NGC numbers within LMC-N159, I logged at least 7 different brighter knots (see NGC 2084 for more).

NGC 2084 (24"): NGC 2084 forms the SE region of the complex and it's composed of several nearby components. At the NE end of this extended region is a moderately bright, round knot, ~45" diameter (N159G). Without a filter a star is involved with N159G (sketched by John Herschel but not catalogued). A second, brighter embedded "glow" is close WSW on a direct line with NGC 2079. This knot corresponds with John Herschel's position for NGC 2084 and is catalogued by Henize as N159C-east. It appeared very bright, fairly large, elongated, ~1.2'x1.0'. Removing the filter a couple of stars are involved (with one brighter star). Finally, N159C-west (also sketched by Herschel) lies 1.5' W of NGC 2084 = N159C-east in the center of the entire complex and is connected to NGC 2084 by a faint bridge of nebulosity. N159C-west appeared fairly bright, moderately large, round, 45" diameter.

LMC-N160 Complex
NGC 2077 (24"): this is the southwest component of a very bright, impressive 2' emission patch with NGC 2080. At 200x and UHC filter, NGC 2077 appeared bright, moderately large, elongated 2:1 E-W, ~1.2'x0.6'. Without a filter, three fainter stars are involved in the glow (one is a massive Wolf-Rayet star). Forms a close pair of with NGC 2080 (Ghost Head Nebula) 1.1' NE.

NGC 2085 and 2086, a smaller pair of bright HII glows, lie 3' and 4' ESE, and the entire collection forms LMC-N160. In addition, a bright complex of HII knots including NGC 2078, 2079, 2083 and 2084 (LMC-N159 and O-association LW 105) lies 5' S. Together these groups form a stunning field about 35' SSE of the Tarantula Nebula.

NGC 2080 = Ghost Head Nebula (24"): at 200x and UHC filter, this emission nebula is very impressive, appearing as an extremely bright nebulous glow with an irregular shape, ~1.5' diameter, slightly elongated. The brightest section is encased in a larger, fainter nebulous glow that extends mostly to the south. NGC 2077, a bright HII glow, is attached on the SW side with their centers just 1' apart. At 350x the view was fascinating with 3 or 4 "stars" embedded (the brightest one or two appear to be quasi-stellar knots) and NGC 2080 had a curdled texture. A couple of brighter mag 13/14 stars are off the NW side and a number of stars trail off to the east and NE (part of the O-association LH 103). Located 30' SSE of the center of the Tarantula Nebula.

Along with NGC 2085 and 2086, another pair of knots ~3' SE, this group forms LMC-N160. Roughly 6' S is LMC-N159, another stunning group of nebulous glows consisting of NGC 2078, 2079, 2083 and 2084. NGC 2080 is the brightest region in the LMC-N159/160 complex and is nicknamed the "Ghost-Head Nebula" from a 2000 HST image. The two "eyes" of the Ghost (noted as quasi-stellar above) are rare, compact "high excitation blobs" (HEBs) discovered in 1986.

NGC 2085 (24"): this HII knot is part of an amazing field of nebulous glows located ~35' SSE of the Tarantula Nebula. At 200x using a UHC filter, NGC 2085 appears bright, fairly small, ~25" diameter. A mag 10.0 star (supergiant HDE 269953) is just off the NE end (23" from the center). NGC 2085 forms a close pair with NGC 2086 = IC 2145, a similar knot just 1.2' E. Both of these knots are immersed in small, much fainter nebulous halos but the bright star itself does not appear to be involved. Viewing with the filter, the field is divided up into three main groups with NGC 2085 and 2086 forming a close E-W pair separated by a mag 10 star. NGC 2080 (brightest section in the LMC-N159/160 complex) and NGC 2077 lies ~2.5' NW and an impressive cluster of nebulous knots (NGC 2078, 2079, 2083 and 84) is roughly 6' SSW.

NGC 2086 = IC 2145 (24"): this is the eastern component of a close pair of nebulous glows with NGC 2085 just 1.2' W. This pair is part of a fascinating group of numerous emission nebulae (LMC-N160 and LMC-N159) just 35' S of the Tarantula nebula. At 200x with a UHC filter, this knot appears very bright (slightly brighter than NGC 2085), fairly small, round, ~30" diameter. Without a filter a faint star is near the center. Mag 10 supergiant HD 269953 (misidentified as NGC 2086 in the ESO catalogue), which is nearly attached to the NE side of NGC 2085, lies 1' W.