Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas)  ·  Contains:  34 phi Cas  ·  NGC 457  ·  Owl Cluster  ·  The star φCas
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NGC457, The Owl Cluster, David Payne
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NGC457, The Owl Cluster

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC457, The Owl Cluster, David Payne
Powered byPixInsight

NGC457, The Owl Cluster

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I have come to appreciate open star clusters.   They are fun to process, too - comparing star colours and patterns - age of stars, distance...
They are a bit refreshing, when taken with an OSC camera too.   Great targets when some clouds threaten - less total integration time required.  Quicker to process to boot.

The Owl Luster contains more than 100 stars, is about 8000 l-y distant, and forms a shape of an owl, complete with wings. Two bright stars create the "eyes" - the brighter one, 5th magnitude naked eye phi(1) is a question. If it is a member of the cluster, it is one of most luminous stars known - 200,000. Or, it could be a foreground star projected onto the cluster.

Now, alas, I am out of new data.

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NGC457, The Owl Cluster, David Payne