Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas)  ·  Contains:  M 103  ·  NGC 581
M103 Open Star Cluster, AlBroxton
M103 Open Star Cluster
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M103 Open Star Cluster

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Description

Messier 103 (also known as M103, or NGC 581) is an open cluster where a few thousand stars formed in the constellation Cassiopeia. This open cluster was discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier’s friend and collaborator Pierre Méchain. It is one of the most distant open clusters, with distances of 8,000 to 9,500 light years from the earth and ranging about 15 light years apart. There are about 40 member stars within M103, two of which have magnitudes 10.5, and a 10.8 red giant, which is the brightest within the cluster. M103 is about 25 million years old.

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M103 Open Star Cluster, AlBroxton