Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Camelopardalis (Cam)  ·  Contains:  NGC 1502
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NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm
NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm

NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade

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NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm
NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm

NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade

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Description

Many objects that appear together in the same image are pretty and interesting but are only together through coincidence. Such is the case for Kemble's Cascade. This object is an asterism of more than 20 stars located in the constellation of Camelopardalis. It is an approximate straight line of bright and colorful 5th to 9th magnitude stars over a distance of five moon diameters, with the open cluster NGC 1502 at one end. The stars appear to be tumbling out of the cluster down an imaginary slope.

The asterism is named in honor of Father Lucian Kemble (1922–1999), a Canadian Franciscan friar and amateur astronomer who first brought it to the world's attention through the astronomy magazine Sky & Telescope in 1980. The asterism is best viewed through binoculars and is found just east of the Cassiopeia constellation.

In the upper left corner of the image, open cluster NGC 1502 contains about 60 stars and is located 2700 light years away. It is nicknamed "The Jolly Roger", because of its resemblance to a skull and crossbones pirate flag.

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    NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm
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  • NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm
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NGC 1502 & Kemble's Cascade, Gary Imm