Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Perseus (Per)  ·  Contains:  Double cluster  ·  NGC 869  ·  NGC 884  ·  The star 7Per  ·  The star 8Per
NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster, Graeme Coates
NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster
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NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster

NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster, Graeme Coates
NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster

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Description

Also known as h and χ Persei, the Double Cluster (comprising NGC 869 and NGC 884) is a "line of sight" pairing in the constellation in Perseus, though actually they are only a few hundred light years apart. The clusters have a combined visual magnitude of 3.7 and 3.8 and are visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch between Perseus and Cassiopeia.

NGC 869 has a mass of 3700 solar masses and NGC 884 weighs in at 2800 solar masses; the total mass for the complex is estimated in excess of 20,000 solar masses when including an extensive halo of stars. Based on their individual stars, the clusters are relatively young, both 12.8 million years old, with the hottest stars having spectral class B0; NGC884 also has 5 prominent red supergiants including variable RS Per (closest to the centre of the lower cluster).

Skywatcher Esprit ED80

SBIG STF8300M + Baader filters

MI-250 mount

RGB (125m:115m:115m - all in 300s subs., with additional 25x15sec in each channel for bright star cores)

Taken remotely from E-EYE in Spain:

* Image capture: Graeme Coates & Paul Tribe

* Processing: Graeme Coates

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NGC 869 & NGC 884 - The Double Cluster, Graeme Coates

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Entre Encinas y Estrellas (e-EyE)