Owl Cluster (Jim Stevenson)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas) · Contains: NGC 457 · Owl Cluster · The star φCas

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Owl Cluster

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Owl Cluster

The "Owl Cluster" in the constellation Cassiopeia is a pretty open cluster that I've been enjoying looking at and showing people visually this summer.

There's not a lot that's unique about this cluster, I just think it's really pretty. It's an "open" cluster, which is a group of stars within our galaxy that formed together from the same cloud of dust and gas. These typically remain gravitationally bound and travel together around the galaxy for a time but eventually are pulled apart by gravitational forces from other objects. It's thought that most stars, including our sun, formed in such clusters. This one is roughly 7900 light years away and about 21 million years old. The very reddish star to the right of center is a red supergiant that's not part of the cluster - it's quite a bit closer at about 1700 light years away.

It's not fair to compare the visual experience with photographs, but it's fun to try to capture that experience!

The colors are not great in this image. Partially I blame the near-full moon for that, but I'm also having consistent trouble registering nice blues with this camera (ZWO ASI294MC-Pro). I don't know what's happening with that - if anybody else has had that experience I'd like to hear about it.

Northeast Imagers
ZWO ASI 294MC PRO
Ritchey Chretien telescopes GSO Family

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