#double cluster

Perseus double cluster, had still some time left at the end of the night after the main sequence of photos and before dawn so I took the opportunity to capture about 25 minutes of photos of the double cluster. This is a pair of open clusters of stars (NGC 884 left and NGC 869 right), both are composed mostly of young blue giants and a few red giants in NGC 884. Both clusters have most likely formed from a single gas cloud and are only separated by a few hundred light years. This pair of cluster is relatively bright and can be viewed with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars in dark locations, in those cases, the clusters appear as nebulous region, with a couple of stars resolved with binoculars.

Despite it's young age, some of the blue giant stars are already heading off the main sequence, and as a result, the orange tinged stars contrast beautifully with the bright blue of the still hydrogen burning siblings.

Another pic from Mars opposition on October 13/14 with less Pegasus and more of Milky Way’s edge in Cassiopeia and Perseus (more complete here including the bottom multiple system Zeta Persei) with the consequent surfeit of NGC objects starting with M31 Andromeda, to M103 in Cass., to the Double Cluster, to the Alpha Persei cluster (including Mirfak), to the Spiral Cluster close to the disembodied demon star Algol…

Stargazing at Trout Lake, Part 4: odds and ends The top picture is the Summer Triangle region of the Milky Way.  The bright stars Deneb (top left), Vega (top right, a little lower down), and Altair (middle left) are the brightest stars in Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila, which form a large triangular asterism.  About halfway between Vega and Altair is the Coathanger, a small asterism that looks exactly like what it sounds like. The next picture is Perseus, Cassiopeia, and the Andromeda Galaxy (again).  Near the center is the Double Cluster, a pair of open clusters very close to each other.  Some sources describe them as jewels in the hilt of Perseus’ sword. The third picture is just Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, because I felt like photographing something familiar.  Polaris, the end of the Little Dipper, is at the center of the right edge. And last is this weekend’s star trails shot.  I aimed at Polaris, turned off my mount’s tracking motor, and left the shutter open for nearly an hour, during which time the Earth rotated about 15 degrees. Full res: 1, 2, 3, 4

The Double Cluster: χ Persei (NGC 884, top) and h Persei (NGC 869, bottom) // Dave Bloomsness

The Double Cluster: h Persei (NGC 869, left) and χ Persei (NGC 884, right) // Jim Vaughan

The Double Cluster: χ Persei (NGC 884, top) and h Persei (NGC 869, bottom) // Juraj Stevcek

The Double Cluster: h Persei (NGC 864, left) and χ Persei (NGC 884, right) // Philippe Barraud