Astronomy Picture of the Day - A Double Star Cluster in Perseus

APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 22 Nov, 2022 | Image Credit & Copyright: Tommy Lease

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: Few star clusters are this close to each other. Visible to the unaided eye from dark sky areas, it was cataloged in 130 BC by Greek astronomer Hipparchus. Some 7,000 light-years away, this pair of open star clusters is also an easy binocular target, a striking starfield in the northern constellation of the mythical Greek hero Perseus. Now known as h and chi Persei, or NGC 869 (above right) and NGC 884, the clusters themselves are separated by only a few hundred light-years and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. In addition to being physically close together, the clusters' ages based on their individual stars are similar - evidence that both clusters were likely a product of the same star-forming region.

[MtnClimber]

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For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

[MtnClimber]

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list.

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[Red Badger]

Isn’t that the Opening Scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life”?.......................

[Red Badger]

[Telepathic Intruder]

This was the thing that first amazed me using the 16x80 binoculars I had just bought from Orion many years ago. You can't really see it with the naked eye, but wide field light-gulping optics looks spectacular.

[Seruzawa]

Well, so far today has been a real cluster so a double cluster is the logical next step.

[telescope115]

One of my favorite objects! Low power wide field spectacular object under a dark sky!

[dragnet2]

I like star clusters. This one comes in at about 25 light years distance and home to about 300 thousand stars. This is M13, or the Great Hercules Cluster. Research show M13 orbits our Milky Way Galaxy. The blue stars in the image are newer or newly formed stars. This was shot in the backyard of my hideout.

A bit of trivia, in the early 1970s a message was sent from Arecibo Observatory aimed at M13 to send a message of the existence of human life. It was known as the Aricebo Message. Some researchers feel the chances of life in clusters like M13 are possibly greater or more likely to exist than other regions.

Note the X at the core or center of the cluster...

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