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Credit & Copyright: Tommy Lease
Explanation:
This line of stars is real.
A little too faint to see with the unaided eye,
KembleÁs Cascade of stars
inspires awe when seen with binoculars.
Like the
Big Dipper though, KembleÁs Cascade is an
asterism, not a
constellation.
The asterism is visible in the northern sky toward the long-necked constellation
of the
Giraffe
(Camelopardalis).
This string of about 20 unrelated
stars, each of similar brightness,
spans over five times the
angular width of the
full moon.
Stretching diagonally from the upper left to the lower right,
Kemble's Cascade was popularized last century by astronomy enthusiast
Lucian Kemble.
The bright object near the top left of the image is the relatively compact
Jolly Roger open cluster of stars, officially designated as
NGC 1502.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: asterism
Publications with words: asterism
See also: