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Credit & Copyright: Mörten Frosth
Explanation:
This pretty
starfield
spans about three full moons (1.5 degrees)
across the heroic northern constellation of
Perseus.
It holds the famous
pair of open star clusters,
h and Chi Persei.
Also cataloged as
NGC 869 (top)
and NGC 884,
both clusters are about 7,000 light-years away and
contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun.
Separated by only a few hundred light-years, the clusters are
both 13 million years young
based on
the ages of their
individual stars,
evidence that they were likely a product of the same star-forming region.
Always a rewarding
sight
in binoculars,
the Double Cluster is even visible to the unaided eye from
dark locations.
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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: open cluster
Publications with words: open cluster
See also: