Open Cluster in Cygnus
This rich open cluster contains about
150 stars, and it lies about 7200 light years away. The two brightest stars in this picture
are magnitudes 6.2 and 6.8, respectively. The cluster itself has a total visual magnitude of 7.3, so it should be
easy to see with binoculars (although a telescope is needed to resolve its
stars, which are all dimmer than magnitude 11). Through my 18-inch telescope at 158x, the cluster does have an eerie resemblance to an
animal’s head with pointy ears.
| Magnitude | 7.3 |
| Apparent Size | 5' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 7,200 |
| Right Ascension | 19:41.3 |
| Declination | +40 11 |
| Field of View | 29' x 22' |
Image details: Exposure times of 30 minutes luminance and 15 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG ST-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/6.
August 2015