The Famous Double Star Cluster in Perseus
New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars: NGC 869 / NGC 884
Constellation: Perseus


This is one of the gems of northern autumn skies. Under clear skies away from urban artificial light the two star clusters are visible even to the naked eye. As early as 130 b.c. the clusters were discovered by the Greek astronomer Hipparchos. They are also called χ and h Per.

The objects are somewhat associated with, but not as close to each other as they appear: h Per (left) is about 6800 lightyears, χ Per (right) about 7600 lightyears away from earth.


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