A Collection of Open Clusters – NGC 654, NGC 663, IC 166)

Since I’ve spent little of my astro-imaging journey focused on star clusters, I’ve been trying to do more standard broadband imaging of these targets. This image is a fantastic trifecta that includes NGC 654, NGC 663, and IC 166, all located in the constellation Cassiopeia. Thanks to a week of clear nights and little Moonlight, I was able to integrate 32 hours of data into the main image here.

Open star clusters are groups of stars formed from the same molecular cloud and are gravitationally bound together. These clusters tend to be loosely bound, meaning their stars eventually drift apart due to gravitational interactions with other objects in the galaxy. As a result, open clusters have a finite lifespan and eventually disperse. They are relatively young and often located within the disk of a galaxy.

Here is a little bit about each of the targets:

NGC 654: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_654

Distance: 7.8 ly

NGC 663: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_663

Distance: 6.8 ly

IC 166: https://theskylive.com/sky/deepsky/ic166-object….

Distance: I couldn’t find an exact distance, but the forum above notes that it’s beyond the spiral arm called the Perseus Arm.

Additionally, this one is classified as an intermediate cluster because it’s about 1 billion years old.