July 10, 2014 NGC 411, an open star cluster in the SMC Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA NGC 411 is a small open star cluster of about 1.5 billion years old in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a dwarf companion galaxy to our Milky Way, which is located some 200,000 light-years away from Earth [continue reading]
May 4, 2014 NGC 6604, an open star cluster in Serpens Cauda Image Credit: ESO NGC 6604 (the bright grouping of stars towards to the upper left of this image) is a very young open star cluster with an age of some 4-5 million years in the star-forming (H II) region Sh2-54, located about 5,540 [continue reading]
December 28, 2013 NGC 6820, an emission nebula surrounding NGC 6823 Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler (http://www.robgendlerastropics.com) NGC 6820 (also known as Sh 2-86) is an emission nebula that surrounds the open cluster NGC 6823, located some 6,000 light-years away from Earth in the faint northern constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox), near the Dumbbell [continue reading]
December 11, 2013 IC 417, an emission nebula in Auriga Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (http://skycenter.arizona.edu/gallery/Nebulae/IC417) IC 417 (also known as Sh2-234) is an emission nebula of almost 100 light-years across, located some 10,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Auriga (the Charioteer). It is often referred to [continue reading]
December 7, 2013 The Wild Duck Cluster, an open cluster in Scutum Image Credit & Copyright: R. Jay GaBany – Cosmotography The Wild Duck Cluster (also known as Messier 11 or NGC 6705) is an open cluster of some 23 light-years across, located about 6,200 light-years away from Earth in the small constellation of Scutum [continue reading]
November 25, 2013 Messier 103, an open cluster in Cassiopeia Image Credit: Hillary Mathis, N.A.Sharp/NOAO/AURA/NSF Messier 103 (also known as NGC 581) is a young, about 25 million years old, open cluster of about 15 light-years across, located 8,000 to 9,500 light-years away from the Earth in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia (the Seated Queen). [continue reading]