H-NGC1444
Open Cluster in Perseus
About
Lying in Perseus around 4,000 light-years off, NGC 1444 is a compact cluster only about 7 million years old. It belongs to the Camelopardalis OB1 association. William Herschel found it in 1788. A magnitude 6.7 triple star, Σ446, is its brightest member.
Imaging tips
- Only about 4′ across, so it is too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- One source describes it as that 6.7 magnitude star plus roughly ten much fainter ones, so expect a bright star with a modest group around it.
- At 18.2 mag/arcsec² it is a bright target, so the difficulty is scale rather than faintness.
- Best in November and December, passing near 87° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 4′
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Coordinates
- RA 3h 49.4m, Dec +52° 39′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Nov, Dec
- Peak altitude
- 87° from 50°N, 72° from 35°N