H-NGC884 — Chi Per
Open Cluster in Perseus
About
Chi Persei is the eastern half of Perseus's Double Cluster, lying near 7,640 light-years out and roughly 14 million years old. At magnitude 6.1 it is a little fainter than h Persei. It is in the Herschel 400 list and shares the Perseus OB1 association with its partner.
Imaging tips
- At 1,350–2,240 mm on APS-C (2,060–3,440 mm on full frame) one cluster fills a third to half of the frame; its twin NGC 869 lies about 27′ away, so go wider to catch both.
- Bright stars saturate easily: one imager kept subs to 30–60 s for the clusters to avoid overexposing them.
- Broadband is enough for the star colours; one imager added about 19–20 hours of 600 s Hα to pick up faint gas around the pair.
- Best around October and November; it peaks near 83° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 18′
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Coordinates
- RA 2h 22.4m, Dec +57° 8′
- Framing, APS-C
- 1350–2240 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 2060–3440 mm
- Best months
- Oct, Nov
- Peak altitude
- 83° from 50°N, 68° from 35°N