Open Cluster NGC869 in Perseus (part of Perseus Double Cluster)

An open cluster known since antiquity containing some 400 stars located about 6500 light years away. NGC869 is likely a somewhat younger and less evolved cluster than NGC884. NGC has a diameter of about 70 light years and is very young at about 1 million years old.

If you move the mouse over the image, you will see both NGC869 and NGC884 and their environs.

Images taken with TEC-140 Telescope mounted on Losmandy G11 mount. Camera used was a Canon EOS20D used at prime focus.

Five 3 minute exposures and 5 1 minute images dark compensated, aligned and stacked, background removed and Digitaly Developed in ImagesPlus 2.75  and then processed as an HDR image.