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Open star cluster

The Owl Cluster

Also NGC 457 · Caldwell 13 · E.T. Cluster

Open in OuranosCompare its size

An open cluster in Cassiopeia.

Measured

Distance
9,132 light-years
Size
about 20 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Cassiopeia
Position (J2000)
RA 1h 19m 34s, Dec +58.28°

How far, from the Sun

9,130 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light9,130 years
  • Voyager 1's speed162 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h98.6 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Whether its brightest 'eye', Phi Cassiopeiae, belongs to the cluster is unsettled: its distance fits, but its motion does not clearly agree.
  • Gaia picks out about 849 member stars (Hunt & Reffert 2023).

Where this comes from

  • Hunt & Reffert 2023, A&A 673, A114: Gaia DR3 cluster distance 2799.8 pc (16th–84th percentile 2790.8–2808.8 pc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.