The Binocular Sky

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NGC 457 (the ET Cluster, the Owl Cluster)

Constellation: Cas
Object Type: Open Cluster
RA:  1h 19m 32s
Dec:  +58° 17' 27"
Magnitude: 6.4
Recommended minimum aperture: 50mm

Charts for 100mm Binocular (2.5° aperture circle).   Click on a chart to print it.



Location:

Place δ Cas (Ruchbah) at the NE of the field and the 5th magnitude φ Cas will lie diametrically opposite. Centre φ Cas, which is the brightest star of this cluster, although it is not actually a member of it.



What You Should See:

is near the top of my list of star-party objects. The two brightest stars, φ Cas and its nearby 7th magnitude companion appear as the glowing eyes at the SE of a stick-man asterism with outstretched arms, which, just detectable at ×37, gives this cluster one of its common names.