NGC 654
Constellation: Cas
Object Type: Open Cluster
RA: 1h 43m 59s
Dec: +61° 52' 58"
Magnitude: 6.5
Recommended minimum aperture: 70mm
Charts for 70mm Binocular (4° aperture circle). Click on a chart to print it.
Location:
Visible in the same 5° field as δ and ε Cas.
What You Should See:
Part of the "Cassiopeia Triple Cluster" group NGC 663 is superior in every respect to the nearby M103 and, unlike M103 which appears as a small fan-shaped patch of nebulosity, some of the stars are resolvable in 10×50 binoculars. The four brightest stars appear to be separated into pairs by a dark lane.
About 0.75° to the north-northwest is NGC 654, a small comet-shaped patch of light just next to a mag. +7.3 star.
The poorest of the trio is NGC 659, a tiny ghostly glow which may need averted vision, just on the NGC663 side of the star 44 Cas.
