Camera: Starlight Xpress SXVF-H16 with FLI CFW-2-7 Filter Wheel

Mount: Losmandy G-11/Gemini

Scope: Astro-Physics Starfire AP130 EDF

Colors: L:R:G:B

Exposure Time: 120:60:60:60 minutes

Post-Production: MaxIm DL, CCDStack, PixInsight, and Photoshop CS3

A lovely starfield in the heroic northern constellation Perseus holds this famous pair of open or galactic star clusters, h and Chi Perseii. Also cataloged as NGC 869 (left) and NGC 884, both clusters are about 7,000 light-years away and contain stars much younger and hotter than the Sun. Separated by only a few hundred light-years, the clusters' ages based on their individual stars are similar - evidence that they were likely a product of the same star-forming region. Always a rewarding sight in binoculars, the Double Cluster is even visible to the unaided eye from dark locations.