One of the richest concentrations of stars in the northern sky exists in the large open cluster NGC 7789 in Cassiopeia, a large show for binoculars or a small area. Credit: Alan Dyer
When you look at the objects in the northern sky, do not forget to look at one of the richer open stars clusters you have ever seen. NGC 7789 in Cassiopeia is particularly remarkable for its huge mass of relatively weak stars, all set in a rich star field of the Milky Way, which makes a large scene in binocular or a small telescope.
NGC 7789 was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783 and is sometimes called “Caroline’s Haystack”, “Caroline’s Rose” or the “White Rose Cluster”.
This object is a relatively old open cluster to 1.7 billion years. It is located 7,600 light years away.
It is difficult to find a cluster more widespread in a richly populated way like this in many places in the sky. NGC 7789 has a combined size of 6.7 and spread over 16 ‘, half the diameter of the full moon.
This large cluster contains about 6,600 solar masses of material, with a stellar subscription of about 1,000 alone.
