NGC 559
Encyclopedia
NGC 559, also Caldwell 8, is an open cluster
and Caldwell object
in the constellation Cassiopeia
. It shines at magnitude +9.5. Its celestial coordinates are RA , dec . It is located near the open cluster NGC 637
, and the bright magnitude +2.2 irregular variable star Gamma Cassiopeiae
. The cluster is 4.4 arcmins across.
Open cluster
An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way Galaxy, and many more are thought to exist...
and Caldwell object
Caldwell catalogue
The Caldwell Catalogue is an astronomical catalog of 109 bright star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers. The list was compiled by Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore, better known as Patrick Moore, as a complement to the Messier Catalogue.The Messier Catalogue is used...
in the constellation Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia (constellation)
Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopea was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...
. It shines at magnitude +9.5. Its celestial coordinates are RA , dec . It is located near the open cluster NGC 637
NGC 637
NGC 637 is an open cluster of stars in theconstellation Cassiopeia. It has a Trumpler classification of I2m and an angular diameter of 4.2′. At a distance of approximately 7,045 light years, this corresponds to a diameter of . The estimated age of this cluster is 5–15 million years....
, and the bright magnitude +2.2 irregular variable star Gamma Cassiopeiae
Gamma Cassiopeiae
Gamma Cassiopeiae is an eruptive variable star, whose brightness changes irregularly between +2.20 mag and +3.40 mag. It is the prototype of the Gamma Cassiopeiae variable stars. Although it is a fairly bright star, it has no traditional Arabic or Latin name...
. The cluster is 4.4 arcmins across.