NGC 225

Common Name: Sailboat Cluster

Also Known as: Cr 7

Object Type: Open Cluster

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Distance from Earth: 2,200 light years

Apparent Magnitude: 7.0

Coordinates: RA 00H 43M 36S DEC 61 deg 46 min 00 sec

Actual Size: 7.7 light years

Apparent Dimensions: 12 arc-minutes

Discovered by: On 27 September 1783 Caroline Herschel discovered the open clusters NGC 225 along with NGC 189 using her 4.2-inch comet-seeker reflector.
She described it as follows: «about 2° from Gamma Cas, making an isosceles triangle with Gamma and Kappa, a small cluster of stars, seeming to be intermixed with nebulosity.»
William Herschel first observed the cluster on 12 March 1784, recorded it as VIII 78 and noted: «A cluster of very coarsely scattered large stars. Take up 15 or 20.
In 1962 the American astronomer Beverly T. Lynds published her «Catalogue of Dark Nebulae» that she found on the blue and red photo plates of the «National Geographic Palomar Observatory Sky Atlas». She identified several patches of dark nebulosity around cluster NGC 225. In 1965 she published then her catalog of bright nebulae where she identified a small H II region with LBN 604.
In 1966 the Canadian astronomer Sidney van den Bergh published his «Catalogue of Reflection Nebulae», which was based on a survey on the photographic plates of the «Palomar Observatory Sky Survey». There he identified the reflection nebula vdB 4 with strong absorption around the star BD +61°154 (V594 Cas), but with the identification he was uncertain.

Description: NGC 225 is a small loose open cluster with an estimated age of 130 million years. It is embedded in some molecular dark clouds that partially reflect the light of cluster stars, which can be seen on photographs with very long exposure.
This widely dispersed cluster is one of the youngest open clusters in the Milky Way, with approximately 20 bright member stars.
One of its stars, the variable star V594 Cas, illuminates the blue reflection nebula vdB 4.
Many of the stars in this cluster are binaries, though as the cluster ages gravity may disrupt some of these pairs.
This is an active star forming region. There are some interesting pillars in the reflection nebula around HIP3401, as well as some dark dust clouds and hydrogen throughout the field.

Click Below Image(s) for Full Size:

NGC 225 is a Open Cluster in the Cassiopeia constellation. NGC 225 is situated close to the northern celestial pole and, as such, it is visible for most part of the year from the northern hemisphere.
Given its visual magnitude of 7, NGC 225 is visible with the help of a small binocular.
NGC 225 is best observed in the winter months when Cassiopeia is high overhead in the early winter months.

Platesolve

NGC 225 Open Cluster

Imaging Details
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