M52

From South Dublin Astronomical Society

M52
Type	Open Cluster
NGC	NGC 7654
Constellation	Cassiopeia
Right Ascension	23h 24.2m
Declination	+61° 35'
Magnitude	7.3
Size	13 arc min.
Image:M52 messier image.jpg

M52 is removed a little from the stretched “W” shape of the constellation of Cassiopeia but is relatively easy to find. Draw a line from Alpha to Beta and extend it for the same distance as that between the two stars and you’ll find the cluster. Lower power binoculars show a small haze but with larger glasses you’ll begin to pick out a few of the brighter stars from the general glow. The orange-tinted star 4 Cassiopeiae is in the same field, shining at magnitude 5 while a small line of slightly fainter suns is just to the west. The cluster, located about 5,000 light years away, is highly compressed and contains maybe 200 members. The region of the Milky Way here is quite rich and repays careful sweeping with binoculars. Two photographs of Cassiopeia with many of the star clusters labelled are in Craig Crossen & Wil Tirion’s “Binocular Astronomy”.