Week of October 12-18, 2025
After a long, hot summer, these beautiful and cool October evenings are just made for stargazing!
Midway up in the northeastern sky after dark at this time of year lies the constellation of Cassiopeia. Seeing an ancient Ethiopian queen there will challenge your imagination, but finding five stars that outline the letter "W" on its side (or the number "3") will be a cinch.
Just below lies the constellation Perseus, home of the annual Perseid meteor shower. This region of the sky represents the rescuer of Andromeda, Cassiopeia's daughter, from the great sea monster Cetus. Again, you'll find that trying to outline this brave fellow among the stars will tax your creativity, so just look for a couple of strings of stars like those that appear in the accompanying illustration.
Deep within this star grouping lies one of the prettiest sights in the heavens: the Double Cluster of Perseus. If your sky is clear and dark, you might be able to spot this celestial gem as a faint fuzzy patch of light with your unaided eyes. If you're unable to find it right away, try a "star hopping" technique to help you out.
First, find the "W" of Cassiopeia. Simply trace its two nearly vertical stars and extend that line downward about twice that distance. Still have trouble seeing it? Maybe another astronomical trick will help. Don't look directly at it but rather slightly off to the side. Surprisingly, this averted vision technique allows us to see extremely faint objects in the heavens.
Prehistoric stargazers had pristine skies and almost certainly spotted this object, but had no idea what they were seeing. It wasn't until around 150 B.C. that stargazers officially catalogued it. The ancient Greek scientists Hipparchus and Ptolemy wrote about the sight but referred to it only as a "nebula" or "cloudy spot," one of the half dozen or so they knew at the time.
Aim a small telescope toward this region, and you're in for a treat the ancients couldn't even imagine. The cloudy spot seen by the eye will explode into a stunning view of hundreds of sparkling stars that are clumped into two separate clusters. Astronomers today know this Double Cluster as "h and chi Persei," as well as by the catalogue numbers NGC 869 and NGC 884. The easternmost of the pair (NGC 884) is slightly larger but contains fewer stars — about 150 or so — while NGC 869 is physically smaller but contains about 200 stars.
The pair lies some 7,000 lightyears from us; this means that the light you see with your eye, binoculars or telescope began its journey in our direction long before the ancient Egyptians began building the pyramids!
Though they appear quite close to one another, the clusters a few hundred lightyears apart and linked by the all-pervasive force of gravity. For decades, astronomers have examined their chemical and physical properties and have learned that these stars are relatively young — most likely less than 13 million years old.
Whether you're viewing with binoculars, a small telescope or just the unaided eye, the Double Cluster offers quite a sight on these pleasant autumn evenings!
Visit Dennis Mammana at dennismammana.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
The Double Cluster of Perseus is made up of star clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884.
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