NGC 6819, the Foxhead Cluster   HOME INDEX BACK NEXT
 

Open Cluster in Cygnus

This rich open cluster contains about 150 stars, and it lies about 7200 light years away.  The two brightest stars in this picture are magnitudes 6.2 and 6.8, respectively.  The cluster itself has a total visual magnitude of 7.3, so it should be easy to see with binoculars (although a telescope is needed to resolve its stars, which are all dimmer than magnitude 11).  Through my 18-inch telescope at 158x, the cluster does have an eerie resemblance to an animal’s head with pointy ears. 

Magnitude 7.3
Apparent Size 5'
Distance (light yrs) 7,200
Right Ascension 19:41.3
Declination +40 11
Field of View 29' x 22'

Image details:  Exposure times of 30 minutes luminance and 15 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG ST-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/6.

August 2015