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NGC 1662

OPEN CLUSTER IN ORION (THE HUNTER)

(Image centered at: ra 04 h: 49m / dec +10º 59')

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR A HIGH RESOLUTION VIEW

January - 2025, Home Backyard in Martinez, Buenos Aires, Argentina

DATA

TYPE: Open Cluster 

APPARENT DIAMETER: 20 arc minutes

APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): 7.6

DISTANCE: 1730 light years

IMAGE INFORMATION

INSTRUMENT: 6" ORION OPTICS UK (Ultra Grade Optics) w/Sky Watcher Coma Corrector (0.9x) working at at f4.5

CAMERA: QHY 183 MONO

MOUNT: VIXEN GDPX, OAG with Starlight Xpress Lodestar

FILTERS: BAADER LRGB Set

SKY CONDITIONS: urban skies - Bortle 8

EXPOSURES: LRGB (45,45,45,45)

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

NGC 1662 is one of the first bright open cluster that appear in late spring (for those who are in the Southern Hemisphere) either to aim it as a visual target or to took pictures of it. NGC 1662 (also known as Collinder 55) is a loosely bound open cluster located in the constellation Orion. It has an apparent magnitude of 7.6 and an approximate size of 20 arc-minutes. It is also known as the Klingon Battlecruiser Cluster by amateur astronomers. NGC 1662 was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1784. Although estimates of its age vary from 100 to 800 million years old, latest studies believe the cluster to be about 400 million years old.