Telephoto Views of Perseus, January 2026
The constellation of Perseus is unusual in that even though it lies astride the galactic
equator, and is therefore well represented by open clusters and various nebulae, it also
features numerous galaxies easily within reach of modest telescopes. Add in the object
M76, and you have a well-known planetary nebula to boot. Only one of the open clusters
is a Messier object, M34, so identifying the many clusters can be challenging for newer
observers owing to their somewhat obscure nature. Here we showcase the areas of central
Perseus with five different 135 mm shots that place many of these objects in context and give
us an idea of what they would look like in medium to big binoculars.
