Our view here is centered on the star α Persei, otherwise known as Mirfak, and the grouping of stars surrounding it. This grouping is referred to as the Alpha Persei Cluster, Melotte 20, Collinder 39, and I believe its oldest name, the Perseus OB3 Association. At bottom left on the image is the large open cluster NGC 1528 and the somewhat smaller NGC 1513. An interesting consequence of examining images like this is that you sometimes notice interesting asterisms or stars, such as the case of HD 232820, a ruby colored carbon star, located between α and NGC 1444. Unannotated image. |