NGC 225 in Cassiopeia is also known as the Sailboat Cluster or the Halloween Cat.
The open cluster NGC 225, sometimes called the Sailboat Cluster, and the surrounding region in Cassiopeia. Credit: Hunter Wilson
If you have the time and clear sky to the north, you might want to check out an open cluster that is seldom observed. An “average joe” open cluster in Cassiopeia nonetheless appears fairly bright and presents an almost circular pattern of stars.
This is NGC 225, sometimes called the Sailboat Cluster, or more recently the Halloween Cat for a group of stars within the cluster.
NGC 225 is a relatively young cluster at roughly 150 million years, and lies about 2,200 light-years away.
Its total magnitude is bright enough to make it visible in binoculars, at 7.0. The cluster spreads over 12’, about a third the diameter of the Full Moon.
Other interesting features are intertwined with the same low-power field of view. A faint reflection nebula, van den Bergh 4, is associated with the cluster. Nearby lies a prominent dark nebula, LDN 1302.
