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| C13 (Caldwell 13), the E.T. (Extra Terrestrial) cluster, Also NGC 457 - this image cropped and reduced from the original photo |
| This open cluster of stars used to be popularly known as the Owl Cluster, but since Steven Spielberg's wildly popular movie about a lost but friendly Extra Terrestrial (E.T.) trying to get back home, amateur astro enthusiasts have been calling this the E.T. cluster. The two brightest stars look more like E.T.'s eyes than an owl's. C13 is quite close to Cassiopeia, only 2 degrees SSW of one of the "W's" bright stars. With binoculars it's fairly easily spotted and identified. You might even be able to detect the arms of ET. The three brightest stars are easily seen, and serve as the identifiers of this cluster. The brightest of the three is not actually part of the common birthplace cluster, but is a much closer foreground star that just happens to be opportunely placed. An 8" scope or larger shows the cluster quite nicely. It's a relatively young cluster, about 11 million years old, and somewhat close at 10,000 light years, and is about 30 light years wide at it's widest. |
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10"
F7.8 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope, Televue Coma Corrector, Modified Canon 5D
Mark II camera, IDAS P2 Light Pollution Filter |