| Proper Names | Double Cluster, Sword Handle | | Bayer Designation | Chi/h Persei | | Caldwell Number | C14 | | NGC/IC Numbers | NGC 884 (Chi Persei)
NGC 869 (h Persei) | | Constellation | Perseus | | Right Ascension | 2h 22m 23s (Chi Persei)
2h 19m 0s (h Persei) | | Declination | +57° 7' 30" (Chi Persei)
+57° 7' 42" (h Persei) | | Distance | c. 6,900 light years / c. 2,100 parsecs (Chi Persei)
c. 7,200 light years / c. 2,200 parsecs (h Persei) | | Magnitude | Apparent: +6.09, Absolute -6.25 (Chi Persei)
Apparent: +5.30, Absolute -6.29 (h Persei) | | Diameter | Apparent: 18', Actual: 50 light years (Chi Persei)
Apparent: 18', Actual: 36 light years (h Persei) | | Number of Stars | c. 1,600 (Chi Persei)
c. 4,500 (h Persei) | | Optimum Visibility | November (usually visible from northern latitudes) | | Notes | This pair of open clusters in the northern fringes of Perseus lie on nearly the same line of sight as seen from Earth, appearing less than half a degree apart. In fact they lie about three hundred light years from one another, with the western h Persei cluster being the nearer of the two to the Solar System. |
A famous pairing of relatively bright open clusters in the constellation of Perseus. Both clusters are distant from Earth (at more than 6,000 light years).
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