The Persei Double Cluster, catalogued as Caldwell 14, is a celebrated wide-field target composed of two independently listed open clusters that shine side by side in Perseus. The catalogs record them separately as NGC 869, the h Persei Cluster, and NGC 884, the chi Persei Cluster, each spanning roughly 32 and 33 light-years respectively across their glittering cores. Because the pair together covers a generous stretch of sky, it is an ideal subject for short-to-medium focal length refractors and telephoto lenses that can frame both clusters in a single exposure. Their dense scattering of blue-white suns rewards careful color calibration and moderate integration times, making this one of the most photogenic star fields accessible to beginning and advanced imagers alike.
Names and Catalog numbers
- Persei Double Cluster
- C 14 (Caldwell 14)
- h Persei Cluster (member object: NGC 869)
- NGC 869 (member object: NGC 869)
- Mel 13 (Melotte 13) (member object: NGC 869)
- Cr 24 (Collinder 24) (member object: NGC 869)
- chi Persei Cluster (member object: NGC 884)
- NGC 884 (member object: NGC 884)
- Mel 14 (Melotte 14) (member object: NGC 884)
- Cr 25 (Collinder 25) (member object: NGC 884)
Position and the cosmic neighborhood
The Persei Double Cluster sits high in the northern constellation Perseus, with NGC 869 centered at right ascension 02h 18m 57.8s and declination +57° 08′ 02″, while its companion NGC 884 lies just to the east at 02h 22m 20.2s and +57° 08′ 56″. This close pairing, separated by only a few arcminutes on the sky, places both clusters comfortably within the same photographic frame and makes the region a natural anchor point along the rich Milky Way band that runs between Perseus and neighboring Cassiopeia. NGC 869 is measured at about 6,780 light-years and NGC 884 slightly farther at roughly 7,650 light-years, so imagers capturing the two together are recording clusters at genuinely different depths within our galaxy. The surrounding star fields are dense and full of faint background suns, giving astrophotographers a lush, textured canvas that complements the bright cluster members.
Nice to Know
- The Persei Double Cluster is a single showpiece target that the catalogs actually list as two separate open clusters, NGC 869 and NGC 884.
- NGC 869, the h Persei Cluster, carries the additional designations Cr 24 and Mel 13, while NGC 884, the chi Persei Cluster, is also known as Cr 25 and Mel 14.
- The two clusters lie at slightly different distances — about 6,780 light-years for NGC 869 and roughly 7,650 light-years for NGC 884 — yet appear almost touching in the same field of view.
- With angular sizes of about 16′ and 15′ respectively, the pair fits neatly within the frame of a modest wide-field telescope or telephoto setup, making it one of the most rewarding open-cluster imaging targets in the northern sky.
Brightness, distance and size
It lies about 6,780 light-years from Earth and spans roughly 32 light-years across. On the sky it appears about 16′ in size.
