Open Clusters consist of a few dozen to thousands of stars that have formed from shared hydrogen gas clouds. Over the course of a few hundred million years, they gradually disperse, making them an exciting and visually appealing target for observation due to their variety and diversity.
The Melotte Catalogue, compiled in 1915 by the Belgian-British astronomer Philibert Jacques Melotte, contains a total of 245 star clusters. It offers astrophotographers a rich selection of objects, which are often less well-known than the Messier objects but represent equally captivating subjects.
Caldwell 10
NGC 663 is an open cluster located in the constellation Auriga, approximately 19,386 light-years away from Earth. This stellar object reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight at the end of October ...
Caldwell 14
The Double Cluster, also cataloged as Caldwell 14, consists of two open clusters in the constellation Perseus located about 7,500 light-years away and reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed early November ...
Caldwell 16
NGC 7243 is an open cluster located in the constellation Lacerta, approximately 2,800 light-years away from Earth. This stellar object reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight at the end of August ...
Caldwell 28
Caldwell 28, also known as NGC 752 and Melotte 12, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Andromeda, about 1,500 light-years away; it reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in late October ...
Messier 29
Messier 29 is a compact open star cluster located within the constellation Cygnus, approximately 4,000–5,200 light-years from Earth, and reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in late July ...
Caldwell 41 – Hyades
The Hyades is the nearest open star cluster to our Solar System, located in the constellation Taurus, approximately 153 light-years away from Earth, reaching its annual culmination at astronomical midnight at the end of November ...
Caldwell 50
Caldwell 50, also known as NGC 2244, is an open star cluster located within the Rosette Nebula in the constellation Monoceros, approximately 5,219 light-years away from Earth, reaching its annual culmination at astronomical midnight at the end of December ...
Messier 34
Messier 34 (M34) is an open star cluster located in the constellation Perseus at a distance of approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth. It reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in early November ...
Messier 35
Messier 35 is a large open star cluster located in the constellation Gemini, approximately 2,800 light-years away from Earth, reaching its annual culmination at astronomical midnight around end-December ...
Messier 37
Messier 37 is a bright open star cluster located in the constellation Auriga, approximately 4,511 light-years away from Earth, reaching its annual culmination at astronomical midnight around December 20th ...
Messier 39
Messier 39 is a bright open star cluster located in the constellation Cygnus, about 800 to 1,010 light-years away from Earth, and it reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in mid August ...
Messier 44 – Beehive Cluster
Messier 44, also known as the Beehive Cluster, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Cancer, approximately 610 light-years away from Earth. The cluster reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight around late January ...
Messier 45 – Pleiades
The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is an open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus, approximately 410 light-years from Earth, reaching its annual culmination at astronomical midnight at the end of November ...
Messier 67
Messier 67 is an ancient open cluster located approximately 2,700 light-years away in the constellation Cancer that reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed around End January ...
Messier 103
Messier 103, a young open star cluster located in the constellation Cassiopeia, approximately 8,000 light-years away, encompasses a group of about 40 blue and white stars, reaching its annual culmination around astronomical midnight mid October ...
NGC 2158
NGC 2158 is a distant and densely packed open star cluster located in the constellation Gemini, approximately 16,500 light-years away from Earth, reaching its annual culmination at astronomical midnight end of december ...
NGC 2281
NGC 2281 is an open star cluster in the constellation Auriga, located about 1,720 light-years from Earth, and reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed end of december ...
NGC 6633
NGC 6633 is a bright, large open star cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus at roughly 1,040 light-years from Earth and reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in late June to July when it transits near local midnight ...
NGC 6939
NGC 6939 is an open star cluster located in the constellation Cepheus, roughly 3,860 light-years away, and reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed around end of July from the northern hemisphere ...
NGC 6940
NGC 6940 is an open star cluster in the constellation Vulpecula, about 2,500 light-years from Earth, and reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed end of July ...
NGC 7062
NGC 7062 is a compact open star cluster in the constellation Cygnus, located about 4,800 light-years away, reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in mid August in the Northern Hemisphere, when Cygnus is high in the sky ...
NGC 7082
NGC 7082 is a moderately bright open star cluster located in the constellation Cygnus at a distance of about 4,700 light-years from Earth. This cluster reaches its annual culmination at astronomical midnight and is best observed in mid August ...