Caldwell 8
Star cluster in Cassiopeia · 3,700 light-years
🔭 Explore Caldwell 8 in the 3D map →View Caldwell 8 images →| Type | Star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cassiopeia |
| Right ascension | 1h 29m 33s |
| Declination | +63° 18′ |
| Object distance | 3,700 light-years |
| Apparent magnitude | 9.5 |
| Apparent size | 9′ (arc-minutes) |
| Approx. true diameter | 9.7 light-years across |
| Also known as | C8 · NGC 559 |
Caldwell 8 is a star cluster (NGC 559) in Cassiopeia — a family of stars bound by gravity. It appears as number 8 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 9 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 9.5, it shows up in a small backyard telescope.
Although it appears about 9′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 9.7 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.
Observing Caldwell 8
Caldwell 8 lies in the constellation Cassiopeia and is best placed in the evening sky around October. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It sits far enough north to be circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes, and never rises for most of the southern hemisphere. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies.
See Caldwell 8 in Universe Finder
Open the interactive 3D map to fly to Caldwell 8 and see it in context among the real stars around it. Launch the 3D view →
Sources
- Position, magnitude and angular size from the OpenNGC catalogue (Mattia Verga).
- Object identity cross-referenced with SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg).
- Image credits and the original observation source are linked with each photograph.
Related objects
- Pleiades — star cluster
- Hercules Cluster — star cluster
- Small Sgr Star Cloud — star cluster
- Messier 25 — star cluster
- Messier 103 — star cluster