NGC 1342 (Fall 2015)

NGC 1342 is an open cluster in Perseus.  It's quite large, visually, and I've looked at it a few times, but now I see I've missed the main event.  The cluster is interesting because it is dimmed and reddened by interstellar dust that obscures it.  It makes a very nice image.  The cluster is a couple of thousand light years away.

The bright blue star in the upper left--the left end of the three bright stars--brightens the dust.  One can see just below that star that the blue from the star colors the dust just a bit.  I hypothesize a physical relationship between the two.  The dust, called collectively LDN 1434, has been estimated at around 1100 light years, and that star, V496 Per (type B8), has been estimated at 100 light years in front of that, but some of that dust must lie near the star if light from the star reflects that strongly.  The blue star to the right of V496, called HD 21943 (type B9), is only about 550 light years away and so is merely a foreground object.  The bright, whiter star to the right of that, HD 21809, is only 192 light years distant.

Some background galaxies were picked up in the image thousands of times farther into the distance.

This image is LRGB 36;17;17;17 x 900" from DSW's FSQ.