Caldwell 14 — Open Cluster in Perseus
NGC 869
About Double Cluster
Description
The Double Cluster (NGC 869 and NGC 884) is a pair of open clusters in Perseus, about 7,500 light-years away. Together they span about 60 arcminutes and contain several hundred stars each, including many blue supergiants. At magnitude 4.3, the pair is visible to the naked eye.
Observing Tips
A showpiece object, stunning in binoculars and small telescopes at low power (25-40x). Each cluster fills about half a degree, so a wide field of view is ideal. Look for colorful orange and red supergiants scattered among the blue-white stars. Best in autumn and winter.
History
Known since antiquity; Hipparchus noted a bright patch between Perseus and Cassiopeia around 130 BC. Messier inexplicably left it out of his catalog, which is one reason Patrick Moore created the Caldwell catalog.
Fun Facts
The two clusters are physically related and only a few hundred light-years apart in space. At just 12-14 million years old, they are among the youngest known clusters. If our Sun were located in the Double Cluster, the night sky would contain hundreds of stars brighter than Sirius.
Observe
1Properties
Position & Identifiers
2How easy to spot?
| Telescope | Bortle 3 | Bortle 4 | Bortle 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 mm refractor 80mm refr. | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| 150 mm Newton 150mm Newt. | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm | Easy | Easy | Easy |
Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs
3Visibility
Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.
4
Eyepiece View
5
Best Magnification
6Where this cluster sits in time
Open clusters span more than four orders of magnitude in age — from newborn OB associations to ancient, metal-rich survivors.
7
Colour-Magnitude Diagram
A cluster's colour-magnitude diagram reveals its age: the bluer the turn-off point where the main sequence bends into red giants, the younger the cluster.
Each point is a Gaia-DR3 member. Colour encodes spectral type; size reflects membership probability.
Explore
8
Classification Decoder
Discover
9
Light Travel Time Machine
10
Relativistic Travel
Community Photos (1)
Credit: Genuson. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. (Wikimedia Commons)
Skybred Mar 2, 2026
Nearby in the Sky
Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.
Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.
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