NGC 869 / NGC 884, the famed ”Double Cluster”, two open clusters in Perseus

Made another attempt at the Double Cluster with my new camera (Canon T5i). Here's how it compares to my previous attempt! The difference in resolution is noticeable, as some of the closer-together stars are now split instead of blobbed together.

Canon T5i - December 27, 2013: Stack of 22 subs, 12 bias at 300mm, f/5.6, ISO 3200, 1.3 sec

Canon Rebel XT - April 14, 2013: 68 subs, 10 dark, 10 bias; subs at ISO 1600, f/5.6, 300mm, 1.3 sec

I continue to be impressed with this new camera! At only 22 subs, I still brought out more stars than I did with 68 frames before! I can't wait to try this target with my motor-driven EQ mount that is set up and ready to go - just waiting for clear skies!

Double cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus

When I was planning out my photo of Comet PanSTARRS within 2° of the Andromeda Galaxy I found this great double cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus. The top left cluster is NGC 884 and the bottom right is NGC 869 (they are both toward the center of the image). According to Stellarium, they are both magnitude 4.0 and about 0º30'00" in size.

68 subs, 10 dark, 10 bias; subs at ISO 1600, f/5.6, 300mm, 1.3 sec

About half of my images came out blurry or with a little trail, so I should probably run this through DSS again and omit a higher percentage of the bad frames. The brightest 'star' in the center is supposed to be two individual stars and not a horizontal smear.

In any case! The stack does deliver a bounty of stars in two distinct clusters, which makes this a very cool target.