open clusters – Astronomy Now

Open clusters Messier 29 and 39: Cygnus’ star cities

26 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

Amid all the wonderful nebulae that Cygnus has to offer lie Messier 29 and 39, two fine open clusters which are both easily visible through a pair of binoculars against a marvellous Milky Way backdrop as they ride high on late summer nights.

Hubble shoots a Wild Duck (the cluster, that is)

29 March 2019 Astronomy Now

Stars in the Wild Duck Cluster, a favourite target for amateur astronomers, sparkle like jewels on black velvet in this view from the Hubble Space Telescope, showing the remarkably rich cluster’s colourful components with crystalline clarity.

A billion stars: Gaia’s first map of the Milky Way

15 September 2016 Keith Cooper

Gaia, the space probe that has been mapping a billion stars in the Galaxy following its launch by the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2013, has revealed its first revolutionary data.