NGC 346 is a young open cluster of stars with associated nebula located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) that appears in the southern constellation of Tucana. It can be seen to the right of center in my image. It was discovered August 1, 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as, “bright, large, very irregular figure, much brighter middle similar to double star, mottled but not resolved”. On the outskirts of the cluster is the multiple star system HD 5980, one of the brightest stars in the SMC. This cluster is located near the center of the brightest H II region in the SMC, designated N66. This is positioned in the northeast section of the galactic bar. Stellar surveys have identified 230 massive OB stars in the direction of this cluster. 33 of the cluster members are O-type stars, with 11 of type O6.5 or earlier. The inner 15 pc radius of the cluster appears centrally condensed, while the area outside that volume is more dispersed. The youngest cluster members near the center have ages of less than two million years, and observations suggests the cluster is still engaged in high mass star formation. The cluster star formation rate is estimated at (4±1)×10−3 M☉ yr–1. NGC 371, also called Hodge 53, is an open cluster 200,000 light-years (61,320 pc) away located in the same region and can be seen on the left and above center in my image. The nebulae associated with NGC 346 and NGC 371 both appear bluish in my image. Several other open clusters are located in the same region, these being IC 1611, IC 1612 and IC 1624.

Telescope: Planewave CDK17 (FR) f4.5
Mount: Astro Physics 1600GTO
Camera: QHY16200A/ Integral FW
Guider: Agena Starguide II / ZWO ASI178MM
Filters: Astronomik 36mm LRGB

L: 52×10 mins = 520 mins, R: 24×10 mins = 240 mins, G: 24×10 mins = 240 mins, B: 24×10 mins = 240 mins

Total Imaging Time: 21h 00m

Data Imaged remotely on 8 nights during July 2024.
Imaged from Observatorio El Sauce, Chile, in partnership with Fred Espenak.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.

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