NGC 457 (also designated Caldwell 13, and known as the Owl Cluster, E.T. Cluster, Dragonfly Cluster, or Kachina Doll Cluster) is an open star cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787, and lies over 7,900 light years away from the Sun. It has an estimated age of 21 million years. The cluster is sometimes referred by amateur astronomers as the Owl Cluster, the E.T. Cluster (due to its resemblance to the movie character) or the “Skiing Cluster”. Two bright stars Phi Cassiopeiae (magnitude 5) and HD 7902 (magnitude 7) can be imagined as eyes. The next brightest star is the red supergiant variable star V466 Cassiopeiae. The cluster features a rich field of about 150 stars of magnitudes 9-13.

Telescope: Astro Physics 175EDF f8.3
Mount: Astro Physics 3600GTO “El Capitan”
Camera: SBIG STT8300
Guider: Mini Borg 50 / SBIG STi

R: 18×10 mins = 180 mins, G: 18×10 mins = 180 mins, B: 19×10 mins = 190 mins

Total Imaging Time: 9h 10m

Data Imaged remotely over 4 nights during November & December 2020.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.

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