NGC 1502

Image Title: NGC 1502

Copyright: Massimo Di Fusco

Date image was taken: November 20, 2023

Location: Ferrara (Italy)

Image Description and Details: NGC 1502 is a small open cluster of seventh magnitude made up of about 60 stars located in the southern part of the constellation of Camelopardalis in a region poor in flashy stars. It constitutes the south-eastern end of the Kemble's Cascade, a long alignment of quite bright stars.
The cluster NGC 1502 is very young, with an age of just 11 million years. It is made up of at least 19 components of magnitude brighter than 11, the brightest of which is SZ Camelopardalis, an eclipsing variable located in the center of the cluster. The blue supergiant α Camelopardalis is also believed to have originally been a member of the cluster, but was later ejected from it, becoming a runaway star. The cluster is located at a distance of 3400 light years and falls on the outer edge of the Orion Arm.
NGC 1502 was first spotted by William Herschel on November 3, 1787 through an 18.7-inch reflecting telescope and described it as a rather rich and remarkably dense cluster of stars, somewhat elongated in shape. His son John Herschel later reobserved it and then included it in his General Catalog of Nebulae and Clusters with number 802.

Equipment Details: Konus 200/1000 @950mm, f/4.8
Player One Poseidin-C @-5
Sky-Watcher Eq6r Pro mount
SvBony UV/IR-cut filter 60x120"
N.I.N.A., DSS, APP, PixInsight, PS

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