By Peter Lowenstein | 2025-04-10
Polarissima, an overlooked star cluster
On 04/15/2025 09:45 pm by Steven Bellavia | Website | Smithfield, VA
The Polarissima Cluster, NGC 188, Caldwell 1, is an unusual and often overlooked open cluster in the constellation Cepheus, not far from Polaris and the Celestial pole.
Most amateur astronomers, with equatorial mounts, setup and point their mounts and telescopes towards the Celestial pole, near Polaris. But then they move on, missing this nice cluster.
Unlike most open clusters that drift apart after a few million years because of the gravitational interaction of our Milky Way galaxy, NGC 188 lies 5,000 light years away, far above the plane of the galaxy, with less gravity to disturb this cluster. It is one of the most ancient of open clusters known, at approximately 6.8 billion years old. It was discovered by John Herschel in 1831.
It is magnitude 8.1, composed of main sequence stars, and can be seen in binoculars and small telescopes.
Telescope: William Optics 71 Star II quadruplet Petzval apochromatic refractor
Camera: ZWO ASI 183MC Pro, cooled to -15C
Astronomik UV-IR cut filter
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guidescope: modified SvBony 30mm guidescope, f/7.2, 215mm focal length
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI 224MC
183 x 30-seconds, calibrated, aligned and integrated in PixInsight