NGC188, known as the Polarissima Cluster, sits just under five degrees from the pole. (Surprisingly, there are four NGC objects with higher declinations, but they are all small background galaxies.) It’s close to the star 2 Ursae Minoris, and nearly surrounded by IFN. The brighter patch of IFN you see here on the left is the lower part of the piece known as the Polaris Flare.
NGC188 is a very old open cluster, at around 7 billion years in age. It’s not very bright, but it’s pretty in its own way, especially when seen in the context of the nearby IFN.
- Exposures (-10ºC):
- L: 127×90s; R, G, B: 40×90s each (gain=0)
- Total exposure time: 6.18 hours
- Taken from Doylestown, PA, Sep 18, 2023
- Telescope: Takahashi FSQ106ED w/ 0.73x reducer (f/3.7)
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro with Astrodon filters
- Mount: iOptron CEM60
- Guiding: ZWO ASI174MM (off-axis)
- Acquisition: NINA + PHD2 and ASTAP
- Processing: AstroPixelProcessor, PixInsight
Deep-sky Imaging 