| Name: | Brocchi's Cluster |
| Type: | OpenCl |
| Messier: | N/A |
| NGC: | N/A |
| Magnitude: | 3.6 |
| Right Ascention: | 19h25m17s |
| Declination: | +20 11 |
| Constellation: | Vulpecula |
| Viewing Info: | I discovered this cluster (which may be an asterism rather than a genuine cluster) when I first started taking a deeper interest in the night sky, with 9x63 binoculars. It's a striking and beautiful object, like a bejewelled stick-pin against dark skies. I found it while looking for Alberio, and it really does leap out to the pattern-seeking part of the brain.
It was first discovered and described around 964 AD by the great Persian astronomer, Abd al-Rahman Al-Sufi. Since its apparent dimension is a whopping 60 arc minutes, it is best viewed through binoculars, though it can be found naked eye.
Brocchi's Cluster is also known as Al Sufi's Cluster, Collinder 399, and the Coathanger Cluster, and is found in the constellation Vulpecula. Spend some time exploring the Summer Triangle, and you'll likely stumble across it! |
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