Friday, November 8
Although the constellation Perseus is perhaps best known for housing the famous Double Cluster, it’s also home to another open star cluster: M34, one of the Hero’s two Messier objects.
M34 is some 180 million years old and sits 1,400 light-years from Earth. The cluster contains about 100 stars and takes up roughly the same area on the sky as the Full Moon. On a clear, dark night, it’s visible to the naked eye and is easy to center in binoculars or any telescope for further enjoyment. In fact, you’ll want to use low magnification, as this will show more of its scattered stars. Bumping the magnification up a bit higher will show fainter members, though it will also limit your field of view, so try switching between low and medium powers to see it all.
You can find 5th-magnitude M34 just 5.2° northwest of Perseus’ famous beta star, Algol, also called the Demon Star.
Sunrise: 6:38 A.M.
Sunset: 4:49 P.M.
Moonrise: 1:04 P.M.
Moonset: 10:56 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (44%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
Saturday, November 9
First Quarter Moon occurs early this morning at 12:55 A.M. EST.
