M29 is an open star cluster in a rich Milky Way field in the constellation Cygnus. Consisting of 20-50 stars, the cluster is an estimated 4,000 light years away.
Most of the brightest stars in the cluster are B class giants, meaning they are blue-white. These are young, hot, and massive stars. Since they burn up quickly (due to the enormous heat produced by contraction as their nuclear fuel is exhausted) they are relatively rare, accounting for only 1 in 800 stars.
Vast clouds of interstellar dust lie between M29 and our solar system, which has the effect of significantly dimming the light of these stars from our perspective. Nevertheless, the cluster remains a brilliant, if tarnished, example of an open star cluster.
This image was featured in the March 2010 edition of Astronomy magazine.
Open Star Cluster M29 in Cygnus
Date Taken:September 25, 2009
Location Taken: Conditions of Location:FWHM 1.9
Equipment Used:14.5" Ritchey-Chretien telescope, SBIG STL11000 CCD camera, Astrodon RGB filters, TCC, PIR, remote guide head used with Takahashi Sky90 for autoguiding, T-Point used for polar alignment (required for each imaging session due to my portable setup) with 0.7' polar alignment accuracy after two 12-star mapping runs.
Processing Used: Distance from Location:4,000 light years
Constellation:Cygnus (the "swan" or "northern cross")
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