This open cluster is easy to spot in Cassiopeia, being bright enough
to be just barely visible with the unaided eye under a dark sky, and
easy to spot with binoculars. When we look at this cluster, we are
looking away from the galaxy's center, and into the next arm out from
our own location on earth. At this point in the sky, there is a gap
in the galactic dust in our part of the galaxy that might otherwise
block our view, and so we can see some of the rich, distant clusters
in the Perseus Arm. NGC 457 is about 8000-10,000 light years from earth,
and the stars in the cluster formed only about 21 million years ago.
Many people see in the stars of this cluster either an owl with spread
wings or the movie character E.T. with outstretched arms. In either case,
the two bright stars form the "eyes." There is some doubt about whether
these two bright stars are actually part of the cluster or lie at a closer
distance to us along our line of sight. Whether they belong to the cluster
or not, they form an important part of the visual impact of this lovely grouping.

Image Data:
Camera: SBIG STL-11000
Exposure: RGB, 30 minutes each (5 minutes x 6)
Telescope: Hyperion 12.5"