Caroline's Rose Open Cluster

Facts about NGC 7789, also known as Caroline's Rose.

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Published: July 13, 2021 at 12:57 pm

NGC 7789 is an open cluster in Cassiopeia that was discovered by astronomer and comet-hunter Caroline Herschel in 1783. It has become known as The White Rose Cluster or Caroline's Rose Cluster because, when seen visually, the loops of stars and dark lanes look like the swirling pattern of rose petals as seen from above.

Caroline's brother William Herschel included the cluster in his catalog as H VI.30.

NGC 7789 Caroline's Rose by André van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, The Netherlands. Equipment: TMB92, QSI583ws
NGC 7789 Caroline's Rose by André van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, The Netherlands. Equipment: TMB92, QSI583ws

Caroline's Rose is one of many star clusters: groups of stars gravitationally bound that appear in a group against the blackness of space.

Caroline's Rose is an example of an open star cluster. Unlike globular clusters, which are ancient objects, open star clusters are groups of up to a few thousand younger stars that are loosely bound together by gravity.

Perhaps the most famous open star cluster is the Pleiades, M45, one of the most easily recognisable targets in the night sky.

Caroline's Rose is about 8,000 lightyears away and is a much older open star cluster, potentially about 1.6 billion years old.

Below is a selection of images of NGC 7789 captured by astrophotographers and BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers.

For more astro imaging advice, read our guide on how to photograph stars. And don't forget to send us your images or share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

NGC 7789 Caroline's Rose by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12
NGC 7789 Caroline's Rose by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount, Atik 383L camera, Astronomik LRGB filters, Hutech IDAS light pollution filter, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
Caroline's Rose by Jaspal Chadha, London, UK. Equipment: Tak 130, QSI 690 CCD, Ioptron CEM60, LRGB
Caroline's Rose by Jaspal Chadha, London, UK. Equipment: Tak 130, QSI 690 CCD, Ioptron CEM60, LRGB
Caroline's Rose by Jaspal Chadha, London, UK. Equipment: Takahashi 130, Ioptron CEM60, QSI 690, LRGB
Caroline's Rose by Jaspal Chadha, London, UK. Equipment: Takahashi 130, Ioptron CEM60, QSI 690, LRGB
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