VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Administrator (Rev. Dr. Peter Hearty)|DATE|1357030086|CONTENT|Given that TFTD wasn&#039;t really about anything today, I&#039;d like to comment instead on today&#039;s APOD, a stunning, crystal clear picture of the double cluster in Perseus. Not [i]quite[/i] in the same class, I took a picture of the double cluster myself a few weeks ago.

This was obtained by just pointing a camera out of a bedroom window. There&#039;s severe light pollution, it&#039;s through the double glazing (so there are reflections between the two panes of glass), there&#039;s no motor drive so the 20s exposure shows star trails, and it&#039;s only using a standard 50mm/f1.7 lens. Despite all that, I was pleasantly surprised by the result (click to see a larger image).

[url=http://www.platitudes.org.uk/platblog/images/IMGP0791_1024.jpg][img=images/IMGP0791_400.jpg popup=false][/url]

The double cluster is clearly visible about a third of the way from the bottom, centre screen. The three bright stars on the right are the left hand &quot;V&quot; in the &quot;W&quot; of Cassiopeia. The bright star on the left is Gamma Perseus. If you follow the two bright stars on the bottom of the &quot;V&quot; across to Gamma Perseus, the double cluster is about half way between the two and is quite easy to find with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope.|IP-ADDRESS|94.168.119.214|MODERATIONFLAG|