NGC 559 (also known as Caldwell 8) is an

open cluster An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of tens to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, and ...

and Caldwell object in the constellation

Cassiopeia Cassiopeia or Cassiopea may refer to: Greek mythology * Cassiopeia (mother of Andromeda), queen of Aethiopia and mother of Andromeda * Cassiopeia (wife of Phoenix), wife of Phoenix, king of Phoenicia * Cassiopeia, wife of Epaphus, king of Egy ...

. It shines at magnitude +9.5. Its celestial coordinates are RA , dec . It is located near the open cluster NGC 637, and the bright magnitude +2.2 irregular variable star

Gamma Cassiopeiae Gamma Cassiopeiae, Latinized from γ Cassiopeiae, is a bright star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest st ...

. The cluster is 7 arcmins across. The object is also called Ghost's Goblet. This name was coined by astronomer Stephen J. O'Meara, as the center of the star cluster, with a little imagination, is reminiscent of a still photograph of a jeweled goblet that is about to vanish in a ghostly manner. O'Meara attributes the impression of fading to the low brightness (about +12) of many stars in the center as well as to the great age of the star cluster, which is about 1.8 billion years old.O’Meara, Stephen James (2016): ''The Caldwell Objects.'' 2nd edition, Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, ISBN 978-1-107-08397-4, p. 49–51. NGC 559 map

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 0559 Open clusters 0559 008b Cassiopeia (constellation) 17871109