Open Cluster NGC 654
History
The open cluster NGC 654 was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787 and listed as VII 46. He noted: «A small cluster of pretty large stars, pretty rich.» [464] John Herschel described listed the cluster as h 145 and noted on 5 October 1829: "A fine rich cluster; stars 11...14m; 3' dia; irreg fig; place that of the most compressed part; one star 6.7 mag, south-following the centre, is ruddy.» [466]
In 1962 Beverly T. Lynds published her «Catalogue of Dark Nebulae» that she found on photo plates of the «National Geographic Palomar Observatory Sky Atlas». She identified a dark elongated cloud north of the cluster and assigned the designations LDN 1332, LDN 1334 and LDN 1337 to the densest patches. [473]
In 1966 the Canadian astronomer Sidney van den Bergh identified the reflection nebula vdB 6 around star BD +61°315. [255]
Physical Properties
| Designation | NGC 654 |
| Type | OCL (II3m) |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 01h 43m 59.4s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | +61° 52' 58" |
| Diameter | 6 arcmin |
| Visual magnitude | 6.5 mag |
| Metric Distance | 2.041 kpc |
| Dreyer Description | Cl, iF, Ri, one * 6·7, st 11…14 |
| Identification, Remarks | WH VII 46; h 145; GC 387; OCL 330 |
Finder Chart
The open cluster NGC 654 is located in the constellation Cassiopeia, roughly 1° north of NGC 663. It is on 21 October in opposition to the Sun. From Switzerland they can best be seen in the months January to December.
