Starwatch: Perseus points to Double Cluster 7,500 light years away

Faint smudges represent combined light from thousands of distant stars

Earlier this month, we looked at Andromeda, who as part of the Greek myth, was chained to a rock for the sea monster Cetus to devour but was rescued by the hero Perseus.

This week we shift our attention to the constellation of Perseus, and specifically to a deep-sky object that can be seen under good conditions with the naked eye. The Double Cluster is a pair of adjacent star clusters that sit to the north of the main constellation.