M 052 - NGC 7654 - Enxame Aberto Constelação de Cassiopéia

M52 é um enxame aberto descoberto por Charles Messier em 1774.
 Situa-se a cerca de 5,000 anos-luz na direcção da constelação de Cassiopeia.
Com uma magnitude de 7.3, é possível observá-lo de binóculos.
Crédito: Robert Gendler

Nebulosa da Bolha
The Bubble and M52
Credit & Copyright: Tony Hallas

Explanation: To the eye, this cosmic composition nicely balances the Bubble Nebula at the upper right with open star cluster M52.

The pair would be lopsided on other scales, though. Embedded in a complex of interstellar dust and gas and blown by the winds from a single, massive O-type star, the Bubble Nebula (aka NGC 7635) is a mere 10 light-years wide.

On the other hand, M52 is a rich open cluster of around a thousand stars.

The cluster is about 25 light-years across. Seen toward the northern boundary of Cassiopeia, distance estimates for the Bubble Nebula and associated cloud complex are around 11,000 light-years, while star cluster M52 lies nearly 5,000 light-years away.