NGC 1664 -- Open Cluster in Auriga
A Firefly near the Fireworks
The Open Cluster NGC 1664 is located at the border of Auriga and Perseus. It is a quaint
cluster of over 100 dim stars, most of which are just a blur in the eyepiece using my 155mm
refractor under suburban skies. Still the 16 or so of the cluster’s stars, that I can see, create
an irregular horseshoe-like shape immersed in that blur of dimmer stars. NGC 1664 pales
with the magnificent Auriga Messier Open Clusters, but its subtlety is charming. It is the
constellation’s soft glowing-firefly hanging out in the adjacent field under a sky filled with the
explosive fireworks of M36, M37 and M38. Sometimes I am more in the mood for a firefly
than a firework’s display.
cluster of over 100 dim stars, most of which are just a blur in the eyepiece using my 155mm
refractor under suburban skies. Still the 16 or so of the cluster’s stars, that I can see, create
an irregular horseshoe-like shape immersed in that blur of dimmer stars. NGC 1664 pales
with the magnificent Auriga Messier Open Clusters, but its subtlety is charming. It is the
constellation’s soft glowing-firefly hanging out in the adjacent field under a sky filled with the
explosive fireworks of M36, M37 and M38. Sometimes I am more in the mood for a firefly
than a firework’s display.