Perseus Cluster

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This is an image of the Perseus cluster also known by catalog name Abel 426. It is a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Perseus. According to Wikipedia, it is one of the most massive objects in the known universe, and contains thousands of galaxies in a immense gas cloud.

Most astrophotography, especially for social media, focuses on the pretty structures. But sometimes I learn about something that I want to image because of what it represents. This is the only object so far where I am providing two pictures. The first is what anyone with a decent telescope can see. It looks like a rich but unremarkable star field. But I also include a second image. This image is same as the first but with all the stars removed. (This is done using the incredible tool StarXTerminator by RC Astro.) Everything left here is a galaxy!

For some additional context, Widipedia indicates that the Perseus cluster is 863 arc seconds across. The apparent diameter of the moon in similar terminology is 1870 arc seconds, so this galaxy cluster you are looking at occupies a space in the sky approximately 1/2 the angular width of the moon. All this in that tiny spot. A picture like this, that I took myself and know that nothing was photoshopped in, reframes the question "who am I" and even "who are we". Still think we are the only "ones"?

PERSEUS CLUSTER, Abel 426

Dec 2023

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