Brocchi's Cluster

Brocchi's Cluster (also know as Collinder 399 or the Coathanger Cluster) is a star cluster located in the constellation Vulpecula. It was first described by Al Sufi in his Book of Fixed Stars in 964. The entire group includes about 40 stars with ten of the brightest ones forming the coat hanger asterism, a straight line of six stars with a "hook" of four stars on one side. The object can be seen as an unresolved patch of light without optical aid, but the coat hanger is best viewed with binoculars. Several studies have indicated that many of the stars in this group do not share a common proper motion and probably do not constitute a true open cluster.

External links

• Brocchi's Cluster, SEDS Messier pages