Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 January 3 [2]The featured image shows a line of bright stars strewn diagonally across a starfield of more dim stars. A cluster of stars is also visible near the top left of the image. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Kemble's Cascade of Stars Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Tommy Lease Explanation: This line of stars is real. A little too faint to see with the unaided eye, [4]Kemble's Cascade of stars [5]inspires awe when seen with binoculars. Like the [6]Big Dipper though, Kemble's Cascade is an [7]asterism, not a [8]constellation. The asterism is visible in the northern sky toward the long-necked constellation of the [9]Giraffe ([10]Camelopardalis). This string of about 20 unrelated [11]stars, each of similar brightness, spans over five times the [12]angular width of the [13]full moon. Stretching diagonally from the upper left to the lower right, [14]Kemble's Cascade was popularized last century by astronomy enthusiast [15]Lucian Kemble. The bright object near the top left of the image is the relatively compact [16]Jolly Roger open cluster of stars, officially designated as [17]NGC 1502. Tomorrow's picture: big appetite __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC, [38]NASA Science Activation & [39]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2301/KembleCascade_Lease_3668.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/colorado_astro/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemble%27s_Cascade 5. https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1986767/shocked-cat.jpg 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130421.html 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism 8. https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/ 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe#/media/File:Giraffe_Mikumi_National_Park.jpg 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelopardalis 11. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve 12. https://www.1728.org/angsize.htm 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220612.html 14. https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astrophotography/stars/kembles-cascade-asterism/ 15. https://www.rasc.ca/lucien-kemble 16. https://wolfcreek.space/index.php/2020/11/04/jolly-roger-cluster/ 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1502 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230102.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230103 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230104.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 38. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 39. http://www.mtu.edu/