January 12, 2007
Even the most precise clock in the world cannot measure how unlikely your existence really is.
Collinder 399: The Coat Hanger
Birthday · January 12, 2007
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APOD published January 12, 2007. Credit: Frank Barrett (Celestial Wonders). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Is this coat hanger a star cluster or an asterism? This cosmic hang-up has been debated over much of last century, as astronomers wondered whether this binocular-visible object is really a physically associated open cluster or a chance projection. Chance star projections are known as asterisms, an example of which is the popular Big Dipper. Recent precise measurements from different vantage points in the Earth's orbit around the Sun have recently uncovered discrepant angular shifts indicating that the Coat Hanger is better described as an asterism. Known more formally as Collinder 399, this bright stellar grouping can be seen spanning more than a full moon toward the direction of the constellation of the Fox (Vulpecula). On the far right of the above image is the open cluster of stars NGC 6802.
Image credit: Frank Barrett (Celestial Wonders)