Few things in the night sky really look like what they’re named for. Queen Cassiopeia looks like a squashed “W”, and Andromeda looks like … well nothing really. Of course there are also exceptions like the Big Dipper. And then there’s NGC 457, an open cluter that looks like something – but nobody can agree on what. It’s commonly called the Owl Cluster or the ET Cluster. One of my friends once said it looked like a koala, although I’d question his sobriety at the time. The “eyes” of the alleged koala are Phi Cassiopeiae, not actually part of the cluster. The cluster itself, made up of about 150 stars, can be imagined as a torso and appendages of some kind. This interesting little cluster is easy to find in Cassiopeia. Keep following the line formed by Epsilon and Delta Cassiopeiae until you reach a point almost even with Gamma Cassiopeiae. These lines aren’t exact, but they’ll get you in the area. And once you’re in the area, Phi Cassiopeiae should be easily visible through your finder scope. So go take a look at NGC 457, and decide for yourself what it looks like.
