The Alpha Persei star cluster surrounds the supergiant star
Mirfak, Alpha Persei, which is the brightest member
of the cluster. Large, sprawling, and in the heart of the
Milky Way in
Perseus, the young Alpha Persei cluster
(only 50 million years old, 580 light years away) is not commonly recognized as
an open cluster, though it has been known as such for almost a century.
(North is toward the top.)
