NGC 559

{{short description|Open star cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia}}

{{Infobox Cluster

| name = NGC 559

| image = File:NGC 559 PanSTARRS.jpg

| epoch = J2000

| constellation = Cassiopeia

| ra = {{RA|01|29|31.20}}{{citation

| title=Global survey of star clusters in the Milky Way. II. The catalogue of basic parameters

| last1=Kharchenko | first1=N. V. | last2=Piskunov | first2=A. E.

| last3=Schilbach | first3=E. | last4=Röser | first4=S.

| last5=Scholz | first5=R.-D. | display-authors=1

| journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics | postscript=.

| volume=558 | id=A53 | pages=8 | date=2013

| bibcode=2013A&A...558A..53K | arxiv=1308.5822

| doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201322302 | s2cid=118548517 }}

| dec = {{DEC|+63|18|07.2}}

| dist_ly = 7200 ly

| dist_pc = 2200 pc

| appmag_v = +9.5

| size_v = 7.0{{prime}}

| notes =

| names = Caldwell 8, Cr 13

|image_size=250|caption=PanSTARRS image of NGC 559}}

NGC 559 (also known as Caldwell 8) is an open cluster and Caldwell object in the constellation Cassiopeia. It shines at magnitude +9.5. Its celestial coordinates are RA {{RA|01|29.5}}, dec {{DEC|+63|18}}. It is located near the open cluster NGC 637, and the bright magnitude +2.2 irregular variable star Gamma Cassiopeiae. The cluster is 7 arcmins across.{{cite web|last1=Seligman|first1=Courtney|title=Celestial Atlas: NGC Objects: NGC 550 - 599|url=http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc5a.htm#559|website=cseligman.com|access-date=26 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910123621/http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc5a.htm#559|archive-date=10 September 2015|url-status=dead}}

The object is also called Ghost's Goblet. This name was coined by astronomer Stephen J. O'Meara, as the center of the star cluster, with a little imagination, is reminiscent of a still photograph of a jeweled goblet that is about to vanish in a ghostly manner. O'Meara attributes the impression of fading to the low brightness (about +12) of many stars in the center as well as to the great age of the star cluster, which is about 1.8 billion years old.O’Meara, Stephen James (2016): The Caldwell Objects. 2nd edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-107-08397-4, p. 49–51.

File:NGC 559 map.png