Open star clusters are widely distributed in our galaxy and represent a loose collection of stars which number from a few dozen to a few hundred stars and are weakly-held gravitationally. Perhaps the three most famous such open clusters are the Pleiades (M45) in Taurus, the Beehive (M44) in Cancer and the double cluster in Perseus. They are all characterized with a handful of hot and white prominent stars and nebular material surrounding these stars.

Note: Open cluster NGC 7082 in Cygnus is a poorly populated open cluster with less than 50 member stars which are widely spread and poorly detached from the background and rich sky of Cygnus. The cluster spans an apparent diameter of twenty-five arc-minutes, lies at a distance of 4,700 light-years away and is estimated to be a only 171 million years old. The cluster is best observed using low-power magnifications during late fall and winter. NGC 7082 was discovered by William Herschel in 1788.