NGC 663 (Caldwell 10) is an open cluster of stars located in the constellation Cassiopeia approximately 6,500 light years from the Earth^[1].  The cluster is relatively bright with a listed magnitude of 7.1^[1].  Under dark skies, the brighter stars may be viewed with the aid of binoculars^[1].  NGC 663 is a young cluster with an age estimated to be between 20 and 25 million years^[1,3].  The cluster lies in front of a large molecular cloud.  This cloud obscures many of the field stars in and around NGC 663^[1,2].  The net effect of this is to make the cluster stars stand out in both visual observations and in astro-photo images.

NGC 663 is of scientific interest due to the large number of type Be stars^[1,3].  These stars show prominent hydrogen lines in their spectrum^[1].  A total of 24 such stars have been located in the cluster^[1,3].

Two variable stars have been detected in NGC 663 ^[1,2].  These variable stars are likely eclipsing binaries with periods of .6 and 1.03 days^[1].

The above image is orientated with north up and east to the left.  Image integration and processing were accomplished using the software applications PixInsight^TM and Photoshop^TM.