NGC 7243, also Caldwell 16, is an open cluster and Caldwell object in the constellation Lacerta. It is located near the naked-eye stars Alpha Lacertae, 4 Lacertae, an A-class double star, and planetary nebula IC 5217.
NGC 7243 shines at magnitude +6.4, and consists of about 70 stars of 9th magnitude and fainter. The cluster covers an area of about 20 arc minutes with many of the stars arranged in visible clumps. At the center of the cluster is the double star Struve 2890, two 9th magnitude stars 9" arc seconds apart.
NGC 7243 lies approximately 2,800 light-years away, and thought to be just over 100 million years old. It consists mainly of white and blue stars.