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M46 & M47 

Open Clusters in Puppis 

 (Image Centered at ra: 07:39 / dec -14º 33')

 

 

 

CLICK IN THE IMAGE FOR A HIGHER RESOLUTION VIEW

 

February 2012, Complejo La Aldea in Villa de Merlo

San Luis, Argentina

 

 


 

DATA

TYPE: Open Clusters 

V mag: M47 4.4; M46 6.1; NGC 2423 6.7

SIZE: approximate FOV 2º 45' x 2º 10

DISTANCE: M46 5400 light years and M47 5200 light years

   

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

M46 (below center left) and M47 (upper center right) are two bright clusters in the constellation of Puppis. They are relative separated by a bit more than one degree. Both clusters where independently discovered by Charles Messier after its first edition of his 45 object list. M46 is a very rich cluster and it also contains planetary nebula NGC 2438 which can be seen in the image as a small green disk. The nebula  is not part of M46; it position is seen only in perspective. M47 is also brighter than his companion, however the main bright stars are not part of the cluster. Both objects can be well seen through binoculars o low power telescopes. At the right of M47 we have NGC 2423 with a magnitude of 6.7 and an apparent diameter of 12 arc minutes. Below left from M 47 is visible NGC 2425 with only 4 arc minutes.

 

IMAGE INFORMATION

SCOPE: William Optics ZenithStar 66 f4.8

MOUNT: Sky Watcher NEQ6

SKY CONDITIONS: Transparency and seeing good

CAMERA: QSI 583 WS -10Cº

FILTERS: Baader Luminance + and RGB set

EXPOSURES: LRGB (20,20,20,20)

GUIDING: Celestron SCT 8" working at f10 Starlight Xpress Lodestar Camera. PHD Guiding

PROCESSING: Images Plus (Dark substraction Sigma Median Combination); CCD Sharp; NASA Photoshop Fits Liberator, Photoshop CS