Messier 37 revisited

 

Open Star Cluster Messier 37. 127mm Meade Apo Refracting telescope and Canon 600d DSLR. Stacked image. Credit; Pip Stakkert

" It turns out that taking good photographs of stars with a DSLR is quite difficult. The constellation Auriga is a favourite target at the Jodrell Plank Observatory. It holds a quite a few interesting objects, one of which is the wonderful open star cluster Messier 37 also known as NGC 2099. The cluster is on the edge of our galaxy, the Milky Way. When viewed from Earth, we observe M37  looking in the opposite direction from our galactic centre. The stars are approximately 500 million years old and have a combined mass of 1500 times that of the Sun. Amongst the cluster stars are at least a dozen red giant stars and one planetary nebula (toward the end stage for stars roughly the mass of our Sun). The cluster is approximately 4500 million light years away and covers an area of sky equivalent to about 25 light years. The cluster has over 500 identified stars gravitationally held together. The cluster can just be seen through binoculars from a dark location as a small hazy cloud. There are two other Messier open star clusters in Auriga. The red glowing clouds visible in other parts of our image are created by ionised atoms of hydrogen gas and cold dark dust in the interstellar medium" - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.