Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Puppis (Pup)  ·  Contains:  M 46  ·  M 47  ·  NGC 2422  ·  NGC 2423  ·  NGC 2425  ·  NGC 2437  ·  The star 4Pup
Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438, Ray Caro
Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438
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Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438

Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438, Ray Caro
Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438
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Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438

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Description

This is the first time I photograph M 46 and M 47 in the same wide field.

ISO 1600 - f/13 - 410 mm

Messier 46 or Ngc 2437, in the constellation Puppys, is a beautiful open cluster also visible from the northern hemisphere. It was just after the publication of his catalog, in 1771, that Charles Messier discovered this object.

Distant from 5400 light years, it probably has about 500 stars.

In addition to its beauty, this cluster has a particularity: it houses the planetary nebula NGC 2438 which, in fact, is much closer to us, about 2900 light-years away. It was discovered much later, in 1786, by William Herschel.

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Messier 47 or NGC 2422 is an atypical open cluster. As for M 48, Charles Messier inscribed it in his catalog with bad coordinates, after his discovery in 1771. Other astronomers including William Herschel "rediscovered" the cluster. However, in the 1980s, the works of Giovanni Battista Hodierna are revealed and it appears that he is the first discoverer of this object, before 1654.

Distant 1600 light years from our solar system, with an apparent magnitude of 5.2, and extending over 30 arc minutes, a diameter of about 12 light-years, Messier 47 is very unstructured and includes about fifty bluish stars for the most part, with at least two red giants.

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In the same field of my image, we have NGC 2423, also an open cluster, with a red giant listed NGC 2423-3 which has the distinction of having in orbit an exoplanet more than 10 times bigger than Jupiter.

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Messier 46 - 47 & Planetary Nebula NGC 2438, Ray Caro

In these collections

Puppis / Poupe