Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Monoceros (Mon)  ·  Contains:  NGC 2301
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 2301, Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 2301

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 2301, Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 2301

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

This object is an open star cluster located 2500 light years away in the constellation of Monoceros at a declination of 0 degrees. This magnitude 6 cluster of 80 stars spans 15 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to a diameter of 11 light years.

This is an unusual cluster - from the central group of stars, there seem to be 3 line of stars which extend up, left and right from the center. This has been described long ago by observers as "three arms of a cross". The cluster only contains about 80 stars, but many more are visible in the image due to the dense Milky Way background. The imaginative nicknames of this wonderful cluster include Hagrid’s Dragon, Romulan War Bird and Klingon Battle Cruiser.

Comments