Hafrid's Dragon (Open Cluster NGC 2301 ) (Jerry Yesavage)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Monoceros (Mon) · Contains: Great Bird Cluster · NGC 2301

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Hafrid's Dragon (Open Cluster NGC 2301 )

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Hafrid's Dragon (Open Cluster NGC 2301 )

From Astronomy Magazine:

A fire-breathing cluster

This week's small telescope target is Hagrid's Dragon, which lies in the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn. Somehow it seems fitting to me that a dragon would pair up with a unicorn. Astronomers know this object by another designation: open cluster NGC 2301.

Sharp-eyed observers also can spot this target without optical aid from a dark site. Just look 5.1° west of magnitude 4.2 Delta (δ) Monocerotis. NGC 2301 shines at magnitude 6.0 and measures 15' across.

This open cluster is a great object through any size telescope, and wide-angle views will show a rich surrounding star field. A 6-inch scope reveals some 50 stars. Crank the magnification past 200x, and look for a double star dead-center in the cluster. The two components have magnitudes of 8.0 and 8.8.

The common name, Hagrid's Dragon, is a recent one. Astronomy magazine Contributing Editor Stephen James O'Meara sees a dragon in flight when he looks at this cluster. He named it Hagrid's Dragon after a creature in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. Why didn't Steve call NGC 2301 Norbert, the name Rowling gave to the fictional dragon? Probably — and I certainly mean no disrespect to anyone named Norbert — because "Hagrid's Dragon" sounds more impressive.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	4228294
PixInsight job	QKQ3MX2KXAW2TA39L28IAW9S3W4RK6EP
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	06h51m46s.30
RA (top/left)	06h52m34s.95
RA (top/right)	06h50m53s.96
RA (bottom/right)	06h50m57s.63
RA (bottom/left)	06h52m38s.65

Dec (center)	+00°27′41″.7
Dec (top/left)	+00°42′41″.6
Dec (top/right)	+00°41′52″.7
Dec (bottom/right)	+00°12′41″.5
Dec (bottom/left)	+00°13′30″.4

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Hafrid's Dragon (Open Cluster NGC 2301 )

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Hafrid's Dragon (Open Cluster NGC 2301 )

Hafrid's Dragon (Open Cluster NGC 2301 )

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