M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field (Daniel Erickson)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Auriga (Aur) · Contains: M 37 · NGC 2099

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M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field

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M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field

Messier 37 (NGC2099) is the largest and most spectacular of three open clusters (M35, M36, M37) in Auriga. It measures about 25 arcminutes across and is composed of many hundreds of stars. What makes it even more interesting to me is the broad range of spectral types found. In particular you can see quite a few Red Giants.

I think that clusters are beautiful to behold--through the eyepiece and as images. The images, like their real-world counterparts, are best viewed in the dark of night and not in the light of day.

I cropped the image down to better present the cluster. There are other, smaller features to see in this FOV, too. Unfortunately, in the case of this version of M37, I overexposed the stars a bit. I tried to correct for this, but in the end just backed off. Please accept my apologies for letting that mistake ride. I will adjust my exposure downward for my next cluster.

My own controversial and perhaps dangerous opinion, is that while clusters may not be the most interesting of targets visually, I firmly believe that if you can't photograph them then you may be lacking a critical astro-skill. For me--as I've often repeated like a broken record--it's always about the stars first.

Regardless of my own view, I hope you enjoy this image and I thank you heartily for stopping in and for any comments you care to share.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	4394687
PixInsight job	2TQ1OP5IPO0NTOL8VIPVUCOH9I7MWFG3
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	05h52m55s.89
RA (top/left)	05h48m25s.32
RA (top/right)	05h57m40s.12
RA (bottom/right)	05h57m30s.75
RA (bottom/left)	05h48m07s.85

Dec (center)	+32°23′02″.5
Dec (top/left)	+31°41′11″.7
Dec (top/right)	+31°45′27″.0
Dec (bottom/right)	+33°04′16″.5
Dec (bottom/left)	+32°59′58″.6

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M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field

M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field

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M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field

M37/NGC 2099 Open Cluster and Star Field

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