The closest star cluster is the Hyades Cluster at a distance of 47 pc (153 ly). This cluster is well known because of its location between Orion and the Pleiades, and the bright star Aldebaran (which is actually a foreground star and not part of the cluster).
The second closest star cluster is Melotte 111 in the constellation Coma Berenices. Also known as the "Coma Star Cluster", it is 86 pc (280 ly) distant, almost twice as far away as the Hyades. This cluster has an apparent width of about 6 deg and is not associated with any notably bright stars. The brightest member stars have magnitudes between 4.8-6.4 and are not easily visible to the eye except in a dark-sky location. It is, however, a fine sight in binoculars. I confirmed this last night with a Nikon 7x50mm binocular which closely matches the field-of-view of the image below.
Image details: E-M5iii + Rokinon 135mm f/2 + softon filter. ISO 800, 30s, binned by 4. Image width is about 5.5°.
Sky brightness: sqml=19.64.
Here is a chart showing the cluster's location last night in the eastern sky:
 |
| credit: SkySafariAstronomy.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated.