Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Puppis (Pup)  ·  Contains:  140 Pup  ·  2 Pup  ·  4 Pup  ·  HD59000  ·  HD59002  ·  HD59022  ·  HD59045  ·  HD59047  ·  HD59072  ·  HD59114  ·  HD59155  ·  HD59156  ·  HD59157  ·  HD59187  ·  HD59188  ·  HD59212  ·  HD59233  ·  HD59248  ·  HD59276  ·  HD59277  ·  HD59316  ·  HD59404  ·  HD59405  ·  HD59437  ·  HD59438  ·  HD59458  ·  HD59459  ·  HD59493  ·  HD59517  ·  HD59543  ·  And 179 more.
M47, Chris Gifford
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M47

M47, Chris Gifford
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M47

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Description

Messier 47 (M47) is a bright open star cluster located in the southern constellation Puppis. The cluster lies at a distance of 1,600 light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 4.2. It has the designation NGC 2422 in the New General Catalogue.

Messier 47 occupies an area of 30 arc minutes of apparent sky, corresponding to a linear diameter of 12 light years. The cluster’s apparent size is roughly the same as that of the full Moon. Its estimated age is 78 million years. The cluster is visible to the naked eye in dark, clear skies and appears as a hazy patch of nebulosity.

Messier 47 is quite easy to find as it is positioned 12 degrees to the east and 2 degrees to the north of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, located in the constellation Canis Major. The cluster can also be found about 5 degrees south of Alpha Monocerotis, an orange giant in the constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn.

The cluster is easily resolved in 10×50 binoculars, which reveal its brightest stars. Larger binoculars and small telescopes show many dimmer stars in M47, while 6-inch telescopes reveal a loose cluster with many bright and faint stars spread across an area 30 arc minutes in diameter.

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M47, Chris Gifford

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Open Clusters