M47 (Open Cluster)
A bright, coarse open cluster in Puppis, easily visible with binoculars and even the naked eye under good conditions. Located near M46.
Open cluster in Puppis. Magnitude 4.2.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 69° above the southern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 72° above the southern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 12 Jan, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Visible to the eye even from Georgetown, as a hazy knot of stars.
- 10x50 binoculars: Resolves into dozens of stars.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): Dozens to hundreds of stars at low power.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 1,000 mm (field 1.3° × 0.9°); needs a tracking mount.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 30′, 96% of the Moon's width (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 4.2. Brighter than the faintest stars Georgetown shows (4.3), and Lethem's (6.0).
- Distance: 1,530 light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 1,500 years ago, around the year 530.
What it is made of
- Type
- Open cluster
- Distance
- Approx. 1,530 Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 13 Lightyears across
- Age
- about 110 million years (range 63 million years to 200 million years)
- Notable
- Close and young: about 110 million years old at 1,530 light-years.
More deep-sky objects: M46 (Open Cluster) & NGC 2438 (Planetary Nebula) · M93 (Open Cluster) · M41 (Open Cluster) · Christmas Tree Cluster & Cone Nebula (NGC 2264) · M67 (Open Cluster) · Beehive Cluster (M44)