Astronomical Observatory: Cool Images

Astr110 Photography Projects, Spring 2006

M48, Bryan Helder

M48 is a open star cluster that was discovered on February 19, 1771 by Charles Messier. However, when Messier cataloged the object, he made a mistake, and the object was missing until it was discovered again in 1934 by Oswald Thomas. Many more independent discoveries have occurred in the years following 1771, but none we documented right until Thomas. M48 can be seen by the naked eye under good conditions, and is 1,500 light years away. It consists of about 80 stars.

This open star cluster is very visible in the night sky, if you look at it through a telescope or with some strong binoculars, you can discover more about it. There are 3 yellow giants, and a star that has a luminosity 70 times that of the sun included in M48. M48 is estimated to be approximately 300 million years old. The linear size of M48 is 3 light years.

References:
Information on Messier objects

The nine planets