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Open clusters tend to have newer stars in them that haven't moved too far away from each other since they were formed.
A lot of them make interesting patterns and some get names based on the pattern that they make. The Big Dipper is an
example of an open cluster that is close to us. Other open clusters are far away so their stars look closer together
to us.
| M46 in Puppis, LRGB, f5 |
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| A bonus planetary nebula (NGC 2438) in this cluster located 5400 LY away. Very rich and colorful. |
| M45 Plaides, Alcyone of Seven Sisters, lum, f5 |
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| Very big, young open cluster with reflection nebula visible. Brightest star of big cluster. |
| M11 - Wild Duck Cluster, Lum only |
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| Taken in west Texas. M11 is a rich open cluster along our sight to the central Milky Way. |
This is a bright, big, rich, compact open cluster. It's about 5000 light years away and is only about 220
to 250 million years old. Most of the stars we see are blue. Blue stars are fairly short-lived. I'm glad
our Sun is yellow - it lasts a lot longer! Does it look like a flock of ducks?
| M24 - Sagitarius Star Cloud, Lum only |
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| "Cloud" looks white since there isn't dust obscuring our view to the center of the Milky Way |
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