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Object of the Week March 30 - M 48
M 48, NGC 2548, Cr 179, Mel 85
Open Cluster
Hydra
RA: 08 13 38.9
DEC: -05 43 34
Mag: 5.8
Diam: 30'
Perhaps it is me but I always have the feeling that M 48 is slightly forgotten and that most people only observe it once to complete the Messier list. I hope that this article will encourage you to revisit M 48.
Just east of the border between Hydra and Monoceros lies the open cluster Messier 48. It probably was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771 but he wrote down the position incorrectly. That is, the right ascension was correct, but the declination was off by 5 degrees. Caroline Herschel independently discovered this cluster in 1783 and therefore some sources give her credit for the discovery.
The brightest cluster member is HD 40348 at mag 8.3 and the faintest stars are about mag 13. With an age of about 400 +/- 100 Myr its age it in between that of the Pleiades (~100 Myr) and the Hyades (~650 Myr) however the cluster is more metal poor than the Pleiades, Hyades and Praesepe. Fascinating stuff for astrophysicists! Despite its not very high age, the cluster is split up into three main lumps with each their own collective proper motion. This may be due to tidal forces of the Milky Way.
From dark locations M 48 can be seen naked eye. I haven't tried myself yet but would very much like to know if you succeeded. Even with small telescopes this is a pleasing group of a few tens of stars. Visually nothing can be seen of the three subgroups. Larger telescopes should bring out some of the colors of the cluster members. I took this image of M 48 last night with my SeeStar S50. As you can see, some members are yellow/orange and others white/blue.
Attachment 5684
As always,
"Give it a go and let us know!
Good luck and great viewing!"
