Ov\,E <1000{ Tayget
oV\,e <1000{ TaYget w~tVi SOVlA.e otViey s~gVits wortVt see~v\'g wVi~Le You'ye ~v\, tVie Ne~gVtboYVioofi MlAycltl GLustey M4g wLtVi ~cn'bov\" stClr X CClv\"~rL Cl V\.,c{ Cl v\"L~e grou-p of stClYS Cl rouV\.,c{ "B>etCl CCl V\.,Ls M~v\"orLs Cluster M48, a magnitude 5.5 open star cluster in the constellation Hydra, was first discovered by comet-hunter Charles Messier in 1771 but, because Messier misstated its coordinates, it was "lost" until 1934, when German astronomer Oswalt Thomas demonstrated that the cluster Messier described was NGC 2458. The cluster is shown slightly right of center near the bottom of the chart, along with other nearby stars that we will use in this month's hunt: • Pollux • • • • • • Gamma M44 • Cancer. • • ~ • ;. I • ·HYdra~ Procyon •• • Sextans • • Monoceros • 0 ~\ • M48 . To find M48 using binoculars or a finderscope, start at Procyon, the bright mag 0.3 star at the SE corner of The Winter Hexagon. Procyon is the 8th brightest star in the sky, and quite close to us, at a distance of only 11~ light years. It was named Procyon, meaning "Before the Dog," because it rises just before Sirius, The Dog Star: that was important because Sirius heralded the annual flooding of the Nile River, which was crucial to the life of ancient Egypt. Just over 4° NW of Procyon is mag 2.9 blue dwarf Beta Canis Minoris, which forms a pretty lYz ° binocular group with a mag 4.3 orange giant and a mag 5.0 yellow giant.
[Show full text]