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Messier 48 |
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 | M48 is an open cluster in the constellation Hydra. About 300 million years old and 1500 light-years away, M48 was unidentified until the 1950s due to a five degree error in Messier's published position, making it perhaps the most missing of the `missing' Messier objects. M48 contains close to a hundred stars spread out over a large region of the sky, but can still be identified with the naked eye when observing conditions are good.
In a 8-inch at 49X, the cluster takes up most of the field of view. There are several bright stars in the center of the cluster which form a V shape. The rest of the cluster has a somewhat circular appearance, but is fairly loose, and is composed of mainly brighter stars. This makes an excellent object for smaller telescopes. |
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| You can find more information about this Messier object by visiting: SEDS - The Messier Catalog. |
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M48 NGC 2548 Other description: Open cluster rich. Constellation: Hydra Dreyer description: Cluster, very large, westward rich in stars, westward much compressed, stars of magnitude 9 to 13; = M48. Magnitude: 5.8 RA: 08h 13m 59.7s Dec: -05°48'47" RA: 08h 13m 48.0s Dec: -05°48'00" (Epoch 2000) Azm: 153°01'08" Alt: +34°18'40" Rise: 09:21 Transit: 14:59 Set: 20:37 Size:54.0' |