M36

From South Dublin Astronomical Society

M36
Type	Open cluster
NGC	NGC 1960
Constellation	Auriga
Right Ascension	5h 36.1m
Declination	+34° 08’
Magnitude	6.3
Size	12 arc min.
Image:M36 messier image.jpg

Framed nicely by the roughly pentagonal shaped pattern of Auriga are the open clusters M36 and M38. Even the slightest optical aid will show the duo set against the background of the winter Milky Way. Scan a short distance northwest of the midpoint on a line joining Theta Aurigae and Beta Tauri and you should have little trouble spotting the pair. The two are separated by a little over two degrees and fit in the field of even giant glasses. M36 is the smallest of the Auriga trio and appears quite compact. It lies about 4,100 light years away and contains 60 or so members. M38 is a bit more splashy and shows as a blur of light flecked with a number of brightish suns. Phil Harrington, in his “Touring the Universe through Binoculars”, comments that the stars of M38 appear to trace a diminutive Greek letter Pi (π). What do you think?