Auriga is home to a number of impressive open star clusters. M36 and M37 are two of them. Begin your star hop at 1.7 magnitude Al Nath. M36 is 6 degrees north-northeast from Al Nath. A group of four bright stars, 4th to 6th magnitude, are arranged like a "7" about four degrees from Al Nath. Use these as landmarks on your way to M36. You're two-thirds of the way home when you see them. M37 is about 7 degrees north-northeast of Al Nath. If you're starting from M36, slew 3.7 degrees southeast.
| Winter Sky Tour: M36 & M37 (Auriga) |
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| M36: Open Star Cluster (Auriga) RA: 05h 36.3m / DEC: +34° 08'.4 |
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| M37: Open Star Cluster (Auriga) RA: 05h 36.3m / DEC: +34° 08'.4 |
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Revised: February 12, 2002 [WDF]
M36 is a magnitude 6.0 open star cluster. It looks fairly nondescript in my 10-inch, presenting about 30 stars across a 10' field at 63X. A trio of 9th magnitude stars resides at the center. These stars are surrounded by a collection of 10th to 12th magnitude stars.
M37 has an integrated magnitude of 5.6 and the cluster covers a 23' area. It features a bright red star at the core. This firebrand is set amidst a wedge of 20 fainter stars that remind me of a formation of Canada geese. The sketch at left presents the cluster's apearance at 36X in my 10-inch.