You might run across this cluster sweeping through the hinterlands of eastern Puppis. This is not an area swimming in bright stars. Five naked eye stars forming the head of Hydra reside about 12 degrees to the northeast. And magnitude 4.4 Zeta (29) Monocerotis sits some 3 degrees to the north-northwest. Otherwise, there's not much to mark M48's location. It's a large cluster, covering two-thirds of the 1.4 degree field produced by a 32-mm TeleVue Plossl in my Starfinder. My drawing, based on that view, shows about 65 stars. M48's integrated visual magnitude is 5.8, its brightest members glowing at 8th magnitude.