Open cluster in Auriga.  Messier 37 is a bright open cluster that is a very impressive sight in a telescope with a wide field eyepiece. It is a densely packed group of several hundred stars, many more than the nearby Messier 36.

Image details:  20 images, each 60 seconds at ISO 1600, taken with a Canon 400D camera through a Meade 12” telescope at f/5.4.  Image processing with ImagesPlus and Photoshop.

February 2009