M36
Open cluster in Auriga

101.” f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC
Exposure = 5 sec, Live Stacked frames = 15, Gain = 25 of 250

M36 is a bright, large star cluster with little compression. Burnham’s says it “contains about 60 stars of magnitude 9 to 14”. The cluster appears to be approximately 10 arc minutes across. At the center is a double star, Struve 737, seen here as a couple of brighter stars of magnitude 9 “touching” one another; in reality they are separated by 11 arc seconds. M36 is relatively young at 25 million years, is about 4340 light years away and 14 light years across.

North at 11 o’clock, East at 8 o’clock