M38
Open cluster in Auriga

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 0.5 focal reducer
Exposure = 5 sec, Live Stacked frames = 20, Gain = 40 of 250

M38 is a large loose open cluster, about 120 stars spanning approximately 20 arc minutes. Burnham’s mentions “It is a scattered group of irregular form, with the brightest stars in a pattern resembling an inverted letter Pi”. Can you see the inverted Pi shape?

M38 is 3500 light years away, and about 26 light years across, similar in size to it’s sister M37 just less dense. Age-wise M38 is estimated to be 290 million years old.

North at 1 o’clock, East at 10 o’clock