Messier 38 - The Starfish Cluster

by Antoine Grelin

Objects in field: M 38, NGC 1907, NGC 1912, LDN 1526, LBN 787, LBN 794, PK172+00.1

Equipment: Stellarvue SVX130T, QHYCCD QHY600PH M

Integration: 13h

13 hours in RGB+HA on M38 in Auriga. This open cluster lost in a huge sea of hydrogen alpha is the 38th object on the Messier Catalog: the Starfish Cluster. I love going deep on clusters to see what’s hidden in the background, and although this HA was mo secret to anyone in this section of Auriga, it still feels so nice to see it appear on your own screen while processing the data. This was taken…