🔭 M47

Open cluster in Puppis

M47 is a open cluster in the constellation Puppis, with an apparent magnitude of about 4.4, roughly 1.6 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M47
Object type	Open cluster
Constellation	Puppis
NGC / IC	NGC 2422
Apparent magnitude	4.4
Distance (approx.)	1.6 thousand light-years

What a open cluster is

A loose, young family of a few dozen to a few thousand stars born together from the same gas cloud and drifting apart over time. The Pleiades are the most famous example.

Other Messier objects in Puppis: M46, M93.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.