🔭 M50 — Heart-Shaped Cluster

Open cluster in Monoceros

M50, Heart-Shaped Cluster is a open cluster in the constellation Monoceros, with an apparent magnitude of about 5.9, roughly 3.2 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M50
Common name	Heart-Shaped Cluster
Object type	Open cluster
Constellation	Monoceros
NGC / IC	NGC 2323
Apparent magnitude	5.9
Distance (approx.)	3.2 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.

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