February brought a seemingly-endless series of heavy snowstorms to the East Coast, dropping more than two feet of snow on the New York area. This didn't leave much time for astronomy related activities. Still, I did manage to capture some of the more prominent clusters in the late winter/early spring sky.
M67
This open cluster in the constellation Cancer is noteworthy for being one of the oldest in the sky. It's stars have been estimated at between 3.2 and 5 billion years of age, making the cluster a little younger than our sun. The cluster is about 2,700 light years distant and contains about 100 stars.
This image is a 12 minute exposure.M50
Located about 3,000 light years distant, this open cluster appears in the constellation Monoceros.
This image is a ten minute exposure.M48
Located in the constellation Hydra, this open cluster is estimated to be about 300 million years old.
This image is a nine minute exposure.
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