SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Rio Hurtado (Chile)
Date/Time of photo:
08/12/2024 00:00
Equipment:
Data acquired at Chilescope: ASA 500 Newtonian, ASA DDM85 equatorial mount, FLI Proline 16803 CCD camera, Astrodon RGB filters
Description:
Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is a bright open star cluster located in Canis Major constellation near Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. M41 has an apparent magnitude of 4.5 and lies at an approximate distance of 2300 light years from Earth. Messier 41 occupies an area of 38 arc minutes in apparent diameter (roughly the size of the full Moon), has a true diameter of 25 light years and its estimated age is between 190 and 240 million years. The cluster is classified as Trumpler type I,3,r, which means that it is detached from the surrounding star field with strong concentration at the centre (I), it consists of both bright and faint stars (3), and it is richly populated (r), with 100 or more stars.
