SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Ferrara (Italy)
Date/Time of photo:
05/03/2023 22:00
Equipment:
Konus 200/1000 @950mm, Player One Poseidon-C camera, Sky-Watcher Eq6r Pro Mount, Optolong L-Quad Enhance filter
Description:
Messier 48 (also known as M48 or NGC 2548) is an open star cluster located in Hydra, the largest constellation in the sky. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 5.5 and lies at a distance of 1500 light years from Earth. M48 has at least 80 members, including three giant stars of spectral types G to K. The hottest star in the cluster has the stellar classification A2 and a visual magnitude of 8.8. It is about 70 times more luminous than the Sun. The estimated age of M48 is 300 million years. Charles Messier added the cluster to his catalogue on February 19, 1771. However, M48 was considered one of the lost Messier objects for a long time because the coordinates provided by Messier did not match those of NGC 2548: his declination was off by 5 degrees.
