SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Rio Hurtado (Chilescope)
Date/Time of photo:
16/04/2026 05:00
Equipment:
Data acquired at Chilescope: ASA Newton 500 @1900mm, ASA DDM85 equatorial Mount, FLI PL16803 CCD camera, Astrodon R/G/B filters 3x(2x300")
Description:
NGC 2451 is a bright apparent open double cluster visible in the southern constellation Puppis. At its center is the star c Puppis, a red giant unrelated to the cluster itself, whose color contrasts sharply with the surrounding white and blue stars. During the 1960s, it was proposed that NGC 2451 was not a true cluster, but a denser part of a vast, ancient OB association. In the 1990s, it was determined that most of its stars are not linked by a common proper motion, though 24 stars do show similar movements. This led to the hypothesis of a Puppis stellar association located about 700 light-years from the Solar System.
