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M67 was discovered before 1779 and rediscovered by Charles Messier in 1780, who included it in his catalogue. A rich cluster (more than 500 stars) on its own and located about 3,000 ly away.
M67 is one of the oldest star clusters known, about 4-5 billion years old. This makes it suitable for studying star evolution. An interesting fact is the presence of “Blue Stragglers” as well as the high proportion (40%) of white dwarfs.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): M67, NGC 2682
Type: Open Cluster
RA: 08h 51m 17s
Dec: +11º 47’ 59.6”
Constellation: Cancer
Size (arcmin): 25×25
Magnitude: +6.9
Distance: 3,000 ly
Image
Date: 2012-03-14
Location: Corbera de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia
Size (arcmin): 30×23
Telescope: Celestron 11” HD f/10
Camera: FLI ML6303 (3072x2048pix)
Guiding: Orion SSAG/Nikkor 500mm f/8
Total exposure: 40 min (L: 10min; RGB: 30min)
Processing: PixInsight