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Messier 36, sometimes referred to as the Pinwheel Cluster, is an open cluster located 4300 light years away, in the constellation Auriga. It lies about ten times farther away compared with the Pleiades, M45, making it one of the most distant clusters catalogued by Messier. It is also one of the faintest in this catalog, mag. +6.0. One characteristic that this cluster shares with M45 is that its stars show to have a rapid rotation speed.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): Messier 36. M36. NGC 1960. The Pinwheel Cluster
Type: Open Cluster
RA: 05h 36m 17s
Dec: +34º 07’ 54”
Constellation: Auriga
Size (arcmin): 10×10 arcmin
Magnitude: +6.0
Distance: 4300 ly
Image
Date: 2021-03-04
Location: iTelescope, New Mexico Skies, Mayhill, NM, USA
Size (arcmin): 54×36 arcmin
Telescope: 20” (51 cm) f/4.5 Reflector
Camera: FLI PL11002 (4008x2672pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 1.5 hours (RGB: 1.5h)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2021