Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Gemini (Gem)  ·  Contains:  IC 2157  ·  M 35  ·  NGC 2158  ·  NGC 2168
Three Open Clusters in Gemini, sydney
Three Open Clusters in Gemini
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Three Open Clusters in Gemini

Three Open Clusters in Gemini, sydney
Three Open Clusters in Gemini
Powered byPixInsight

Three Open Clusters in Gemini

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Three Open Clusters in Gemini

From left to right are open star clusters IC 2157, NGC 2158, and NGC 2168 (Messier 35).  Like many people, the first time I saw NGC 2158 in a telescope I thought it was a comet.  I was looking at M35 and noticed a soft fuzzy patch to the southwest.  Higher magnification revealed it to be a collection of stars.  It looks magnificent in a large aperture scope, even more impressive to me than M35.  NGC 2158 is about five times more distant and ten times older than M35.  It not only appears smaller, but also reveals a population of older and yellower stars as compared to M35’s younger hot blue stars. IC 2157 is a sparse cluster of young stars at a distance roughly midway between NGC 2158 and M35.

Red: 35 x 60s
Green: 35 x 70s
Blue 35 x 80s

I hope you enjoy!

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Three Open Clusters in Gemini, sydney