Jan 28
Day 8 (January 26 2026)
in order of appearance: the moon, m46, m47, m48, leo triplet, winnecke 4, m53, m49, m58
seen from United States
seen from Egypt
seen from Austria
seen from Netherlands
seen from Austria
seen from United States
seen from Austria
seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from Austria
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
Day 8 (January 26 2026)
in order of appearance: the moon, m46, m47, m48, leo triplet, winnecke 4, m53, m49, m58
M48 // Niklas
M48 // Roberto Marinoni
M48 // AnaTa
Containing a few hundred member stars, M48 is a lumpy open cluster located some 2,500 light years from Earth. It is also relatively old with age estimates around 400 million years old.
This was another "lost" Messier object, as Messier seems to have made a mistake in his measurements slightly. This means that credit for the discovery generally goes to Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) in 1783, despite Messier adding it to his catalog in 1771. This time it was German astronomer Oswalt Thomas who realized Messier's mistake in 1934.
M48 // Gillou5959
M48 // Hannes Bachleitner
Messier 48 - Open Cluster in Hydra
M48 was discovered and catalogued by the French comet-hunter Charles Messier in 1771. Such an open cluster is relatively young, estimated to about 300 million years. These clusters are the aftermath of star-formation, a violent event that occurs after massive gas clouds contract to create stars. Young stars are akin to a 5 year old - a lot of emotional explosions and violent outbursts (but without the emotion part!). As these clusters age, the biggest and bluest stars die first, leaving a more loosely collected region of redder stars, which appear much more like the background of the night sky. M48 is visible under the darkest skies, so give it a look!
Top: Wide-Field - Palomar Observatory
Bottom: Close-Up - NOAO