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Messier 50

Open Cluster M50 (NGC 2323), type 'e', in Monoceros

[m50.jpg]
Right Ascension 07 : 03.2 (h:m)
Declination -08 : 20 (deg:m)
Distance 3.2 (kly)
Visual Brightness 5.9 (mag)
Apparent Dimension 16.0 (arc min)

Possibly discovered by G.D. Cassini before 1711. Discovered independently by Charles Messier in 1772.

Open cluster Messier 50 (M50, NGC 2323) is a pretty and considerably bright object located in a rich part of stars and nebulae in constellation Monoceros, near its border to Canis Major.

This cluster was discovered on April 5, 1772 by Charles Messier, but possibly G.D. Cassini had already discovered it before 1711, according to a report by his son, Jacques Cassini, in his book of 1740, Elements of Astronomy.

Open cluster M50 is probably about 3,200 light years distant. Its angular diameter of about 15x20' therefore corresponds to a linear extension of about 20 light-years, the central dense part being only about 10' or 10 light-years in diameter. J.E. Gore, from photographic plates taken by Isaac Roberts in 1893, has estimated its population as about 200 stars in the main. The cluster's Trumpler type is given as I,2,m (Glyn Jones), II,3,m (Sky Catalog 2000) or II,3,r (Götz). The visual appearance is described as a "heart-shaped figure" by Mallas and Kreimer.

According to Kenneth Glyn Jones, the brightest star is of spectral type B8 and mag 9.0, while the Sky Catalog 2000 gives spectral type B6 and mag 7.85, and the age is estimated as 78 million years. 7' south of the center is a red M giant, contrasting prominently against its blue-white neighbor stars. The cluster also contains some yellow giants.

  • Historical Observations and Descriptions of M50
  • More images of M50
  • Amateur images of M50

  • WEBDA cluster page for M50
  • SIMBAD Data of M50
  • NED Data of M50
  • Publications on M50 (NASA ADS)
  • Observing Reports for M50 (IAAC Netastrocatalog)
  • NGC Online data for M50


    Hartmut Frommert
    Christine Kronberg
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    Last Modification: August 30, 2007