Open cluster M38 in Auriga is shown here in approximately true-color. This picture was created from twelve images taken in January 1997 using BVR colors, at the Burrell Schmidt telescope of Case Western Reserve University's Warner and Swasey Observatory located on Kitt Peak, near Tucson, Arizona. Image size is 47.4 arc minutes.

This cluster is of intermediate age (about 200 million years) and somewhat over 4000 light years away. M38 lies close to M36 in the sky and was discovered by several people before Messier added it to his list. More fanciful eyes consider that its brightest stars form a pattern resembling an oblique cross, or the Greek letter Pi.
Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF

More NOAO images

Infrared image of open cluster M38 in Auriga. This image was created from photographic data obtained with the 2MASS infrared telescopes. False colors were used to map different IR wavelength bands.

More images of M36 and M38

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Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: 24 Sep 2001