Messier 48

Messier 48 or M48, also known as NGC 2548, is an open cluster of stars in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It sits near Hydra's westernmost limit with Monoceros, about 18° 34′ to the east and slightly south of Hydra's brightest star, Alphard. This grouping was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771, but there is no cluster precisely where Messier indicated; he made an error, as he did with M47. The value that he gave for the right ascension matches, however, his declination is off by five degrees. Credit for discovery is sometimes given instead to Caroline Herschel in 1783. Her nephew John Herschel described it as, "a superb cluster which fills the whole field; stars of 9th and 10th to the 13th magnitude – and none below, but the whole ground of the sky on which it stands is singularly dotted over with infinitely minute points".

M48 is visible to the naked eye under good atmospheric conditions. The brightest member is the star HIP 40348 at visual magnitude 8.3. The cluster is located some 2,500 light-years from the Sun.

M48 DATA:

Messier 48's radius is 11.5 light years and located in the constellation Hydra with a apparent magnitude of 5.8. The estimated age of Messier 48 450±50 Myr(Million Years). The Equinox 2000 coordinates are RA= 8h 13.8m, Dec= -05° 48´ which makes M48 best seen during the winter.

Previous object: Messier 48/\ Next object: Messier 49

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