M37 · Messier 37
| Chinese name | 御夫座 M37 星团 |
|---|---|
| Type | Open cluster |
| Constellation | Aur |
| RA | 05h52m |
| Dec | +32° |
| Apparent magnitude | 5.6ᵐ |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| Best season | Winter |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Focal length | 中焦 400–800mm |
About
M37 lies about 4,500 light-years away in Auriga, the richest and brightest of the constellation's three Messier open clusters, holding roughly 500 stars. Aged around 400 to 500 million years, it features a prominent orange-red giant standing out among many blue-white members. Its dense, even star field looks like scattered salt grains filling the eyepiece, lovely in small telescopes. At magnitude 5.6 it is embedded in the rich star fields of the winter Milky Way. It is a delightful, easy cluster target in winter Auriga for both imaging and visual observing.