Open Cluster in Canis Major
This is one of my favorite open clusters of the winter sky. It is a very large and bright, and it is a great target for viewing with a low power eyepiece on a clear dark night. But is even looks good under light-polluted skies or on a moonlit night. M41 is also very easy to find, lying about 4 degrees south of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. It is not hard to see with the naked eye in a dark sky. It is also a good target for binoculars.
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Image details: Exposure times of 34 minutes luminance and 20 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with a SBIG STF 8300M imager and a Tokina 500-mm lens.
February 2021