Open cluster M 36

The open cluster M36 in Auriga. Located 4,100 light-years from Earth and spanning 14 light-years in diameter. The cluster contains at least 60 stars. It closely resembles the Pleiades (M45), and if it were at the same distance from Earth, it would have nearly the same apparent magnitude.

This is one of the three famous open clusters in Auriga. Like the entire constellation, it is observable from autumn to spring. In binoculars, it is easily spotted as a hazy patch along the extension of the line from β Tauri to χ Aurigae. Through a medium-aperture telescope (100–150 mm), the cluster resolves into about twenty bluish stars arranged in a triangular shape. At the center of the cluster lies a not very close double star STF 737 (9m, 11″).