M41 in Canis Major 22nd March 2020 @ 20:55 UT
Sitting below Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major M41 is a bright open cluster. Lines of stars radiate out from its centre. It was very low in the south-west when the image was taken.
Image: 15 seconds x 30 frames (450 seconds total), gain 6584, bin 2x2, Raw 14, black level 99, camera temperature 10 deg C, 1 dark. Stacked in SharpCap Pro 3.2.6248.0. The image was stacked and adjusted in SharpCap. The image was scaled down in GIMP.
The cluster's altitude was 13 degrees (airmass 4.3!) in the south-west. Skies Bortle 4/5 but the south-west direction is the least light polluted from my location. In this image north is almost up and east is to the right.
Equipment: Celestron CPC-800 at F5.9, Alt-Az mount, Altair Astro Hypercam 294C Pro Cooled (fan), Celestron Focuser, CPWI controlled remotely via Microsoft RDP and ASCOM.
Astrometry: M41 is 2,300 light years from us and spans 25 light years. A central red giant star (HD 49091) shines at magnitude 6.8. First recorded by Charles Messier in 1765.