NGC 2477 (also known as Caldwell 71) is an open cluster in the constellation Puppis (lower left in the image). It contains about 300 stars, and was discovered by Abbé Lacaille in 1751. The cluster’s age has been estimated at about 700 million years. NGC 2477 is a stunning cluster, almost as extensive in the sky as the full moon. It has been called “one of the top open clusters in the sky”, like a highly resolved globular cluster without the dense center characteristic of globular clusters. Burnham notes that several observers have remarked on its richness, and that although it is smaller than M46 (also an open cluster in Puppis), it is richer and more compact. NGC 2451 is a nearby open cluster also in the Puppis constellation (upper right in the image), probably discovered by Giovanni Battista Hodierna before 1654 and John Herschel in 1835. In 1994, it was postulated that this was actually two open clusters that lie along the same line of sight. This was confirmed in 1996. The respective clusters are labeled NGC 2451 A and NGC 2451 B, and they are located at distances of 600 and 1,200 light-years, respectively.

Telescope: Astro Physics 155EDF (TCC) f5.4
Mount: Astro Physics 1600GTO
Camera: FLI PL29050 / CFW2-7
Guider: Agena Starguide II / ZWO ASI178MM
Filters: Astrodon II 50mm LRGB

L: 41×5 mins = 205 mins, R: 24×5 mins = 120 mins, G: 24×5 mins = 120 mins, B: 24×5 mins = 120 mins

Total Imaging Time: 9h 25m

Data Imaged remotely over 3 nights during December 2022.
Imaged from Observatorio El Sauce, Chile, in partnership with Fred Espenak.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.

None