Tammy Plotner and Jeff Barber, Universe Today
How about one last open cluster before we go galaxy hunting? M48 is about three degrees southeast of Zeta Monochrotis. Like M44 in cancer, M48 is at the limits of the naked eye's ability to see. Its brightest member is an A-type star, 70 times brighter than our Sun, but it only appears to us to have a brightness close to 9 thanks to its great distance - 1,500 light years.
M48 is quite a large cluster, and dozens of stars can be seen in it even with a small telescope or binoculars.
Spring is coming and with it the galaxies. To celebrate the new astronomical season, take a look at NGC 2903. This galaxy is about a finger's width south-southeast of Leonis. This tilted spiral galaxy appears to be a pale version of M81 in Ursa Major. With large telescopes it will be possible to pick up clues to the existence of the galactic arms. The whole system becomes brighter as you approach the core region of the galaxy.
Project 365
Universe Today website
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~428848450~~~261&SiteName=hayadan
