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Open star cluster

Messier 48

Also M48 · NGC 2548

Open in OuranosCompare its size

An open cluster: a family of stars born together from one cloud, slowly drifting apart.

Measured

Distance
2,437 light-years
Size
about 28 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Hydra
Position (J2000)
RA 8h 13m 49s, Dec −5.77°

How far, from the Sun

2,440 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light2,440 years
  • Voyager 1's speed43.3 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h26.3 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Messier recorded its position wrongly, so it was 'lost' until later astronomers rediscovered it; Bode and Caroline Herschel found it again in the 1780s.
  • Gaia picks out about 778 member stars (Hunt & Reffert 2023).

Where this comes from

  • Hunt & Reffert 2023, A&A 673, A114: Gaia DR3 cluster distance 747.1 pc (16th–84th percentile 746.4–747.8 pc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.