AP#34 : M46/NGC 2438
Name: None
Constellation:Puppis
Instrument: 6-inch F5 reflector and modified Canon T3i.
Exposure time: A stack of 6 five-minute exposures at ISO 800.
Star Chart from Michael Vlasov's Deep sky hunter star atlas available on line https://www.deepskywatch.com/deep-sky-hunter-atlas.html
Magnitude: M46 - 6.0 NGC 2438 - 10.8
Angular size: M46 - 23' NGC 2438 - 1'
M46 is a bright open cluster in Puppis. It was selected because of the many stars that are compacted together and the added bonus of having a planetary nebula nestled inside of the cluster. This is NGC 2438 but it is not related to the cluster and probably is a foreground object. It is close to a star that, when observed visually with a small telescope, appears to make it "hang" on the star like a teardrop.
