Messier 36, 37, 38 (M 36, 37, 38)
Introduction | Map | Pseudo
Photo (Starry Night 7) | My Best Own Photos | My
Own Observations | References || Appendix:
My Own Photos
On this page I collect my observations of the open star clusters M 36, M
37, and M 38 in
the constellation Auriga.
Introduction
Auriga (with main star Capella) belongs also to the constellations
that were more or less unknown to me thus far. At the core the constellation
forms a hexagon if you take it exactly, but it is likely that you will perceive
only a pentagon... This is a very striking pattern, but it is located very
high up sometimes (for example, in February), so you have to look steeply
upwards to see it. Perhaps this is a reason for my ignorance with respect
to it...
In Auriga there are three more striking Messier objects, the open
star clusters M
36, M 37, and M 38. They are located almost on a line, which projects
from the outside into the hexagon. The exact sequence is: M 37 (outside)
- M 36 Inside) - M 38 (further inside) (from East to West).
M 36 |
|
M 37 |
|
M 38 |
Size: 12' (Stoyan)
Distance: 3,300 light years (Stoyan)
Rating: *** (Stoyan) |
|
Size: 16' (Stoyan)
Distance: 4,500 light years (Stoyan)
Rating: *** (Stoyan) |
|
Size: 25' (Stoyan) - nearly moon size
Distance: 3,500 light years (Stoyan)
Rating: *** (Stoyan) |
Nearby, there the nebulae IC 405 and IC 410 (see map below).
Map

M 37, M 36, and M 38 in constellation Auriga (large
overview map) (Image Courtesy
of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)
Pseudo Photo (Starry Night 7)
Pseudo photo of M 37, M 36, and M 38 created with Starry
Night 7 (large
version, larger
version) (Image Courtesy
of Starry Night Education, www.simulationcurriculum.com)
My Best Own Photos
eVscope
M 36
 |
|
 |
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020 |
 |
|
 |
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
M 37
 |
|
 |
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020 |
 |
|
 |
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
M 38
 |
|
 |
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020 |
 |
|
 |
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
M 36, M 37, M 38 (Comparison)
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020, processed |
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020, processed |
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020, processed |
Vespera
M 36, M 37, M 38
M 36 and M 38 (plus IC 417, NGC 1907, NGC 1931)
 |
|
 |
M 36/38, Feb 7, 2023 - original, mosaic |
|
Ditto, evaluation with astrometry.net |
My Own Observations
Observations February 2017
- February 13, 2017 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Heritage
100P, LT binoculars):
Looked for all three star clusters, and found two of them without a doubt,
namely the inner clusters M 36 (which is regarded as the most
beautiful and therefore probably got the lowest number "36")
and M 38. I was able to find M 36 more easily and reproducible,
whereas I had some problems with finding M 38. But despite all my efforts,
I was not able to find M 37.*
- February 14, 2017 (ditto: GSO GSD 680, LT binoculars):
The attempts with my GSD 680 showed another pattern: I did not find M
38, but found M 37 and M 36. M 37 appeared to me more
beautiful this time, and M 36 not quite as beautiful.
- February 15, 2017: (ditto: Heritage
100P on GoTo mount, LT binoculars):
I found all three open star clusters thanks to the GoTo mount. This time
my verdict was: M 36 appeared to me most beautiful, M 38 came
in second, and M 37 was a little fainter than the other two clusters...
- February 26, 2017: (ditto: Heritage
P130 on GoTo mount): I once
again accessed all three open star clusters with the Heritage P130 on
the GoTo mount and found them all. M 36 was the smallest, but
brightest cluster with comparatively few stars, M 37 was relatively
faint and in small magnification almost just a glimmer, whereas M
38 was the largest cluster, but also fainter than M 36 (new moon).
- March 16, 2017: (ditto): M 36, M 37, and M 38 observed
but no details noted
The visibility and rating of the three star clusters thus fluctuated quite
a bit. But at least one can state that all the three star clusters were more
or less well recognizable even when using a 4" telescope.
*) Whether this was due to a wrong alignment of the telescope, I do not
know. In any case, it was very difficult for me to point the LED finder at
these three targets because they were so high up in the sky. I therefore
tried it on "good luck". Here a 90° angle finder would surely
have served me well!
Observations End of March 2017
- 30.3.2017 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Heritage
P130 on GoTo mount):
All three star clusters observed
Observations February to April 2018
- February 12, 2018 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Explorer
150PDS on GoTo mount with Atik
Infinity, StarSense): M
36-38 for the first time photographed
- February 13, 2018 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: TS binoculars): M
36-38 seen well with binoculars as a shimmering spots of different
sizes
- March 18-19, 2018 (Kellinghusen and Erkerode, TS binoculars): M
36-38 observed with binoculars, seen nicely (the center cluster was
the smallest and somewhat lower, the right one the largest, the left
one in between).
- April 8, 2018 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Explorer
150PDS on GoTo-Mount with Atik
Infinity, StarSense): M
36-38 photographed, but only M 36 found when looking for M 38...
Observations February 2019 ff
- February 27, 2019 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: PS
72/432 on AZ
Pronto Mount, TS binoculars): M
37 was very small with 24 mm, "normal" at higher magnification
(7 mm).
- April 28, 2019 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: PS
72/432 on GoTo mount): M
36, M 37, and M 38 were very faint with 10 mm.
- May 1, 2019 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Explorer
150PDS on GoTo mount): M
36, M 37, and M 38 were faint and fine, but
better than in the PS 72/432.
Observations January to May 2020
- January 16, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C8 on Star
Discovery mount (SynScan WLAN, iPhone)): M 37, M 36, M 38 first
observed with C8R and 24 as well as 32 mm eyepieces (1,25")
- very nice (M 38 showed a "cross", M 36 distributed, M 37 fine,
many stars).
Ditto observed without reducer (2"); very nice again, somewhat larger field
of view, that appeared somewhat nicer.
- February 5, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M
36 and M 38 photographed
- February 15-16, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M
36-M 38 photographed
- March 13 and 18, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M
36-M 38 photographed
- May 10, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M
37 photographed; very hard to observe and photograph (Unistellar
task; moon too bright, M 37 too low)
Observations November 2020
- November 17, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M
36, 37, 38 photographed in the new rectangular format without overlay
Observations January to February 2021
Observations March to April 2022
- March 20, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope 2): M 36, M 37, M 38 photographed (app version 1.5)
- April 9, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope 2): M 38 photographed (app version 1.5)
Observations February 2023
- February 7, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 36 and M 38 photographed together (mosaic)
- February 13, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 36, M 37, and M 38 photographed alone
References
On this Site
Appendix: My Own Photos
Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS (February 12, 2018)
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 (Auriga), unprocessed |
|
Ditto, post-processed and sharpened |
|
Ditto, post-processed more aggressively and sharpened |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 37 (Auriga), unprocessed |
|
Ditto, post-processed and sharpened |
|
Ditto, post-processed more aggressively and sharpened |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 38 (Auriga), unprocessed |
|
Ditto, post-processed and sharpened |
|
Ditto, post-processed more aggressively and sharpened |
Photos taken with Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS (February 12, 2018), 600 x
600 section with 1:1 pixels in the large version
Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS (April 8, 2018)
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 (Auriga), unprocessed |
|
Ditto, post-processed |
|
Ditto, post-processed and sharpened |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 (Auriga), unprocessed |
|
Ditto, post-processed |
|
Ditto, post-processed and sharpened |
Photos taken with Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS (April 8, 2018), originals
reduced to 600 x 450 pixels; found M 36 when looking for M 38...
eVscope
M 36
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 - Feb 15, 2020 |
|
M 36 - Feb 16, 2020 |
|
M 36 - Mar 13, 2020 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 - Mar 13, 2020 |
|
M 36 - Mar 18, 2020 |
|
M 36 - Mar 18, 2020, photo left processed |
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
M 36 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
|
M 37
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 37 - Feb 15, 2020 |
|
M 37 - Feb 16, 2020 |
|
M 37 - Mar 13, 2020 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 37 - Mar 18, 2020 |
|
M 37 - Mar 18, 2020, processed |
|
M 37 - May 10, 2020, processed (Live View) |
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
M 37 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
|
M 38
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 38 - Feb 15, 2020, manual exposure |
|
M 38 - Feb 15, 2020 |
|
M 38 - Feb 16, 2020 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 38 - Mar 13, 2020 |
|
M 38 - Mar 18, 2020 |
|
M 38 - Mar 18, 2020, processed |
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
M 38 - Nov 17, 2020, photo above processed |
|
|
eVscope 2
M 36
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 36 - Mar 20, 2022 |
|
M 36 - Mar 20, 2022, photo left processed |
|
|
M 37
 |
|
 |
|
|
M 37 - Mar 20, 2022 |
|
M 37 - Mar 20, 2022, photo left processed |
|
|
M 38
 |
|
 |
|
 |
M 36 - Mar 20, 2022 |
|
M 36 - Mar 20, 2022, photo left processed |
|
M 38 - Apr 9, 2022 |
Vespera
M 36 and M 38 (plus IC 417, NGC 1907, NGC 1931)
 |
|
 |
M 36/38, Feb 7, 2023 - original, mosaic |
|
Ditto, evaluation with astrometry.net |
M 36, M 37, M 38
