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 (NGC 1960), M 37 (NGC 2099), and M 38 (NGC 1912) in the constellation Auriga.

Introduction

Auriga (with main star Capella) belonged to the constellations that were more or less unknown to me at the beginning. 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).

About 30' south of M 38, there is the open star cluster NGC 1907.

Nearby, there are the nebulae IC 405 and IC 410 (see map below). IC 410 (with embedded open star cluster NGC 1893) can also be photographed together with M 36 (plus NGC 1931, IC 417) in a Vespera mosaic.

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, Feb 13, 2023 - original, 600s		M 37, Feb 13, 2023 - original, 600s
M 38, Feb 13, 2023 - original, 600s

M 36 and M 38 (plus IC 417, NGC 1907, NGC 1931)

M 36/38, Feb 7, 2023 - original, 4950s, mosaic		Ditto, evaluation with astrometry.net

M 36 and IC 410 (plus NGC 1931, IC 417, NGC 1893)

M 36 & IC 410, Feb 29, 2024 - original, 6830s, mosaic, CLS Filter		M 36 & IC 410, Feb 29, 2024 - large, 6830s, mosaic, CLS Filter, processed (PSE, DN)
		Evaluation with nova.astrometry.net

Vespera Pro

M 36, M 37, M 38

M 36, Feb 4, 2025 - large, 10 min, processed		M 36, Feb 4, 2025 - large, 7 min, processed
M 36, Feb 4, 2025 - large, 10 min, processed		Evaluation with nova.astrometry.net > NGC 1907

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

• January 10, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C5 on AZ Pronto, Skymax-127 on AZ Pronto and Star Discovery): M 37 small, like a nebula at small magnifications
• February 13, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C5 on AZ-GTi): M 36, M 37, M 38 observed; M 37 was "compact"

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

Observations March 2024

• March 29, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 36 and IC 410 photographed together (mosaic); plus NGC 1931, IC 417, NGC 1893 (embedded in IC 410)

Observations February 2025

• February 4, 2025 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera Pro): M 36, M 37, and M 38 (with NGC 1907) photographed alone

References

• Messier Catalogue - Messier 36: messier.seds.org/m/m036.html
• Messier Catalogue - Messier 37: messier.seds.org/m/m037.html
• Messier Catalogue - Messier 38: messier.seds.org/m/m038.html
• Messier 36 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_36
• Messier 37 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_37
• Messier 38 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_38
• NGC 1907 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1907

On this Site

• Sky-Watcher Heritage P130 Information (5" Dobson)
• Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P Information (4" Dobson)
• GSO GSD 680 Information (8" Dobson)
• Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS Information (6" Newton)
• Omegon Photography Scope 72/432 ED OTA Information (2.8" Refractor)
• Celestron C8 OTA Information (8" Schmidt-Cassegrain)
• Celestron C5 OTA Information (5" Schmidt-Cassegrain)
• Unistellar eVscope Information
• Unistellar eVscope 2 Information
• Vaonis Vespera Information
• Vaonis Vespera Pro - Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ4 Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ Pronto Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher Star Discovery AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Celestron StarSense AutoAlign for Sky-Watcher Information
• Atik Infinity Colour Camera - Information
• My Binoculars

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, M 37, M 38

M 36, Feb 13, 2023 - original, 600s		M 37, Feb 13, 2023 - original, 600s
M 38, Feb 13, 2023 - original, 600s

M 36 and IC 410 (plus IC 417, NGC 1907, NGC 1931)

M 36/38, Feb 7, 2023 - original, 4950s, mosaic		Ditto, evaluation with astrometry.net

M 36 and IC 410 (plus NGC 1931, IC 417, NGC 1893)

M 36 & IC 410, Feb 29, 2024 - original, 6830s, mosaic, CLS Filter		M 36 & IC 410, Feb 29, 2024 - large, 6830s, mosaic, CLS Filter, processed (PSE, DN)
		Evaluation with nova.astrometry.net

Vespera Pro

M 36, M 37, M 38

M 36, Feb 4, 2025 - large, 10 min, processed		M 36, Feb 4, 2025 - large, 7 min, processed
M 36, Feb 4, 2025 - large, 10 min, processed		Evaluation with nova.astrometry.net > NGC 1907