NGC 2539 - The Dish Cluster

NGC 2539 is an open cluster in the constellation Puppis.  The cluster contains hundreds of stars eleven of which are red giants.  The diameter of the cluster is estimated to be 24 light years and it is 4,400 ly from Earth (source: wikipedia).  The name comes from James O`Meara (contributing editor for Astronomy Magazine) although I am struggling to see the 'Dish'.  The bright star, 19 Puppis, located at the edge of the cluster is a foreground star located 477 ly away.  It barely stands out against the background star field even after doing slight curves adjustment around the cluster itself.  It is no wonder this cluster is often over looked as there are many other more impressive objects close by.

NGC 2539 - The Dish Cluster
Location: Happy Frog Observatory, Monroe, CT
Date: 03-19-18
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i(a), Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600mm
f/7.5
Focal Reducer: Orion 0.8x Focal Reducer for Refractor Telescopes
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter: Astrodon UV/IR, Baader Neodymium Skyglow 2"
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
Exposure: 44 x 90s
ISO: 1600
Temp: 4 C
Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Gradient Exterminator, Astronomy Tools.
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