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| M36, A double star, once thought to have some nebulosity - this image cropped and reduced from the original photo |
| This faint double star was found by Charles Messier in 1764 when he was searching in this vicinity for a nebula which was reported by the 17th-century observer Johann Hevelius. According to his catalog description, Messier did not see any nebulosity associated with them. We now know there isn't any, but because Messier had measured the position of these stars, he gave them a number in his catalog. This fact gives some insight on how his catalog was compiled: Messier collected positions while he was cataloging the star clusters and nebula which could be taken for comets. M40 was apparently the last one he recorded one night while he was busily checking the reports of nebulae that had been described to him by others. |
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10"
F6.3 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope, (1600mm F.L.) Modified Canon
300D camera with Baader coma corrector and IR-UV filter, placed at the scopes prime focus |