Object Analysis

Messier 38 (M38), also known as the Starfish Cluster, is an open cluster in the constellation Auriga. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654. It is the third of the bright Auriga clusters and is located about 4,200 light-years away.

The cluster gets its name from the arrangement of its brightest stars, which some observers see as forming an "X" or a starfish shape. It is intermediate in age between M36 and M37, estimated to be about 290 million years old. It contains about 100 stars spread across a diameter of 25 light-years.

M38 is a loose and sprawling cluster compared to M37. Like many open clusters in the Milky Way, it is slowly drifting apart as the gravitational influence of the galaxy and passing molecular clouds strip away its members. It is a beautiful target for wide-field telescopes, especially when viewed alongside the nearby smaller cluster NGC 1907.