M35 is a bright open cluster at the feet of Gemini, visible by eye from a dark site, with a much older and more distant cluster, NGC 2158, beside it in the sky.
At a glance
| type | open star cluster |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 7,840 light-years (2.4 kpc) |
| its light left it | 7,840 years ago |
| size in the piece | about 15 light-years acrossmodel |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with. Model marks a property of the piece’s galaxy model rather than a measurement.
About M35
M35 lies near the feet of the Gemini twins, close to the border with Taurus, and shows to the naked eye under dark skies as a soft patch about as large as the full Moon. Binoculars resolve it into many stars, with brighter ones arranged in curving chains. It is relatively young, and its brightest stars include hot blue-white ones along with a few evolved yellow and orange giants.
Just beside it in the sky lies NGC 2158, a much more compact, richer-looking smudge. The two are unrelated: NGC 2158 is far more distant and much older, and only lines up with M35 from Earth. The pair makes a direct lesson in how distance and age change the look of a cluster.
What you see in the piece
In the piece it is a loose swarm of stars towards the outer galaxy, in the direction opposite the galactic centre, dimmed by distance into a faint patch from the Sun.
Questions
Can you see M35 with the naked eye?
Yes, under dark skies M35 is visible without optical aid as a faint patch near the feet of Gemini, and binoculars resolve its stars.
How far away is M35?
M35 is 7,840 light-years (2.4 kpc) from the Sun, so its light left it 7,840 years ago.