Sections

Catalogues

Tools and Links

Galactic Map

Show the direction and distance to this star cluster on the Galactic Map.

Shoe Buckle Cluster

M35, NGC 2168, Collinder 82, Melotte 41

Open cluster in Gemini

Show on Sky Map

Proper Name	Shoe Buckle Cluster
Messier Number	M35
NGC/IC Number	NGC 2168
Other Designations	Collinder 82, Melotte 41
Constellation	Gemini
Right Ascension	6h 8m 54s
Declination	+24° 20' 0"
Distance	c. 3,000 light years c. 900 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +5.09 Absolute: -4.70
Diameter	Apparent: 40' Actual: 35 light years
Number of Stars	> 300
Optimum Visibility	January
Notes	A broad open cluster, with a diameter in the sky comparable with that of the Moon's disc. Isolating which stars in this area of the sky are members of the cluster is difficult, but at least three hundred stars are gravitationally bound to the cluster, and the full tally of member stars may run into the thousands.

M35, the Shoe Buckle Cluster, lies in a dense region of the band of the Milky Way as it passes through western Gemini. There are several other deep sky objects in the same area, including the much more distant cluster Melotte 40 or NGC 2158, seen here to the southwest of M35. Near the eastern (left) edge of this image is the sixth-magnitude star 5 Geminorum. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

An open star cluster in Gemini, near its boundary with Taurus. The cluster contains approximately three to four hundred stars, but possibly rather more, and is a little under three thousand light years from the Solar System.

Indexes

Related Entries

Gemini

v2.1g