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By: Steve Goldberg

Asterism: a grouping of stars that form a recognizable pattern.
Constellation: Orion
Right Ascension:  05h 35m 06.0s
Declination: +09° 56' 00"
Magnitude: 4 to 6

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This month’s asterism is Collinder 69. It also has the name of the “Lambda asterism”.
The Collinder catalog is a list of 471 open star clusters.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Of the brightest stars in Orion, Lambda λ marks the head of the hunter.
Betelgeuse is one of the “shoulder” stars to the left.
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This object is best in binoculars and finder scopes since the size is about 1 degree.
In this picture, the white inner circle is a 40mm eyepiece.

You can see the “lambda” λ shape with the line of stars and the one to the lower left marking the “foot”.