Just 4 degrees south of the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is a very beautiful open cluster, M41. Under good skies it is visible to the naked eye. Most of the brightest stars are blue main sequence stars, however there is one orange giant star near the centre of the cluster.

M41 is a fine object for binoculars and is compact enough to provide an excelent view in a low magnification telescope.

45 minutes exposure, Kodak Ektachrome 400 slide film.
5" f/5 refractor at prime focus.

45 minutes exposure, Fuji Super HG V 400 film.
/5 refractor at prime focus.

Combination of 11, 30 second images. Modified Canon Digital Rebel DSLR camera.
16" f/10 schmidt-cassegrain at prime focus.