Messier 38 is an open cluster in Auriga. It also also known as NGC 1912 and the Starfish Cluster. To the top of the frame is an unrelated open cluster, NGC 1907. There is also a faint patch of nebulosity, LBN 794 visible on the left side of the cluster.

M 38 is about 3,500 light years away and is about 13 light years across. It’s age is estimated at 290 million years.

This was an image taken with a so-called smart telescope. This is a telescope, camera and mount integrated into a single package. While none of the pieces excel at their jobs, combined they make a compact and easy to use setup for basic imaging. In my case, I plan to use this mostly at outreach events to give people a better view than they would get through the eyepiece – at least for deep sky objects. This scope isn’t really suitable for planetary imaging though it’s ok for solar and lunar.

This is a very short integration at 34m 20s. You can find more technical details at astrobin.