NGC 2301

NGC 2301 is an open cluster in the constellation Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1786. It is visible through 7x50 binoculars and it is considered the best open cluster for small telescopes in the constellation.^[3] It is located 5° WNW of Delta Monocerotis and 2° SSE of 18 Monocerotis. The brightest star of the cluster is an orange G8 subgiant star of 8.0 magnitude, but it is possible that it is a foreground star. The cluster contains also blue giants. The brightest main sequence star is a B9 star with magnitude 9.1.^[4]

NGC 2301
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension	06h 51m 45s[1]
Declination	+00° 27′ 36″[1]
Distance	2,840 ly (872 pc[2])
Apparent magnitude (V)	6.0 [1]
Apparent dimensions (V)	12'
Physical characteristics
Estimated age	165 million years old
Other designations	Cr 119
Associations
Constellation	Monoceros
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters