At the other extreme, bright jewels in the sky practically beg for drawings to be inverted to bring out their luminance. NGC 2362, a spectacular young open cluster in the constellation Canis Major, fits the bill. Spanning 8', it’s rich and compact, nearly centered on 4th-magnitude Tau (τ) Canis Majoris. A 7th-magnitude star lies 7' east of the cluster’s center, and you’ll find two 9th-magnitude stars at a similar distance on the opposite side. A northern arc of 10th-magnitude stars connects the three.
NGC 2362 is a treat through any telescope, but make sure to catch a low-powered view to soak in the bluish glow radiating from Tau. With larger telescopes and moderate power, you’ll be able to resolve 50 to 75 stars and split Tau into a triple.
Jay Eads sketched this object, then scanned and inverted it before he digitally added luminance and color. By using descriptive observation notes as a guide and taking advantage of image-processing software, he was able to render an impressive resemblance of the eyepiece view.
Questions or comments? Feel free to contact me at
erikarix1@gmail.com.