NGC 2244

NGC 2244 is the open cluster located at the centre of the Rosette Nebula. It’s visible with binoculars but a telescope is needed to bring out detail. A 6-inch scope shows about 30 stars, with six of these forming two parallel lines of three in the middle. The cluster is about 50 lightyears across and contains two massive stars. Innocuous-looking HD 46223 marks the southwest corner of the main pattern of six stars in NGC 2244 and is estimated to be 400,000x brighter than the Sun and 50x as massive. Nearby HD 46150 is estimated to be even larger at 60x the mass of the Sun and 450,000x as bright. SEEN IT

At the centre of the Rosette Nebula lies the open cluster NGC 2244