When is the best time to observe NGC 2281?

NGC 2281 is best observed from November through January, with peak visibility during December when it transits around midnight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Where is NGC 2281 located in the sky?

NGC 2281 lies in the constellation Auriga at right ascension 06h 48m and declination +41° 05′.

What telescope do I need to see NGC 2281?

At magnitude 5.4, NGC 2281 is visible to the naked eye from dark skies, easy in any binoculars.

NGC 2281 — Open Cluster in Auriga

Open Cluster Excellent (68/100)

Magnitude 5.4^m OpenCluster Auriga (Aur) Visible

Star Map + List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 5.4

Angular Size 10.8′

Description

Cl, pRi, vlC, st pL

Position & Identifiers

RA 06h 48m 17.8s

Dec +41° 04' 44.0"

Constellation Auriga (Aur)

Catalog NGC 2281

Physical size

5.6 light-years across — about 1.3× the Sun-to-Alpha-Centauri distance

2How easy to spot?

Telescope	Bortle 3	Bortle 4	Bortle 5
80 mm refractor 80mm refr.	Easy	Easy	Easy
150 mm Newton 150mm Newt.	Easy	Easy	Easy
Celestron C8 (203 mm SCT) C8 203mm	Easy	Easy	Easy

Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

Easy on Seestar S50

At 150mm under B5 skies you should resolve about 120 of 409 members.

3Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season Nov – Jan (peak: Dec)

4 Eyepiece View

Telescope Eyepiece

125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6

NGC 2281 · 10.8′ diameter

5 Best Magnification

6Where this cluster sits in time

Open clusters span more than four orders of magnitude in age — from newborn OB associations to ancient, metal-rich survivors.

7 Colour-Magnitude Diagram

A cluster's colour-magnitude diagram reveals its age: the bluer the turn-off point where the main sequence bends into red giants, the younger the cluster.

Loading member data…

Each point is a Gaia-DR3 member. Colour encodes spectral type; size reflects membership probability.