M 47 is a young (74 million years) open cluster, set
in the winter Milky Way in the constellation Puppis. As
with M 46, Messier made a mistake in recording its position,
and so the cluster's identity was lost until 1959, when it
was shown that what Messier recorded was the same cluster that
Caroline Herschel had viewed in 1783 and which had since the
Herschel's work been known as NGC 2422. The cluster is 12
light years in diameter, and 1750 light years from earth.
Under a dark sky, it is visible to the unaided eye.

Image data:
Camera: Canon 350 XT (modified)
Telescope: William Optics 66mm ZS, Baader MPCC
Exposure: ISO 800, 5 minutes x 14