The planetary nebula NGC 2438 is seen in front of the open cluster M46 in this image. The cluster has an angular diameter equal to the full moon and is relatively old among star clusters, at about 300 million years. It is located in the southern constellation Puppis about 5000 light years distant.
The planetary nebula is estimated to be in the foreground and is therefore not connected to the cluster. The central star of the nebula has a magnitude of 17.5.

OPTICS 10" Newtonian f/5.2
MOUNT Losmandy G11 equatorial
CAMERA Philips ToUCam Pro SC1 webcam
FILTERS None
EXPOSURE 83 x 21s
DATE/TIME 05/02/2006 11:02 UTC
LOCATION My backyard observatory in west Auckland, New Zealand