ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

NGC 2108 is a rich "mid-aged" cluster, about 600 million years old. A careful comparison with its neighbor NGC 2093 shows that the brightest stars of NGC 2108 are fainter and whiter than the brightest members of NGC 2093; this indicates that NGC 2108 is older. Note also the distinctly red star to the East (left) of the center of this cluster. This is a member of a stellar class referred to as "Carbon stars", cool giant stars that are characterized by the presence of carbon molecules (C2) in their atmospheres and having extremely red colors. This sky field measures 2.8 x 2.6 arcsec. North is up and East is left.