M46

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M46 lies in the upper part of the constellation Puppis. Only half the constellation is ever visible from Britain, low to the south from the middle of January to the middle of March. It is a rather ordinary, if quite rich, open cluster, but within it is the tiny planetary nebula NGC2438. M46 lies about 5400 light years away, but it is thought that NGC2438 is nearer to us than that.