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M44
Messier 44
Beehive or Praesepe (The Manger) Cluster
Open Star Cluster
| Right Ascension | 08h 40m 0s | Best Seen | Feb 1 - May 31 |
| Declination | 19° 59' 00" | Magnitude | 3.7 |
| Constellation | Cancer | ||
Actual |
Compared to Sun |
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| Distance | 577 ly | -- |
| Diameter | 23 ly | -- |
| Number of Stars | ~1000 | 1 |
| Actual Brightness | -- | -- |
| Age | ~600 - 700 million years | 5 billion |
| Integrated Spectral Type | -- | G2 V |
| Density (gram/cubic cm) | -- | -- |
What To Look For Through The Telescope
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Recommended eyepiece: 80 mm, using 6".
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When people look through the telescope the cluster will appear as a group of individual stars.
M44 Information
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The Behive cluster is one of the nearest open clusters to Earth and can be easily seen without binoculars.
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The Behive cluster appears as a blurry patch of light to the naked eye.
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M44 is one of the brightest Messier objects, only the Great Galaxy in Andromeda (M31) and The Pleides (M45) are brighter.
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The cluster can best be seen in binoculars and small telescopes.
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Larger telescopes reveal over 200 stars.
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In 2012, scientists discovered two planets orbiting two separate stars in the Beehive Cluster. These were the first planets discovered orbiting Sun-like stars in a star cluster.
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References
| Item | Updated | Notes |
| 2018-05-11 | https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-44-beehive-cluster/ |