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M41 Cluster in Canis Major (EDQ86 R5).jpg
This is a close-up telescopic view of the bright star cluster Messier 41 in Canis Major, located just below the bright star Sirius, and an obvious sight in binoculars. M41 is also known as the Little Beehive (the actual Beehive cluster being Messier 44 in Cancer, also shot this same night as M41). M41 is reported to have been sighted and recorded as far back as 325 BCE by Aristotle as, in theory with an intergrated magnitude of 4.5, it is also visible to the unaided eye. For comparison, the bright star at upper left is 15 Canis Majoris., at magnitude 4.8.
From my latitude of 51º N, M41 is quite low, but the sky was clear enough this night for good shots from home.
Technical:
This is a stack of 11 x 5 minute exposures with the Astro-Tech EDQ86 apo refractor at its native f/7 focal ratio, using the Canon R5 at ISO 800. On the Astro-Physics AP400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN3 guider. Shot during a night-long shoot on a mild winter night in January 2025.
From my latitude of 51º N, M41 is quite low, but the sky was clear enough this night for good shots from home.
Technical:
This is a stack of 11 x 5 minute exposures with the Astro-Tech EDQ86 apo refractor at its native f/7 focal ratio, using the Canon R5 at ISO 800. On the Astro-Physics AP400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN3 guider. Shot during a night-long shoot on a mild winter night in January 2025.
- Copyright
- © Alan Dyer/AmazingSky.com
- Image Size
- 8192x5464 / 23.6MB
- www.amazingsky.com
- Contained in galleries
- Messier Objects, Star Clusters

