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M44, the Beehive Cluster in Cancer (EDQ86 R5).jpg
This is a close-up telescopic view of the large (over 1º) and bright (magnitude 3) star cluster Messier 44 in Cancer. It is also known as the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe, which means Manger. As it is visible to the unaided eye, this cluster was known since antiquity as a nebulous cloud. It was not resolved into stars until Galileo aimed his crude telescope at it in 1609. Charles Messier added M44 and M45, the Pleiades, to his first catalogue of fuzzy objects, despite both objects being well known and unlikely to be mistaken for comets, perhaps just to bring the total number of entries up to 45.
Several faint 15th magnitude galaxies from the IC, PGC, and UGC catalogues inhabit the field. Taken on a night with some high haze fuzzing the stars a little, a photogenic effect.
The field is 3.4º by 2.3º.
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 from home on a mild winter night in January 2025.
Several faint 15th magnitude galaxies from the IC, PGC, and UGC catalogues inhabit the field. Taken on a night with some high haze fuzzing the stars a little, a photogenic effect.
The field is 3.4º by 2.3º.
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 from home on a mild winter night in January 2025.
- Copyright
- © Alan Dyer/AmazingSky.com
- Image Size
- 8228x5478 / 16.7MB
- www.amazingsky.com
- Contained in galleries
- Messier Objects, Star Clusters

