Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cancer (Cnc)  ·  Contains:  41 Cnc)  ·  Almalaf (ε Cnc  ·  Beehive  ·  M 44  ·  NGC 2632  ·  Praesepe Cluster  ·  The star 38 Cnc  ·  The star 39 Cnc  ·  The star 40 Cnc  ·  The star Meleph
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Beehive Cluster (M44), Steve Sells
Beehive Cluster (M44)
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Beehive Cluster (M44)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Beehive Cluster (M44), Steve Sells
Beehive Cluster (M44)
Powered byPixInsight

Beehive Cluster (M44)

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Description

The Beehive Cluster is a group of about 1,000 stars that are gravitationally bound together. It's about 600 light years away and about 40 light years across. As you can see in the picture, the biggest stars tend to be near the center. Because of the laws of physics, the most massive stars move over time toward the middle of the cluster and the less massive stars move toward the outside. This sorting of the cluster's stars has been going on for hundreds of millions of years and will continue long into the future.

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Beehive Cluster (M44), Steve Sells

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Imaged with APT