Messier 41 (M41) is a bright open star cluster located in Canis Major constellation. It lies near Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
Messier 41 has an apparent magnitude of 4.5 and lies at an approximate distance of 2,300 light years from Earth. It has the designation NGC 2287 in the New General Catalogue.
The cluster is relatively loose and can be resolved in a small telescope. It is best observed at low magnifications. 10×50 binoculars show a large faint patch of light, while larger binoculars resolve some of the stars in the cluster. Small telescopes (4-inch) resolve about 50 stars, while 6-inch and 8-inch telescopes show many more fainter members. The best time of year to observe M41 is in the months of December, January and February.
The cluster is classified as Trumpler type I,3,r, which means that it is detached from the surrounding star field with strong concentration at the centre (I), it consists of both bright and faint stars (3), and it is richly populated (r), with 100 or more stars.
Messier 41 contains about 100 members, including several red giants and a number of white dwarfs. The brightest among the giant stars is a K3-type star with a visual magnitude of 6.3, visible near the centre of the cluster. The orange giant is about 700 times more luminous than the Sun. The hottest star in M41 has the spectral classification A0.
Messier 41 was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna before 1654 and possibly seen by Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle around 325 BC. In his work Meteorologica.
--Messier-objects.com
More:
Messier41 - WikipediaMessier41 - Astropixels.comMessier41 - SEDSThis is image #33 in long term project to photograph the complete Messier catalog. Really happy with this one,again is not most spectacular object but interesting object, nice colours variation and in a nice star field. RGB each image 300 seconds.
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