Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cancer (Cnc)  ·  Contains:  38 Cnc  ·  39 Cnc  ·  40 Cnc  ·  41 eps Cnc  ·  42 Cnc  ·  Beehive  ·  Beehive cluster  ·  IC 2388  ·  IC 2390  ·  M 44  ·  NGC 2624  ·  NGC 2625  ·  NGC 2632  ·  NGC 2637  ·  NGC 2643  ·  Praesepe  ·  Praesepe Cluster
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M44 - Beehive Cluster, Stephen Eggleston - @rawnoise_astro
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M44 - Beehive Cluster

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M44 - Beehive Cluster, Stephen Eggleston - @rawnoise_astro
Powered byPixInsight

M44 - Beehive Cluster

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Description

The Beehive Cluster is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than other nearby bright open clusters. Under dark skies, the Beehive Cluster looks like a small nebulous object to the naked eye, and has been known since ancient times. Classical astronomer Ptolemy described it as a "nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer". It was among the first objects that Galileo studied with his telescope.

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M44 - Beehive Cluster, Stephen Eggleston - @rawnoise_astro