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Click here for a high resolution image of M44 (410 Kb)
The Details |
|
Object |
M44 The Beehive Cluster or Praesepe in Cancer |
Optics |
Takahashi FSQ-106 at f/5
|
Platform |
Astro-Physics 1200 GTO |
Camera |
SBIG STL-11000M |
Filters |
Tru-Balance LRGB filter set |
Date |
23 February 2009 |
Location |
Mount Wilson Observatory, Mount Wilson CA |
Exposure |
L 12 x 60 sec 1x1 bin; RGB 5 ea x 60 sec 1x1 bin; unguided |
Software |
Maxim DL/CCD, CCDStack, Photoshop CS4 |
| Orientation | Field of view: 01°54' x 01°24' centered on RA 08h40m06s DEC +19°45'17". North angle 89.2 °; east 90° CCW from north |
| Notes | Visible to the naked eye, this object was known since prehistoric times. It was Galileo who first resolved it into a "mass of more than 40 stars" with his telescope in 1609. M44 is estimated to lie 577 light years from earth and be approximately 730 million years old. Curiously, the proper motion and age of this cluster link it with another naked eye cluster, The Hyades in the constellation Taurus. These two clusters are thought to have a common origin in a gas cloud some 800 million years ago. |
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