 |
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 ST-10XME |
Filters |
Tru-Balance LRGB filter set |
Date |
12 March 2004 |
Location |
Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County CA |
Exposure |
L 7 x 60 sec 1x1 bin; RGB 4 ea x 120 sec 1x1 bin |
Software |
Maxim DL/CCD, Registar, Photoshop |
| Orientation | Field of view: 01°36' x 01°05' centered on RA 08h40m44s DEC 19°42'20". North angle 255.0°; 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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