M41 Little Beehive Cluster

Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. It is sometimes referred to as the Little Beehive Cluster. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and was perhaps known to Aristotle about 325 BC. It lies about four degrees almost exactly south of Sirius, with which it forms a roughly equilateral triangle with Nu2 Canis Majoris to the west—all three figure in the same field in binoculars.

Data/Processing Attribution

Data was purchased from Telescope Live and I did its processing only.

Distances/Size

Distance to the object- 2,360 light years; angular size in the sky is about 38’ (minutes); diameter of the object – about 25 light years.

Equipment

Mount-Mathis MI-1000/1250; Scope- Planewave CDK24, 6100 mm aperture, 3962mm focal length; Camera- QHY600 M Pro, 0.62 arcsec/pixel.

Observatory

Telescope Live, El Sauce Observatory, Chile.

Exposure

LRGB filters, total exposure- 7 hours 20 min.