M44 - Central "V" Asterism
Splashy Open Cluster in Cancer

 
 

            


                  
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 These
            two images represent the central third or so of the large splashy
            open cluster in Cancer known as the "Bee Hive Cluster".
            Gold and blue super sized suns rule this central region, with
            a background of half a dozen faint background galaxies, which
            offer a rich visual challenge for owners of large amateur telescopes.
            The left panel here is the unlabeled image, with the background
            set normally. On the right is a slightly lighter version, with
            the brightest (i.e. 15th magnitude) galaxies circled in red,
            with the visual magnitudes listed below them. They range in brightness
            from 15.6 to 17.5 and are a super challenge for scopes of at
            least 12 inches in aperture visually. The additional galaxies
            Ive circled in green were not in the Megastar data base, but
            are in the range of 18th and 19th magnitude.

            
Cluster Description:

            
 One of the
            closest open star clusters to Earth, this large and splashy assemblage
            of stars hosts over 50 cluster members with an integrated magnitude
            of 3.1. With a size of over 95 arc minutes, it fits nicely within
            this 1.5 degree field of view seen on this page
            with my 8" Astrograph. Consisting of mostly blue super giants,
            the cluster is also home to dozens of K type orange giants as
            well - one forming the tip of the prominent V shaped asterism
            in the clusters center.

Optics:  12.5" f/5 Newtonian  - Lumicon Coma Corrector
Platform:  Astrophysics AP1200
Camera:  Hutech Modified Canon XTi @ ISO800
Exposure:  3 x 5m
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing  8/10, Transparency 8/10  
Outside Temperature:  35F
Processing Tools:  Photoshop CS2, Images Plus 3.82
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