A Bit of ID help please...

[SwampStar]

After warming up with the frankly gorgeous Pleiades, I thought I'd have a go at the Beehive out in Cancer...another supposedly beautiful sight. What I did see was amazing, but I'm not sure if it was M44 at all. It just didn't look like the pictures. This one was definitely a cluster but it seemed more dense and round than the Beehive looks.

The route:

From Mars go right, then slightly above the next major star. Go in a straight line until you hit a double star. Then go slightly up, and a bit more right and there it is. At first, I had to look slightly away to see it. But then my eyes honed in, so also not super bright.

Any ideas?

See if you can find it from my MAGNIFICENT directions!!!

Cheers.

[richbyers]

mmm im not sure- you sort of know when you see it, but i doubt you would have seen anything else to mistake it with, so yeah i reckon you got it....hows your night sky at the moment- its bad here, so maybe thats why it wasnt too good

[barkis]

The Beehive is a sprawling cluster, except for the central part of it, which are bright stars, and unmistakable.

It is a naked eye sight, seen as a misty patch, which could be mistaken as a nebulous object, until a scope is turned to it.

Ron.

[SwampStar]

Sky is pretty good, but LP was quite high. That will improve when neighbours go to bed!

Back out in a minute!

What I saw was amazing - it just didn't look like the pics I've seen of the Beehive. Too round and too dense.

I'll keep scanning!

Cheers!

[SwampStar]

That's what I thought too, Ron. A bit like Pleiades...spread out with several pinpricks. The one I saw wasn't like that at all.

[SwampStar]

Think I've found it. Looking at images, I'm pretty sure it's M67, an open cluster. Picture looks the same and it's in roughly the right area (GOTO free zone here).

Thanks for the help.

[661-pete]

Hmmm - time for another grab from CdC - the second in a session! I've suppressed all the lines, but the outline of Leo with Mars below it, is pretty unmistakeable. The bright star to the right of Mars, is Regulus.

I'm pretty certain you did hit on the Beehive (M44) - your 'driving directions' seem spot on to me.

[Edit] looking at your later post, yes M67 perhaps. A good deal fainter, but it is a fairly loose cluster as you describe it. I imaged it some years ago.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Here is where the "Beehive" sits right now (as it does in Cancer always). It is almost in a straight horizontal line from Mars (which is in leo) to the beehive:

It really is a sight to behold. One of my favourites.

[SwampStar]

Thank you all...

Just been back out and I have now definitely found Beehive! Right between the two main stars of Cancer.

Very pleased with my haul tonight! Ms 44 and 67 and also introduced teenage daughter to Pleiades, which I first found last night. I won't forget her scream of delight for a long time! She's hooked. Got a feeling I won't be seeing much of my new bins when they arrive...