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M44 Beehive cluster

Vince1963

By Vince1963
in The Astro Lounge

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Vince1963

Vince1963

Posted
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Hi guy's, Just wanted to share this with you... I was up this morning a 5am, So i thought i'd pop out side with my bino's , I was just looking up towards Orion and Gemini i noticed a fuzzy patch about 15 degrees to the east of Gemini so i looked up again with by bino's, It was a beautiful sight, a very crisp and very large open Cluster. In all honesty i had no idea what i was looking at as it was new to me. It wasn't till i went back in the house i made a quick star map sketch and then looked on stellarium to discover that what i'd been looking at was M44 Praesepe more commonly know as the Beehive cluster. What surprised me was that i never knew it would be visible to the naked eye. I am so pleased i saw it. :smiley:

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JamesF

JamesF

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One of my favourites, too, and easily visible to the naked eye from here. I wish I'd stayed out late enough to see it last night, but it will have to wait for a little later in the year I think.

James

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Double Kick Drum

Double Kick Drum

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Thanks Brantuk.. you know whats the silly thing for me though?... I cant believe i never saw it before lol. I think it must be the best cluster out there. Unless you know of others Brantuk :icon_salut:

After the Hyades and Pleiades, M44 (the Beehive) is probably the best around but there are plenty more pleasing open clusters.

Casseopeia is jam packed with them; M52, NGC 457 (the Owl cluster), NGC 663, M103 and NGC 7789 (Caroline's Rose) are all nice.

Auriga has M36, M37 and M38 all quite close together.

Cygnus has M39 and M29 which are both pleasing too.

Not forgetting the Double cluster in Perseus which probably the next best view after the Beehive (particularly in binoculars).

Happy hunting!

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brantuk

brantuk

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I like NGC 2264 - the Christmas Tree cluster - stunning bright, diamond like, stars and can be seen naked eye in a very dark site (magnitude 4.5) - even better in binocs of course. At the apex is the Cone Nebula but you'll need a 10" scope minimum to stand a chance of seeing that bit (or imaging gear) :)

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Vince1963

Vince1963

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Well thanks guys for making me look a right banana!.. LOL... Looks like there's tonnes of em out there that i didn't know about that have the wow factor.. Double kick drum..You are right the Hyades and Pleiades are tops, I,ve seen M36-37-38- And also M35 (i think its m35) in Gemini, I'll have to look out for the ones in Cygnus .. but Brantuk just pointed out the Christmas Tree cluster, I shall have to look for that one.. Thanks guys i salute you :icon_salut:

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Dunkster

Dunkster

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Well thanks guys for making me look a right banana!.. LOL...

If you want banana... I managed to overlook this one last season... HOW exactly, I have no idea to this day :D:shocked: Must have looked up at Gemini and Cancer a dozen times :eek:

Definitely high on the list for later this season :cool:

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Vince1963

Vince1963

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setting my alarm for 4am...

If you want banana... I managed to overlook this one last season... HOW exactly, I have no idea to this day :D:shocked: Must have looked up at Gemini and Cancer a dozen times :eek:

Definitely high on the list for later this season :cool:

Well Dunkster i'm setting my alarm for 4am especially to see it.. You fancy setting your alarm?... lol :tongue:

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ismangil

ismangil

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I also found M44 by accident, after a frustrating night trying to find anything with my new Dobsonian. The 6x30 finder was just not cutting it on my Sheffield sky.

So I just scanned around with my bins and immediately found this beautiful cluster...

On mobile (excuse the strange predictive words...)

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Vince1963

Vince1963

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Good one Ismangil.. Init great when you find something you 've been looking for?.. what i love is that once you've found something you can go straight to it without any trouble ( as long as the conditions are right) again and again. :icon_salut:

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