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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae / M44

Beehive (M44) Observation Details

M44 Daily Motion

M44 will be visible until May, 31, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.

M44 Rise and Set Timetable

	Time	Elevation
M44 Rise	22:00
Astrosession begin	01:26	38°
M44 transit	05:08	70°
Astrosession end	06:21	64°
Civil sunrise	06:55	59°
Sunrise	07:25	54°
M44 Set	12:17

Track M44 Position Throughout the Night

Time
Altitude
Azimuth

Shift the map to change the time and observe M44 changing position in the night sky.

M44 - Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster (M44), also known as Praesepe, is an open cluster located in the constellation Cancer. It was observed by Ptolemy in ancient times and later cataloged by Charles Messier in 1769. M44 is one of the nearest open clusters to Earth and contains a rich population of stars.

M44 spans about 23 light-years across and contains over 1,000 stars. The cluster is approximately 610 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 3.7, making it visible to the naked eye under dark skies.

M44 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M44 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter

These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).

Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.

Finder Chart for M44

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Object name	M44
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M44 coordinates	8.67283, 19.67206
Center coordinates	8.67283, 19.67206

M44 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M44

Time	01:26
Latitude	39.9625
Longitude	-83.0061
M44 elevation	38°
M44 Azimuth	-96°

Here you can see the current position of the M44 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M44's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M44

Date	Fri, 22 November 2024
Twighlight start	18:42
Twighlight end	05:44
Twighlight duration	11h 2m
Rise	21:56
Set	12:13
Elevation at transit	70°
Transit time	05:04
Equatorial coordinate	RA: 08h 40m 22s, Dec: 19° 40' 19"
Magnitude	3
Constellation	Cancer

The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M44, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M44 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.

Data Credits

The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.

For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.

Observation Settings