Messier 41

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Messier 41
M41-noao.jpg
Open cluster Messier 41 in Canis Major
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Canis Major
Right ascension 06h 46.0m [1]
Declination −20° 46′ [1]
Distance 2,300 ly [2] (710 pc)
Apparent magnitude (V)4.5 [1]
Apparent dimensions (V)38 arcmin [2]
Physical characteristics
Radius12.5 ly
Estimated age190 million yrs [3]
Other designationsM41, [1] NGC 2287 [1]
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters

Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major, sometimes referred to as The Little Beehive Cluster. [4] It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and was perhaps known to Aristotle about 325 BC. [5] 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. [6]

Contents

The cluster covers an area about the size of the full Moon. [6] It contains about 100 stars, including several red giants the brightest of which has spectral type K3, apparent magnitude 6.3 and is near the center, and some white dwarfs. [7] [8] [9] The cluster is estimated to be moving away from us at 23.3 km/s. [1] The diameter of the cluster is 25–26 light-years (7.7–8.0  pc ). It is estimated to be 190 million years old, and cluster properties and dynamics suggest a total life expectancy of 500 million years for this cluster, before it will have disintegrated. [3]

Walter Scott Houston describes the appearance of the cluster in small telescopes: [10]

Many visual observers speak of seeing curved lines of stars in M41. Although they seem inconspicuous on photographs, the curves stand out strongly in my 10-inch [reflecting telescope], and the bright red star near the center of the cluster is prominent.

The bright red/orange star near the center is HIP 32406, a giant star of spectral type K2, about 1500 ly away of magnitude 6.9.

See also

Related Research Articles

Canis Major Constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog" in contrast to Canis Minor, the "lesser dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41.

Canis Minor Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

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Hydra (constellation) Constellation straddling the celestial equator

Hydra is the largest of the 88 modern constellations, measuring 1303 square degrees, and also the longest at over 100 degrees. Its southern end borders Libra and Centaurus and its northern end borders Cancer. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. Commonly represented as a water snake, it straddles the celestial equator.

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Messier 14 Globular cluster in Ophiuchus

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Messier 5 Globular cluster in the constellation Serpens

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Dumbbell Nebula Planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula

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Messier 2 Globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius

Messier 2 or M2 is a globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius, five degrees north of the star Beta Aquarii. It was discovered by Jean-Dominique Maraldi in 1746, and is one of the largest known globular clusters.

Butterfly Cluster Open cluster in Scorpius

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Wild Duck Cluster Open cluster in the constellation Scutum

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Small Sagittarius Star Cloud Star cloud in Sagittarius

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Messier 29 Open cluster in the constellation Cygnus

Messier 29 or M29, also known as NGC 6913, is a quite small, bright open cluster of stars just south of the central bright star Gamma Cygni of a northerly zone of the sky, Cygnus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, and can be seen from Earth by using binoculars.

Messier 39 Open cluster in the constellation Cygnus

Messier 39 or M39, also known as NGC 7092, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Cygnus, positioned two degrees to the south of the star Pi Cygni and around 9° east-northeast of Deneb. The cluster was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749, then Charles Messier added it to his catalogue in 1764. When observed in a small telescope at low power the cluster shows around two dozen members but is best observed with binoculars. It has a total integrated magnitude (brightness) of 5.5 and spans an angular diameter of 29 arcminutes – about the size of the full Moon. It is centered about 1,010 light-years away.

Beehive Cluster Open cluster in the constellation Cancer

The Beehive Cluster, is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than other nearby bright open clusters. Under dark skies, the Beehive Cluster looks like a small nebulous object to the naked eye, and has been known since ancient times. Classical astronomer Ptolemy described it as a "nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer". It was among the first objects that Galileo studied with his telescope.

Messier 47 Open cluster in the constellation Puppis

Messier 47 is an open cluster in the mildly southern constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and in his then keynote work re-discovered by Charles Messier on 1771. It was also independently discovered by Caroline Herschel.

Messier 50 Open cluster in the constellation Monoceros

Messier 50 or M 50, also known as NGC 2323, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Monoceros. It was recorded by G. D. Cassini before 1711 and independently discovered by Charles Messier in 1772 while observing Biela's Comet. It is sometimes described as a 'heart-shaped' figure or a blunt arrowhead.

Messier 79 Globular cluster in constellation Lepus

Messier 79 is a globular cluster in the southern constellation Lepus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and is about 42,000 light-years away from Earth and 60,000 light years from the Galactic Center.

Messier 103 Open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia

Messier 103 is an open cluster where a few hundred, mainly very faint, stars figure in Cassiopeia. It was discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier's friend and collaborator Pierre Méchain. It is one of the more distant open clusters, 8,000 to 9,500 light-years from the Solar System and ranging over about 15 light years. It holds about 40 certain-member stars, two of which have magnitudes 10.5, and a 10.8 red giant, which is the brightest within the cluster. A bright known foreground object is the star Struve 131, not a member of the cluster. The cluster may have 172 stars if including those down to 50% probability of a gravitational tie. M103 is about 25 million years old.

NGC 3532 Open cluster in the constellation Carina

NGC 3532, also commonly known as the Pincushion Cluster, Football Cluster, the Black Arrow Cluster and the Wishing Well Cluster, is an open cluster some 405 parsecs from Earth in the constellation Carina. Its population of approximately 150 stars of 7th magnitude or fainter includes seven red giants and seven white dwarfs. On 20 May 1990 it became the first target ever observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. A line from Beta Crucis through Delta Crucis passes somewhat to the north of NGC 3532. The cluster lies between the constellation Crux and the larger but fainter "False Cross" asterism. The 4th-magnitude Cepheid variable star x Carinae appears near the southeast fringes, but it lies between the Sun and the cluster and is not a member of the cluster.

Gemini (constellation) Zodiac constellation in the northern hemisphere

Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 94 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for twins, and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. Its old astronomical symbol is (♊︎).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "M 41". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  2. 1 2 "Messier Object 41". SEDS . Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  3. 1 2 Stoyan, Ronald (2008). Atlas of the Messier Objects: Highlights of the Deep Sky. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN   9780521895545.
  4. ↑ The Dog Star and the Little Beehive Cluster
  5. ↑ M41 possibly recorded by Aristotle
  6. 1 2 Kambic, Bojan (2009). Viewing the Constellations with Binoculars: 250+ Wonderful Sky Objects to See and Explore. New York, New York: Springer. p. 230. ISBN   978-0-387-85355-0.
  7. ↑ Koester, D. Reimers, D. (1981), "Spectroscopic identification of white dwarfs in Galactic Clusters I. NGC2287 and NGC3532", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 99, L8-11
  8. ↑ De Laet, Rony (2011). The Casual Sky Observer's Guide: Stargazing with Binoculars and Small Telescopes. New York, New York: Springer. pp. 95–97. ISBN   978-1-4614-0595-5.
  9. ↑ Dobbie, P, Day-Jones, A, Williams, K, Casewell, S, Burleigh, M, Lodieu, N, Parker, Q, Baxter, R, (2012), "Further investigation of white dwarfs in the open clusters NGC2287 and NGC3532", Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 423, 2815–2828
  10. ↑ Houston, Walter Scott (2005). Deep-Sky Wonders. Sky Publishing Corporation. ISBN   978-1-931559-23-2.


Coordinates: Jupiter and moon.png 06h 46.0m 00s, −20° 46′ 00″

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