The Beehive (M44), also called Praesepe, is an open cluster in Cancer, a misty patch to the naked eye that the first telescopes broke up into a swarm of stars.
At a glance
| type | open star cluster |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 598 light-years (183 pc) |
| its light left it | 598 years ago |
| size in the piece | about 21 light-years acrossmodel |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with. Model marks a property of the piece’s galaxy model rather than a measurement.
About Beehive (M44)
Known since antiquity as a small cloud in Cancer, the Beehive was among the first objects Galileo turned his telescope to, and he found it to be a crowd of stars. It holds a large crowd of members, from red dwarfs to a few orange giants, and some white dwarfs, the remains of its most massive stars.
Its stars are older than those of the Pleiades and close in age and motion to the Hyades, which has led to the suggestion that the two clusters formed in the same region. Planets have been found orbiting some of its stars, among the first known in an open cluster. The two stars on either side of it in Cancer are the Aselli, the donkeys feeding at the manger.
What you see in the piece
From Earth it is a faint haze between the Aselli; fly to it and the stars stay together, a cluster in space and not just on the sky.
Measured or modelled
A shared origin with the Hyades is suggested by their similar ages and motions, not established.
Questions
How far away is the Beehive Cluster?
The Beehive (M44) is about 598 light-years (183 pc) from the Sun.
Can you see the Beehive Cluster with the naked eye?
Yes, from a dark site it is a misty patch in Cancer; binoculars break it into a swarm of stars.