Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is an
open cluster
An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, and ...
in the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
Canis Major
Canis Major is a constellation in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, 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 fo ...
, sometimes referred to as The Little Beehive Cluster. It was discovered by
Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and was perhaps known to
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
about 325 BC. It lies about four degrees almost exactly south of
Sirius
Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...
, with which it forms a roughly equilateral triangle with
Nu2 Canis Majoris to the west—all three figure in the same field in binoculars.
The cluster covers an area about the size of the full Moon.
It contains about 100 stars, including several
red giants
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses ()) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around o ...
the brightest of which has
spectral type
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their stellar spectrum, spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a Prism (optics), prism or diffraction grati ...
K3, apparent magnitude 6.3 and is near the center, and some white dwarfs.
[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
''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...
, 423, 2815–2828 The cluster is estimated to be moving away from us at 23.3 km/s.
[
] The
diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...
of the cluster is . 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.
Walter Scott Houston
Walter Scott Houston (May 30, 1912–December 23, 1993) was an American popularizer of amateur astronomy. He wrote the " Deep-Sky Wonders" column in ''Sky and Telescope'' magazine from 1946 to 1993.
Biography
Houston was born in Tippecanoe, ...
describes the appearance of the cluster in small telescopes:
[
]
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 eflecting 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.
Gallery
File:Messier 041 2MASS.jpg, Center 2MASS
The Two Micron All-Sky Survey, or 2MASS, was an astronomical survey of the whole sky in infrared light. It took place between 1997 and 2001, in two different locations: at the U.S. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and ...
/NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
File:Messier 41 TLR.jpg, M41 in an 8" telescope
File:Sirius Mirzam M41.jpg, Sirius
Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...
and M41 (lower right), M50 (upper left), and NGC 2360 (lower left)
File:M41 star map from Sirius.png, M41 finder chart
File:Open Cluster M41 from Viña del Mar.jpg, Open cluster M41 taken from a 12-inch Dobson telescope in Viña del Mar
See also
*
List of Messier objects
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters'').
Because Messier was only int ...
*
New General Catalogue
The ''New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (abbreviated NGC) is an astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, including galaxies, star clusters and ...
*
Messier object
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his ''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'' (''Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters'').
Because Messier was only int ...
*
List of open clusters
This is a list of open clusters located in the Milky Way. An open cluster is a gravitationally bound association of up to a few thousand stars that all formed from the same giant molecular cloud. There are over 1,000 known open clusters in the M ...
References
External links
Messier 41, SEDS Messier pagesNightSkyInfo.com – M41
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messier 41
Messier 041
Messier 041
041
Messier 041
Orion–Cygnus Arm
Astronomical objects known since antiquity