images

Open star cluster M44 in Cancer

by

R.Gendler/Novapix

Reference

a-aou26-32001

Date

2006-05-07

M44, the Beehive Cluster, also known as Praesepe (Latin for manger), is an easy naked eye object more than twice the size across of the full moon, and has thus been noted since prehistoric times. It was one of the first objects on which Galileo trained his newly acquired telescope. M44 is one of the nearest open clusters, close to 600 light-years away.