The Little Beehive Cluster (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. Open star clusters are young, loosely bound gatherings of stars. The stars in these clusters were born together. They may contain a handful of stars or thousands of stars.
Viewing Location – 1 night in Upland, CA
- Lat/Lon: 34.11065, -117.65362
- Sky Magnitude: 18.45 magnitudes/square arcsecond
- Sky Luminance: 4.50 mcd/m2
- Bortle Scale: 7 (suburban/urban transition) equal to a Sky Magnitude between 18.94–18.38.
Observation
- Catalog Designation: NGC 2287
- Celestial Coordinates: RA 06h 45m 50s | Dec -20° 45′
- Observation Duration: 1 night, 544 x 10sec = 90.67 minutes
- CCD temperature in degrees Celsius: 16
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Surrounding Constellation – Canis Major
NGC 2287 can best be seen in the Northern Hemisphere from January through March. M41 lies about 4 degrees south of Sirius, the Dog Star, one of the nearest stars to Earth. It contains about 100 stars, including several red giants and some white dwarfs. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and was perhaps known to Aristotle about 325 BC.
