The dazzling 4.5-magnitude open star cluster M41 dangles in Canis Main some 4° south of Sirius, the brightest star within the night time sky. From a darkish website, the cluster shines to the unaided eyes as a misty glow, like a metallic tag on the collar of the celestial Canine.
M41 might have been recognized by Aristotle, who described a star with a tail within the Canine — not stunning coming from a person who took a shining curiosity in comets. At present, the cluster seems to unaided eyes precisely as he described: a round type with a dim extension to the north.
The cluster lies about 2,300 light-years distant and is 240 million years outdated. There’s little intervening dust to have an effect on its look, so its 100-odd stars shine with unusual purity. Not less than three of them are seventh magnitude and ought to be inside vary for sharp-eyed, naked-eye observers. Handheld binoculars will resolve a few dozen members. Roughly 50 of its stars shine between seventh and thirteenth magnitude, placing them inside attain of small- to moderate-sized telescopes.
M41’s stars will fill a telescopic discipline of view 30 % bigger than the Full Moon. Search for a placing reddish star on the coronary heart of the sprawling cluster, with streams of irregularly shiny suns curling outward. The view is greatest at low energy. Bigger-aperture telescopes will reveal the presence of many crimson (or orange) big stars; the most popular star is of spectral sort A. As much as 80 % of its stars could also be binaries. Whereas we can’t see most of those, lots of the cluster’s seen stars do type pairings.
Make sure that to discover Astronomy’s full list of 101 cosmic objects you must see. New entries shall be added every week all through 2022.
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