Messier 41

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox open cluster with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| age | alt | absmag_v | appmag_v | caption | constellation | credit | dec | dist_ly | dist_pc | epoch | galaxy | group | image | image_scale | mass_msol | name | names | notes | ra | radius_ly | size_v }} Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. Located approximately four degrees south of Sirius, it forms a roughly equilateral triangle with Sirius and Nu² Canis Majoris, visible together in binoculars.<ref name="kambic09">Template:Cite book</ref> The cluster spans an area comparable to the size of the full moon and contains about 100 stars, including several red giants and white dwarfs.<ref name="kambic09"/><ref>Koester, D. Reimers, D. (1981), "Spectroscopic identification of white dwarfs in Galactic Clusters I. NGC2287 and NGC3532", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 99, L8-11</ref>

Discovery and history

Discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654, M41 may have been observed by Aristotle as early as 325 BC.<ref>M41 possibly recorded by Aristotle</ref> It is sometimes called the Little Beehive Cluster due to its resemblance to the Beehive Cluster (M44).<ref>The Dog Star and the Little Beehive Cluster</ref>

Characteristics

The brightest star in M41 is a red giant of spectral type K3 with an apparent magnitude of 6.3 near the cluster's center.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The cluster has a diameter of Template:Convert and is receding from Earth at 23.3 km/s.<ref name="simbad">Template:Cite simbad</ref> Estimates suggest an age of 190 million years, with a predicted lifespan of 500 million years before disintegration.<ref name=Stoyan>Template:Cite book</ref>

Observation

Walter Scott Houston noted its appearance in small telescopes:<ref name="WSH">Template:Cite book</ref>

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 [reflecting telescope], and the bright red star near the center of the cluster is prominent.

The prominent red-orange central star, HIP 32406, is a K2-type giant of magnitude 6.9, located ~1,500 light-years away.<ref>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, 423, 2815–2828</ref>

Gallery

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  Center 2MASS/NASA
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  M41 in an 8" telescope
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  Sirius and M41 (lower right), M50 (upper left), and NGC 2360 (lower left)
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  M41 finder chart
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  Open cluster M41 taken from a 12-inch Dobson telescope in Viña del Mar
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  Open cluster Messier 41 in Canis Major

See also

• List of Messier objects
• New General Catalogue
• Messier object
• List of open clusters

References

<ref name="Harris1993">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Template:Reflist

External links

• Messier 41, SEDS Messier pages
• NightSkyInfo.com – M41
• M41 Hires LRGB CCD Image

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