View source for Messier 41

{{short description|Open cluster in the constellation Canis Major}}
{{Infobox open cluster
| name = [[Messier object|Messier]] 41
| image = [[File:M41-Open-Cluster-of-Stars.png|300px]]
| caption= Open cluster Messier 41 in Canis Major
| epoch = [[J2000]]
| ra = {{RA|06|46.0}}<ref name="simbad" />
| dec = {{DEC|-20|46}}<ref name="simbad" />
| dist_ly = 2,360 [[light-year|ly]]<ref name ="Harris1993" />
| dist_pc = 725 [[parsec|pc]]
| appmag_v = 4.5<ref name="simbad" />
| size_v = 38 [[Minute of arc|arcmin]]<ref name = "SEDS">
{{cite web
 |title=Messier Object 41
 |work=[[SEDS]]
 |url=http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m041.html
 |access-date=2024-07-23
}}</ref>
| mass_kg = 
| mass_msol =
| radius_ly = 12.5 ly
| v_hb =
| age = 200 million yrs<ref name=Harris1993/>
| constellation = [[Canis Major]]
| notes = 
| names = M41,<ref name="simbad" /> [[New General Catalogue|NGC]] 2287<ref name="simbad" />
}}
'''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|Nu<sup>2</sup> Canis Majoris]], visible together in binoculars.<ref name="kambic09">{{cite book|last=Kambic|first=Bojan |title=Viewing the Constellations with Binoculars: 250+ Wonderful Sky Objects to See and Explore|publisher=Springer|location=New York, New York|date=2009|pages=230|isbn=978-0-387-85355-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3vxLNPNHOcwC&pg=PA230}}</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>[http://messier.seds.org/more/m041_ari.html M41 possibly recorded by Aristotle]</ref> It is sometimes called the '''Little Beehive Cluster''' due to its resemblance to the [[Beehive Cluster]] (M44).<ref>[https://cs.astronomy.com/asy/m/starclusters/492774.aspx 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>{{cite book|last=De Laet|first=Rony |title=The Casual Sky Observer's Guide: Stargazing with Binoculars and Small Telescopes|publisher=Springer|location=New York, New York|date=2011|pages=95–97|isbn=978-1-4614-0595-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3fhBelJk-30C&pg=PA95}}</ref> The cluster has a [[diameter]] of {{convert|25|-|26|ly|pc|lk=on}} and is receding from Earth at 23.3 km/s.<ref name="simbad">{{cite simbad|title=M 41|access-date=2006-12-21}}</ref> Estimates suggest an age of 190 million years, with a predicted lifespan of 500 million years before disintegration.<ref name=Stoyan>{{cite book|last1=Stoyan|first1=Ronald|title=Atlas of the Messier Objects: Highlights of the Deep Sky|date=2008|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=9780521895545|page=171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2VuBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT559}}</ref>

== Observation ==
[[Walter Scott Houston]] noted its appearance in small telescopes:<ref name="WSH">{{cite book|last=Houston|first=Walter Scott|date=2005|title=Deep-Sky Wonders|publisher=[[Sky Publishing Corporation]]|isbn=978-1-931559-23-2}}</ref>
<blockquote>
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.
</blockquote>
The prominent red-orange central star, [[Hipparcos|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==
<gallery>
File:Messier 041 2MASS.jpg|Center [[2MASS]]/[[NASA]]
File:Messier 41 TLR.jpg|M41 in an 8" telescope
File:Sirius Mirzam M41.jpg|[[Sirius]] and M41 (lower right), [[Messier 50|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
File:M41-noao.jpg|Open cluster Messier 41 in Canis Major
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of Messier objects]]
* [[New General Catalogue]]
* [[Messier object]]
* [[List of open clusters]]

==References==

<ref name="Harris1993">{{cite journal | last=Harris | first=G. | title=NGC 2287 - an important intermediate-age open cluster | journal=The Astronomical Journal | volume=106 | issue=4 | pages=1533–1546 | date=October 1993 | url=https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1993AJ....106.1533H | doi=10.1086/116748 | issn=0004-6256 }}</ref>


{{reflist}}


==External links==
{{commonscat}}
{{WikiSky}}
* [http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m041.html Messier 41, SEDS Messier pages]
* [http://www.nightskyinfo.com/archive/m41_open_cluster NightSkyInfo.com – M41]
* [http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-DSO-NGC-2287.htm M41 Hires LRGB CCD Image]


{{Sky|06|46.0|00|-|20|46|00|2300}}
{{Portal bar|Astronomy|Stars|Outer space}}
{{Catalogs|M=41|NGC=2287}}
{{Messier objects}}
{{Ngc25}}
{{Canis Major}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messier 41}}
[[Category:Open clusters|Messier 041]]
[[Category:Canis Major|Messier 041]]
[[Category:Messier objects|041]]
[[Category:NGC objects|Messier 041]]
[[Category:Orion–Cygnus Arm]]
[[Category:Astronomical objects known since antiquity]]