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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                   2022 April 30   
      
                             M44: The Beehive Cluster   
                       Image Credit & Copyright: Drew Evans   
      
      Explanation: A mere 600 light-years away, M44 is one of the closest   
      star clusters to our solar system. Also known as the Praesepe or the   
      Beehive cluster its stars are young though, about 600 million years old   
      compared to our Sun's 4.5 billion years. Based on similar ages and   
      motion through space, M44 and the even closer Hyades star cluster in   
      Taurus are thought to have been born together in the same large   
      molecular cloud. An open cluster spanning some 15 light-years, M44   
      holds 1,000 stars or so and covers about 3 full moons (1.5 degrees) on   
      the sky in the constellation Cancer. Visible to the unaided eye, M44   
      has been recognized since antiquity. Described as a faint cloud or   
      celestial mist long before being included as the 44th entry in Charles   
      Messier's 18th century catalog, the cluster was not resolved into its   
      individual stars until telescopes were available. A popular target for   
      modern, binocular-equipped sky gazers, the cluster's few yellowish   
      tinted, cool, red giants are scattered through the field of its   
      brighter hot blue main sequence stars in this telescopic group   
      snapshot. Dramatic diffraction spikes highlighting the brighter cluster   
      members were created with string crossed in front of the telescope's   
      objective lens.   
      
                       Tomorrow's picture: black hole shadow   
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          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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