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Anne’s Image of the Day: Open Cluster Messier 41
read more at Anne’s Astronomy News http://annesastronomynews.com/
September 12, 2013
Messier 41, an open cluster in Canis Major
Image Credit: Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)
Messier 41 (also known as NGC 2287) is a relatively young, bright open cluster of approximately 25 light-years across, located some 2,300 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Canis Major (the Greater Dog), while it is moving away from us at about 23.3 kilometers per second.
The cluster’s age is estimated at between 190 and 240 million years old, and it contains about a mere 100 stars, including several red giants and a number of white dwarfs. Near the center of Messier 41 lies its brightest star, a yellow-orange K3 giant, which is about 700 times more luminous than our Sun. This infrared image shows exactly which of the red giants is the brightest, and also helps showcase a few very red stars that shine brightly in the infrared but only modestly in visible light.
Only about 60 light-years away from Messier 41 lies Collinder 121, a less conspicuous open cluster of stars. Because of this small distance there might be some sort of physical relation between these two clusters.
Messier 41 was perhaps known to Aristotle. This ancient Greek philosopher reports in his Meteorologica (Aristotle, about 325 BC) Book I, Chapter 6, that a star below [south of] Sirius was seen to have a faint tail. This would make Messier 41 the faintest object recorded in classical antiquity. However, this identification is uncertain: Aristotle may have described a comet of 341-340 BC, or the Milky Way near the star Delta Canis Majoris.
Messier 41 is easy to find, as it is nearly exactly 4 degrees south of Sirius, the Dog Star, which is the brightest star in the night sky.
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Source: http://annesastronomynews.com/annes-image-of-the-day-open-cluster-messier-41/
