About this Object:
The Beehive Cluster, also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger"), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189, is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. It is one of the nearest open clusters to the Solar System, and it contains a larger star population than most other nearby clusters. Under dark skies the Beehive Cluster looks like a nebulous object to the naked eye; thus it has been known since ancient times. The classical astronomer Ptolemy called it "the nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer," and it was among the first objects that Galileo studied with his telescope.

About this Photo:
Date(s): March 24, 2012
Location: From my driveway in Georgetown, Texas
Telescope: Celestron C925 @ F10
Mount: CGEM
Guiding: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider / Taurus Tracker III OAG
Camera: Canon 40D Modified
Filter: None
Exposure: 9 x 120s (18 Min total)
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 3.75 Camera Control
Processing: ImagesPlus 3.75 – Darks,Flats,Bias
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS3; Gradient Exterminator; Noise Ninja; Noel Carboni's Tools; Annie’s Astro Actions
Temperature(s): 65º F