Messier Objects - M41

The final Messier object from my success on March 16, 2017 is an open cluster sitting right below the brightest star in the sky -- Sirius.  This is an extremely easy target to find with a telescope or binoculars.  M41 literally sits 4° below Sirius and it is fairly bright.  Under clear skies you may be able to glimpse with your naked eye.

Messier 41 may have been known to Aristotle back in 325 BC when he wrote "For a star in the thigh of the Dog had a tail, though a faint one. If you fixed your sight on it its light was dim, but if you just glanced at it, it appeared brighter."  The dog in this case refers to Canis Major and (possibly) M41 is being described as witnessed with averted vision.

I estimated the number of stars to be approximately 75 whereas it is considered to have around 100.  My size estimate was also on the low side with an approximation of 25' and the accepted value is 38'.  The observation record for this cluster is shown below.

M41 Observation Record

Messier 41 was certainly a hit at astronomy open houses.  Many people had never looked upon an open cluster before.  When I imaged it during the evening of March 19, 2017 it seems like I required my autoguider.  The stars were trailing a little and I did not have the brightness I wanted.  Hopefully when I have the time to learn how to use it I'll be able to update some of my Messier images.  My image of M41 is shown below.

M41

I am starting to get nervous that I may not be able to have a good shot at M78 above Orion's belt as the constellation is slowly being eaten by the evening twilight.  With the decent of Orion brings the rise of Virgo.  The infamous Virgo Cluster contains sixteen Messier objects all of which are galaxies.  I have not had much luck with galaxies from the backyard.  It will require many evenings driving to dark sky sites and a lot of patience.  The manual finding method of star hopping will become galaxy hopping.  I am hoping the perseverance through the cluster will teach me a lot about visually observing galaxies.  A preview of the cluster stretching across about 10° is shown below.  There are more than a thousand galaxies in this region of space, it would be a fun project to map as many as possible.  My first goal will be to find and identify one Messier object.

Virgo Cluster Preview

Whenever you get the chance you should get out an enjoy the sky, there are many great things to see with just your eyes!