Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster is an open star cluster in Cancer, also known as Messier 44 or Praesepe. It is one of the nearest and brightest open clusters visible from Earth.

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Open cluster: A group of stars formed together from the same molecular cloud and loosely bound by gravity. The Beehive is a nearby example of this kind of stellar grouping.
Stellar association: A loose grouping of young stars whose members are not gravitationally bound as a stable cluster. Unlike such loose groupings, the Beehive remains a recognizable gravitationally bound cluster.
Binocular astronomy: The observation of celestial objects using binoculars rather than a telescope. Binoculars resolve more of the Beehive's stars than the naked eye can separate.
Charles Messier: An eighteenth-century French astronomer who compiled a catalog of nebulae and star clusters. His catalog assigned the Beehive its familiar designation M44.
Cancer (constellation): A constellation of the zodiac in the northern celestial hemisphere. The Beehive lies within Cancer's boundaries.
Proper motion: The apparent angular change in a star's position across the sky over time. Shared proper motions help identify stars that belong to the Beehive.
Color–magnitude diagram: A plot comparing stars' brightness with their color or temperature. The Beehive's diagram reveals its stellar ages and evolutionary stages.
Ptolemy: A second-century Greek astronomer and geographer whose works shaped astronomy for centuries. His star catalog contains an early recorded description of the Beehive.
Messier object: A celestial object listed in Charles Messier's catalog of nebulae and star clusters. Its alternate designation, M44, comes from this catalog.
Radial velocity: A celestial object's velocity component toward or away from an observer, measured through Doppler shifts. Radial velocities provide another way to distinguish cluster members from foreground stars.