Galaxies behind M44 (Feb. 2020)

This is part of M44.  M44 is a cluster of stars just 610 light years away, and this is just a small part.  I've always found M44 intriguing through the camera: behind the cluster, peeking through its stars, are lots of little galaxies.  Some of these are far away.

The two bright galaxies sitting perpendicular to each others are PGC 24284 (horizontal) and PGC 2800946 (vertical).  PGC 2800946 is 16th magnitude, and about 220 million light years away.  At that distance, the galaxy is about 62,000 light years across.  PGC 24284 (horizontal) is about the same distance, maybe 5 million light years closer, and actually just a little larger than its companion.

Behind these two, though, other galaxies lurk.  Among them I see PGC 4172192, 1.8 billion light years away (mag. 18.18); PGC 4172171, 2.6 billion light years (mag. 18.44); PGC 4172165, 1 billion light years (Mag. 18.57); and PGC 3732412, 2 billion light years (blazing away at mag. 17.65).

Among these, I see a couple of galaxies for which I have no name.  I was unable to find them on any chart I have.

The dimmest stars in the image are less than mag. 19.  The brighest star in the image is TYC 1395-2047-1, magnitude 10.86.

This image is 7x720" with the CFF 290mm f/13.5 Classical Cassegrain reduced to f/8.1.  The camera was the SXVF-H9, and the subs were taken through an Astronomik CLS filter.  Galactic stats were taken from SkySafari.

The Heart of the Beehive Cluster, M44, & IC 2388

This image is the heart of the Beehive Cluster, M44, in the constellation Cancer. This cluster of stars is very close (around 500 to 610 light years). If you look up a bit behind Leo's tail late in the evening in the spring in dark skies, you can see M44 as a patch of light mist or fog. Galileo turned his telescope on the mist and found it was actually many stars, close together.

Sue French's column in the March 2009 issue of Sky & Telescope pointed out that a number of faint background galaxies can be seen in large telescopes peaking out behind the Beehive. This narrow images contains only one, IC 2388. Does it look like it has a different shape than the stars in front of it? I see an ellipse oriented lower left to upper right. You may have to turn out the lights to see its faint shape, but then, you are stargazing!

This image is only 10x20". I was making sure my scope was in focus and waiting until Palomar 4 rose higher in the sky.