M44 Praesepe / Beehive Cluster

[celeron787]

Taken during the exceptionally clear night on 07 Feb 2021.
Was hoping to pull out more stars in the background but unable to. Not sure whether I should sink in more time into this target.

Praesepe, also known as Messier 44 (M44) or the Beehive Cluster, is a large, bright open star cluster located in the constellation Cancer.
The Beehive Cluster contains about 1,000 stars. The 2 bright stars on either side of the cluster are Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis. In mythology, they represent the donkeys that Dionysos and Silenus rode into battle against the Titans.

Annoted: http://nova.astrometry.net/annotated_full/4917929

Sony A6000
William Optics RedCat 51 Petzval APO
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer
Tripod

Singapore, Bortle 8
ISO800
Light frames - 148 x 20secs (manually dithered in RA and DEC)
Dark Frames - 30 x 20secs
Flat Frames - 35
Bias Frames - 50

Deep Sky Stacker
StarTools - 50% bin, Autodev, Crop, Wipe, Super Structure, Color, Super Structure, Denoise

[hhzhang]

M44 is a particularly interesting object. For me, those stars may not be extraordinary, but it is almost riding on the ecliptic, meaning it is frequented by other extraordinary visitors. Come late June and early July this year, we have the chance to catch Mars and Venus transit the cluster in a process stretching across a few days (nights). Wish for clear skies then!