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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:41  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 20:12
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All Constellations »  Canis Major »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major

Altitude: -26.7°   Azimuth: 269.7°   Direction: West

Messier 41 is a Open Cluster in the Canis Major constellation. Messier 41 is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 41 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.4x0.4 degrees (24x24 arcmins).

Image of Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major star
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DSS2 image of Messier 41 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (12 arcmin) and minor (12 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 41

Messier 41
Open Cluster
Canis Major

Messier 41 is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -26.7°
Azimuth: 269.7°
Direction: West

See also Messier 41 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 4.5, Messier 41 is barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.

Available Resources for Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major

Photometric information of Messier 41

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 41 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

4.89
4.5

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

Apparent size of Messier 41

The following table reports Messier 41 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 41 is a visual representation of it.
12 arcmin
12 arcmin

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 41

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 41 are provided in the following table:

06h 46m 00s
-20° 45’ 15”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 41 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major.

Finder chart Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major.

Rise and set times of Messier 41 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Messier 41 - Open Cluster in Canis Major rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 110.8°
Max altitude: 17.8°
Azimuth: 249.2°