FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Re: Why Is M44 The Beehive?

[Russell Chmela~ <rchmela@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Per my prev post, Burnham's was no help. But it is a good imagining of a
beehive in there (or even a tree) isn't it?. I have never seen a
stereotypical conical-type beehive as in cartoons, only white-painted square
supers that me and ol grandpa used to rob for honey. Museum of Natural
History maybe?
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 Most of those conical nests that hang on a stem like in the cartoons
are the residence of wasps. Bees like a more enclosed space. I would
go with the idea of the cluster looking like a swarm. Plenty of
things in the sky that make us scratch our heads as to why they 
were named what they were- examples from my opinion, Ursa Major
(Great Bear) Virgo, Thors Helmet, Sagittarius, Rosette Neb, Capricornus.
Others that can make a 
bit more sense to me- Orion, Leo, Scorpius, Blue Snowball Nebula,
Eskimo Nebula, Owl Neb, Pinwheel Galaxy, Sombrero Galaxy.
   
  Might be a good question about M44 to put to a Planetarium presenter.
  
  During the festivites at Vekol last Saturday night, the cloud hazes
broke up over PHX as the night progressed and there were just some odd
streaks later. One of those streaks moving West to East made contact with
M44 and turned it into a beauty of a comet with a 40 degree bright tail.
Time to flip on the imagination and drool. 
  
 Russ C
  
  
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