Mars among the stars of the Beehive Cluster (M44)

Photographed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 4:00 a.m. local time on 12 October 2026, this image captures Mars during its apparent passage through the Beehive Cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer.

This image captures Mars appearing among the stars of the Beehive Cluster (Messier 44), also known as Praesepe, in the constellation Cancer.

The Beehive Cluster is an open star cluster located approximately 600 light-years from Earth. It contains hundreds of stars and has an apparent magnitude of about 3.7, making it visible to the unaided eye under dark skies as a faint, hazy patch.

In this view, the reddish glow of Mars contrasts with the blue-white stars of the cluster. Although Mars appears close to these stars, this is only a line-of-sight alignment. Mars is within our Solar System, while the stars of M44 lie hundreds of light-years beyond it.