RA 84.0258° · Dec -69.1987° · openngc
2 more points to reach Common.
NGC 2044 is a trash cluster. It sits in the constellation Dor and shines at apparent magnitude 10.59.
A stellar association: a sprawling family of hot young stars that shared a birthplace but were never gravitationally bound to each other.
Look for NGC 2044 in the constellation Dor. At apparent magnitude 10.59, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 2044 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
NGC 2044 scores 13 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the trash tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Star cluster and Loose stellar association — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.