M44 is also called the "Beehive" Cluster or Praesepe (Latin for "manger"). It is easily observable with the naked eye, it appears as nebulous patch in the sky. Galileo Galileo was the first to resolve this "nebulous" object and reported that it consists of 40 stars. With modern telescopes, more than 200 of the 350 stars in the area have been confirmed as cluster members by their common proper motion.

M44 is a nearby cluster of stars which is 577 light years distant according to measurements by the Hipparchos satellite. It has an age of about 730 million years. Age and proper motion of the cluster stars coincide with those of the Hyades star cluster, suggesting a common origin in an interstellar dust cloud which existed 700 to 800 million years ago.