Step by step
STEP 1
There are some lovely chances to capture the Beehive, Mars, Venus and the waxing crescent Moon from 22 May onwards. Around midnight BST on 22 May, the widest Moon–M44 separation is 28˚. Choose a lens that covers say 35–40˚; 50mm for full-frame cameras or 30mm focal length for APS-C should work well.
STEP 3
For a basic shot with a phone camera, set the focus to manual (MF) and ISO to 400–1600 and experiment with the exposure settings. The Moon and Venus should record easily and Mars shouldn’t pose too much of an issue either. The cluster stars may be trickier, depending on the capabilities of your phone’s camera under low-light conditions.
STEP 5
Careful tweaking can improve the visibility of the cluster stars. A gentle ‘S’ shape on the Curves adjustment tool and subtle changes to brightness and contrast will bring out their best. Consider using sharpening too, but be careful not to overdo this as it can create edge fringes that detract from the final result.
STEP 2
If you have a smartphone, why not give that a go as well? It’s recommended to mount the phone with an inexpensive tripod adaptor for stability. Experiment with the basic mode first. If that doesn’t work, try a night shoot mode if your camera has one. Alternatively, if it has a pro mode that allows you to adjust settings, try that.
STEP 4
From 22 May, Mars will be moving closer to the cluster. On that date it lies 6.2˚ to the west of M44, nicely framed by a 240mm lens (full-frame) or a 150mm lens (APS-C). With a twilight-bright sky, choose a low ISO and a lowish f-number, and adjust the exposure to give a well-saturated but not over-exposed image.
STEP 6
As we head into June, the separation will decrease, Mars appearing in front of the cluster on 2 June. By this date, twilight will be an issue. A longer focal length will help you zoom into the cluster and darken the sky slightly. A 500mm lens (full-frame) or 300mm lens (APS-C) will get you right into the action.