Southern Pleiades
IC 2602
Properties
Position & Identifiers
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Eyepiece View
Southern Pleiades · 48.0′ diameter · N up, E left
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About Southern Pleiades
Description
The Southern Pleiades (IC 2602) is one of the brightest open clusters in the sky, located about 479 light-years away in Carina. At magnitude 1.9 it is easily visible to the naked eye, spanning over a degree and dominated by the blue-white star Theta Carinae.
Observing Tips
Best in binoculars — too large for most telescope fields. The cluster is immediately obvious to the naked eye as a bright knot in the Milky Way. About 60 stars are visible in binoculars around the brilliant Theta Carinae. Best from southern latitudes in late winter and spring.
History
Known since antiquity to southern hemisphere observers. Nicolas Louis de Lacaille cataloged it in 1751. It earned its nickname from its visual similarity to the Pleiades (M45), though it is younger and more spread out.
Fun Facts
At only 30 million years old, the Southern Pleiades is even younger than its northern namesake. Theta Carinae, the cluster's brightest star, is a spectroscopic binary with a combined luminosity of about 22,000 Suns.