Caldwell 104
Star cluster in Tucana · 27,000 light-years
🔭 Explore Caldwell 104 in the 3D map →View Caldwell 104 images →| Type | Star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Tucana |
| Right ascension | 1h 03m 14s |
| Declination | −70° 51′ |
| Object distance | 27,000 light-years |
| Apparent magnitude | 6.6 |
| Apparent size | 8.7′ (arc-minutes) |
| Approx. true diameter | 68.3 light-years across |
| Also known as | C104 · NGC 362 |
Caldwell 104 is a star cluster (NGC 362) in Tucana — a family of stars bound by gravity. It appears as number 104 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 8.7 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 6.6, it is a rewarding binocular and small-telescope target.
Although it appears about 8.7′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 68.3 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.
Observing Caldwell 104
Caldwell 104 lies in the constellation Tucana and is best placed in the evening sky around October. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It sits far enough south to be circumpolar from mid-southern latitudes, and never rises for most of the northern hemisphere. It is a comfortable target for binoculars and small telescopes.
See Caldwell 104 in Universe Finder
Open the interactive 3D map to fly to Caldwell 104 and see it in context among the real stars around it. Launch the 3D view →
Sources
- Position, magnitude and angular size from the OpenNGC catalogue (Mattia Verga).
- Object identity cross-referenced with SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg).
- Image credits and the original observation source are linked with each photograph.
Related objects
- Pleiades — star cluster
- Hercules Cluster — star cluster
- Small Sgr Star Cloud — star cluster
- Messier 25 — star cluster
- Messier 103 — star cluster