Caldwell 96
Star cluster in Carina · 11,000 light-years
🔭 Explore Caldwell 96 in the 3D map →View Caldwell 96 images →| Type | Star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Carina |
| Right ascension | 7h 58m 07s |
| Declination | −60° 45′ |
| Object distance | 11,000 light-years |
| Apparent magnitude | 3.8 |
| Apparent size | 24.3′ (arc-minutes) |
| Approx. true diameter | 77.8 light-years across |
| Also known as | C96 · NGC 2516 |
Caldwell 96 is a star cluster (NGC 2516) in Carina — a family of stars bound by gravity. It appears as number 96 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 24.3 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 3.8, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Although it appears about 24.3′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 77.8 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.
Observing Caldwell 96
Caldwell 96 lies in the constellation Carina and is best placed in the evening sky around January. 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. At its brightness it can be found with the unaided eye under a dark sky and is easy in binoculars.
See Caldwell 96 in Universe Finder
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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