Pearl Cluster
Star cluster in Centaurus · 5,500 light-years
🔭 Explore Pearl Cluster in the 3D map →View Pearl Cluster images →| Type | Star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Right ascension | 11h 36m 14s |
| Declination | −61° 36′ |
| Object distance | 5,500 light-years |
| Apparent magnitude | 5.3 |
| Apparent size | 6.9′ (arc-minutes) |
| Approx. true diameter | 11 light-years across |
| Also known as | C97 · NGC 3766 |
Caldwell 97, popularly known as the Pearl Cluster, is a star cluster (NGC 3766) in Centaurus — a family of stars bound by gravity. It appears as number 97 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 6.9 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 5.3, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.
Although it appears about 6.9′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 11 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.
Observing Pearl Cluster
Pearl Cluster lies in the constellation Centaurus and is best placed in the evening sky around March. 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 Pearl Cluster in Universe Finder
Open the interactive 3D map to fly to Pearl Cluster 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