Pearl Cluster (NGC 3766)
Also known as Pearl Cluster · NGC 3766
Pearl Cluster (NGC 3766) is an open star cluster in the constellation Centaurus, about 5,690 light-years from Earth.
Facts
| Type | Open star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Position (J2000) | 11h 36m 14s, −61° 36′ |
| Distance | 5,690 light-years (its light set off about 5,690 years ago) |
| Brightness | magnitude 5.3 (smaller is brighter; the faintest stars the eye sees are about 6) |
| Size on the sky | 13.9′ × 13.9′ (the full Moon is about 31′) |
| Filter | No filter (It shines in starlight of every colour, so a nebula filter would only dim it; a dark sky helps more.) |
| Studied in | 226 scientific papers (SIMBAD) |
When and how to see it
Pearl Cluster (NGC 3766) is highest in the sky at midnight in March. From India (about 20° N) it climbs to about 8° above the horizon; from 50° N it never rises. To see it you need the naked eye from a dark site.
Heights are worked out for India and for 50° N. Set your location in Settings to see them for where you are.
For tonight's best time from your own town, the darkness and the Moon, open it on the map and see its "Tonight from your location" card.
More in Centaurus
- Betta Fish Nebula
- Boomerang Nebula
- Centaurus A (NGC 5128)
- Mermaid Nebula
- Omega Centauri
- Running Chicken Nebula
- SN 1006
- Thackeray's Globules
Everything in Centaurus · All 88 constellations · All sky objects
Data: SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg; the site's weekly copy) · OpenNGC · Data sources & credits