Deep space
Caroline's Cluster
Open cluster · C58 · NGC 2360
Open cluster in Canis Major
Photo: Sloan Digital Sky Survey · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
NGC 2360 is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Canis Major. Alternatively, it is known as Caroline's Cluster or Caldwell 58. It was discovered on 26 February 1783 by Caroline Herschel, who described it as a "beautiful cluster of pretty compressed stars near 1/2 degree in diameter". Her notes were overlooked until her brother William included the cluster in his 1786 catalogue of 1000 clusters and nebulae and acknowledged her as the discoverer. The cluster lies 3.5 degrees east of Gamma Canis Majoris and less than one degree northwest of the eclipsing binary star R Canis Majoris; it has a combined apparent magnitude of 7.2. It is 13 arc minutes in diameter. By the western edge of the cluster is the unrelated star, 5.5-magnitude HD 56405.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~3,700 light-years
Apparent mag.
+7.2
Apparent size
9.0′
Best seen with
Binoculars
Catalogue
C58 · NGC 2360
Did you know
- Listed as Caldwell 58 in the Caldwell catalogue, also known as NGC 2360.
- Found in the constellation Canis Major.
- Within reach of ordinary binoculars under dark skies.
