Deep space
Jewel Box
Open cluster · C94 · NGC 4755
Open cluster in Crux
Photo: ESO/Y. Beletsky · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Jewel Box is an open cluster in the constellation Crux, originally discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751–1752. This cluster was later named the Jewel Box by John Herschel when he described its telescopic appearance as "... a superb piece of fancy jewellery". It is easily visible to the naked eye as a hazy star some 1.0° southeast of the first-magnitude star Mimosa. This hazy star was given the Bayer star designation "Kappa Crucis", from which the cluster takes one of its common names. The modern designation Kappa Crucis has been assigned to one of the stars in the base of the A-shaped asterism of the cluster.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~4,900 light-years
Apparent mag.
+4.2
Apparent size
7.8′
Best seen with
Naked eye
Catalogue
C94 · NGC 4755
Did you know
- Listed as Caldwell 94 in the Caldwell catalogue, also known as NGC 4755.
- Found in the constellation Crux.
- Bright enough to see with the naked eye.
