C102
Open Cluster in Carina
About
The Southern Pleiades, IC 2602 in Carina, about 486 light-years away and roughly 50′ across. At magnitude 1.9 it ranks third among open clusters for brightness, after the Hyades and Pleiades, and its brightest member, Theta Carinae, is near magnitude 2.7.
Imaging tips
- It needs a wide field: 500 to 840 mm on APS-C, or a 200 mm lens covering about 6° by 4°.
- Stars only, so broadband suits it; one imager added a 7 nm Hα filter. Another gathered 4 h 54 min with 6-minute subs through a 590 mm refractor.
- One LRGB set was taken from a Bortle 8 backyard; another imager shot 70 minutes of 2-minute subs at 200 mm under Bortle 3 skies.
- Best in February and March, but it never rises from 50°N or 35°N: a southern-hemisphere target.
Facts
- Size
- 48′
- Magnitude
- 1.9
- Coordinates
- RA 10h 42.5m, Dec −64° 26′
- Framing, APS-C
- 500–840 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 770–1290 mm
- Best months
- Feb, Mar
- Peak altitude
- never rises from 50°N, never rises from 35°N