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IC 2602 (and Caldwell 102) (also known as the Theta Carinae Cluster or Southern Pleiades) is an open cluster in the constellation Carina.
The cluster is at a distance of about 479 light-years away from Earth and can be seen with the naked eye.
The Southern Pleiades (IC 2602) has an overall apparent magnitude of 1.9, which is 70% fainter than the Taurean Pleiades, and contains about 60 stars.
Theta Carinae, the brightest star within the open cluster, is a third-magnitude star with an apparent magnitude of +2.74.
All the other stars within the cluster are of the fifth magnitude and fainter.
Like its northern counterpart in Taurus, the Southern Pleiades spans a sizeable area of sky, approximately 50 arcminutes, so it is best viewed with large binoculars or telescope with a wide-angle eyepiece. (WIKI)
Imaged with the Boren-Simon 8" F2.8 POWERNEWT Astrograph.
SBIG ST8300M with FW5 filterwheel with BAADER HaLRGB filters
LRGB with 8 min LUM and 6 min for each color (BIN 2x2)
Total of 24 minutes.
Imaged from Tivoli farm in Namibia June 2011