DEEP-SKY OBJECTS

Crux might be the smallest constellation, but it holds its own in the deep-sky stakes. The top star of the cross is the brilliant triple, Gamma Crucis or Gacrux (RA 12h 31.2m, dec. -57° 07’).

Its orange primary (mag. +1.6) has two companions, an obvious white component and another at mag. +6.4 and +9.2 respectively. Arranged in a near equilateral triangle shape, with sides of approximately 2 arcminutes, they look best at low power.

NGC 4103 (RA 12h 6.7m, dec. -61° 15’) is an open star cluster. Located 2° west-southwest of bright Epsilon Crucis, this 7th magnitude cluster consists of around 70 stars ranging from 9th to around 13th magnitude, well scattered across a 5’ circle, forming straight and curved lines. The edge merges into the surrounding rich star-field and a handful of brighter stars surrounding the cluster makes it a real looker.