DEEP-SKY OBJECTS

In the constellation of Centaurus, the Centaur, you’ll find the nakedeye (mag. +3) star Lambda (h) Centauri located on the northwestern edge of open star cluster IC 2944 (RA 11h 38.3m, dec. -63° 22’). IC 2944 features an alignment of around a dozen stars appearing to flow away from Lambda towards the southeast - all fitting in a 0.5° field. IC 2944 also has a nebula component, the visually challenging Running Chicken Nebula.

Move 1.5° north of Lambda to discover an impressive open cluster NGC 3766 (RA 11h 36.2m, dec. -61° 36’). Even binoculars show a distinctive hazy patch standing out in a rich Milky Way region. Telescopes show a compact (10 arcminute), fan-shaped array of mostly 9th to 11th magnitude white stars, hence, the Pearl Cluster. Enjoy the complex arrangement of interlocked curved lines of stars.