The Jewel Box Cluster Without Telescope
Taken by Helio de Carvalho Vital on June 4, 2015 @
Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Camera Used: Canon Canon PowerShot SX60 HS
Exposure Time: 10/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200
Date Taken: 2015:06:04 18:37:55
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Details:
To the unaided eye, it looks like a 4.2 mag hazy star roughly 1° southeast of beta Crucis (Mimosa), the second brightest star of the Southern Cross. However, any modest telescope will open up the Jewel Box, revealing its enchanting features. Also known as the Kappa Crucis Cluster or NGC 4755, it is one of the most-loved wonders of the southern skies as it comprises, within a 10 arcminute diameter, a beautiful group of at least 50 bright stars, including 7 supergiants with magnitudes ranging from 5.8 to 8.0 that form a brilliant "A" shaped asterism. Sometimes called "The Jewel of the South" the open cluster is relatively very young (some 16 million years only), being 6.4 thousand light years from Earth. Adding to its beauty is a 7.6 mag red supergiant (SAO 252073 located at RA: 12h 53.7m and Dec: -60°g; 21′) that strongly contrasts with its blue companions. In 1830, Sir William Herschel wrote about it: “centred is this glittering nest of stars, like a ruby encrusted in a set of diamonds and sapphires, is a red giant comparable to Betelgeuse.” These photos were taken at 21:38 UT with a Canon PowerShot SX60 HS on a tripod. In order to illustrate the location of the cluster, photos 2, 3 and 4 were taken with increasing zooms (up to 260x).
Photographer's website:
http://https://www.flickr.com/photos/98669508@N03/
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