IC 2602 (Caldwell 102) or Theta Car Cluster
IC 2602 or Caldwell 102 (also known as theta Car Cluster) is an open cluster in the constellation Carina. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 1.9 and its angular diameter is 50 arc-minutes. IC 2602 lies at an estimated distance of 492 light years. The Equinox 2000 coordinates are 10h 43.2m, -64° 24´ which makes IC 2602 a Southern Hemisphere object that is best seen during the spring. The Caldwell Spring Star Chart shows the position of all Caldwell objects visible during that season. Visit the Caldwell Catalog Photo Gallery to see more objects from this catalog. As one of the more famous objects in the Caldwell Catalog, it is commonly known as theta Car Cluster.
Technical Details
- Object: IC 2602
- Other Names: Caldwell 102, Theta Car Cluster
- Object Type: open cluster
- Object Data: Apparent Magnitude = 1.9, Angular Size = 50 arc-minutes
- Object Position (Equinox 2000): 10h 43.2m, -64° 24´, Constellation = Carina
- Date/Time: 2011 Jun 02 at 02:09 UTC
- Location: Hotel Inca Utama, Huatajata, Lake Titicaca, BOLIVIA
- Mount: Celestron CG-5 GT
- Lens: Nikkor AF 300 f/2.8
- Camera: Canon EOS 550D (Rebel T2i)
- Field of View: 4.3° x 2.8° at 3.0 arc-sec/pixel (web version: 16.6 arc-sec/pixel)
- Exposure: 2 x 240s, f/2.8, IE800
- File Name: IC2602-01w.jpg
- Processing (Adobe Camera Raw): Vignetting Correction, Noise Reduction, White Balance, Curves
- Processing (Photoshop CS5): Average Images, Curves
- Original Image Size: 3454 × 5179 pixels (17.9 MP); 11.5" x 17.3" @ 300 dpi
- Rights: Copyright 2012 by Fred Espenak. All Rights Reserved. See: Image Licensing.