Jewel Box (star cluster)

This article is about article is about the star cluster. For other uses, see Jewel box.
Jewel Box
NGC 4755 taken by the VLT
Credit: ESO
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension12h 53m 42s[1]
Declination−60° 22.0′[1]
Distance7.06 kly[1] (2.16 kpc[1])
Physical characteristics
Mass– M☉
Radius–
Estimated age16 Myr[2]
–
Other designationsHerschel's Jewel Box,[1] κ Crucis cluster,[1] NGC 4755,[1] Cr 264, Caldwell 94[3]
Associations
ConstellationCrux
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters

The Jewel Box (also known as the Kappa Crucis cluster, NGC 4755, or Caldwell 94) is an open cluster in the constellation Crux, originally discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751–1752.[4] This cluster was later named the Jewel Box by John Herschel when he described its telescopic appearance as "... a superb piece of fancy jewellery". It is easily visible to the naked eye as a hazy star some 1.0° southeast of the first-magnitude star Mimosa (Beta Crucis). This hazy star was given the Bayer star designation "Kappa Crucis", from which the cluster takes one of its common names. The modern designation Kappa Crucis has been assigned to one of the stars in the base of the A-shaped asterism of the cluster.

This cluster is one of the youngest known, with an estimated age of 14 million years. It has a total integrated magnitude 4.2, is located 2.16 kpc, or 7,060 light years from Earth,[1] and contains just over 100 stars.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "NGC 4755". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference kaltcheva was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Results for NGC 4755". Deep sky observer companion database (docdb.net). Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  4. ^ Jones, K.G. (March 1969). "The search for the nebulae - VI". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 79: 213–222. Bibcode:1969JBAA...79..213J.