NGC 3766 - Pearl Cluster

NGC 3766, the Pearl Cluster, is an open star cluster in the constellation Centaurus. It was discovered by Abbe Lacaille on March 5, 1752 from South Africa.

NGC 3766 is a very dense open cluster and shimmers like a pearl. It is a good binocular target, but can also be glimpsed with the naked eye from dark skies. It is located near the Lambda Centauri nebula, IC 2948.

The Pearl Cluster lies at a distance of 5500 light years, has a visual magnitude of 5.3, and an apparent diameter of 12 arc minutes.