IC 2602

The prominent open cluster IC 2602 was discovered by Abbe Lacaille in March of 1752, observing from South Africa. This cluster in Carina is often compared with the Pleiades and is commonly known as the "Southern Pleiades". It is also known as the Theta Carinae cluster.

IC 2602 has an overall magnitude of 1.9 and contains about 60 stars. Theta Carinae, a third-magnitude star, is the brightest star within the cluster. The other stars in the cluster are of fifth magnitude and fainter.

Like its northern counterpart in Taurus, the Southern Pleiades spans a sizeable area of sky, approximately 50 arc minutes; it is best viewed with large binoculars or a telescope with a wide-angle eyepiece.

The distance of IC 2602 has recently been adjusted using data from the Hipparcos star catalog. The cluster is at a distance of 479 light years (the older value was 489 light years). The cluster is thought to have an age of 50 million years.