IC 2714

 OPEN CLUSTER ASSOCIATED WITH NEBULOSITY (THE KEEL)  

(Image centered at: ra 11 h:18 m / dec - 62º 51')

April - 2024, Home Backyard in Martinez, Buenos Aires, Argentina

DATA

TYPE: Open Cluster

APPARENT DIAMETER: 15 arc minutes

APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): 8

DISTANCE: 4.000 light years or 1238 pc

IMAGE INFORMATION

INSTRUMENT: 6" ORION OPTICS UK (Ultra Grade Optics) w/Sky Watcher Coma Corrector (0.9x) working at at f4.5

CAMERA: QHY 183 MONO

MOUNT: VIXEN GDPX, OAG with Starlight Xpress Lodestar

FILTERS: BAADER LRGB Set

SKY CONDITIONS: urban skies - Bortle 8

EXPOSURES: LHARGB (60,90,45,45,45)

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

IC 2714 is an open cluster located in the southern constellation of Carina very close to the border of Centaurs. In fact is 2 degrees west from Lambda Centauri. I just picked this cluster after seeing it in a wide filed picture of the Running Chicken Nebula There are not many images of this object, most probably because its quite glorious and well known neighbors. This cluster is rich to moderately rich, intermediate-brightness. There are 494 probable member stars within the angular radius of the cluster and 215 within the central part of the cluster. Is has a dusty background which includes emission clouds probably related to RCW 60 or RCW 57. Photometric observations indicates one variable star and 11 red giant members, one of them being a spectroscopic binary.

IC 2714 was discovered by Scottish Astronomer James Dunlop in 1826 from Paramatta in Australia.