You Won’t Believe What’s Inside C76!#universe|#milkyway|#space|#cosmos|#star|#shorts

**Caldwell 76 (NGC 6231): The Northern Jewel Box**

### Overview
Caldwell 76, also known as NGC 6231 or the **Northern Jewel Box**, is a bright open star cluster located in the constellation **Scorpius**. It lies approximately **5,600 light-years** from Earth and shines with an **apparent magnitude of 2.6**, making it visible to the naked eye under dark skies as a fuzzy patch. With binoculars or a small telescope, its individual stars become resolvable, revealing a dense grouping of young, hot stars .

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### Key Features
1. **Discovery and History**
- Discovered by Italian astronomer **Giovanni Battista Hodierna** before 1654, it was later cataloged by Edmond Halley (1678) and others .
- Part of the **Scorpius OB1 association**, a region of massive star formation in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way .

2. **Stellar Composition**
- Contains around **120 stars**, including **blue-white B-type supergiants** and the luminous O-type star **Zeta1 Scorpii** (magnitude +4.7), one of the galaxy’s most radiant stars .
- Estimated age: **2–7 million years**, making it a young cluster .
- Notable for a high binary fraction among B-type stars (**52%**), though lower than O-type stars .

3. **Observation Details**
- **Apparent Size**: 15 arcminutes (half the size of the full Moon) .
- **Best Viewed**: From the Southern Hemisphere in winter or low northern latitudes in summer .
- Coordinates: **RA 16h 54m, Dec -41° 48′** .

4. **Associated Structures**
- Forms the "head" of the **False Comet**, an asterism that includes clusters **Collinder 316** and **Trumpler 24**, along with the **Prawn Nebula (IC 4628)** as the "tail" .
- Nicknamed the **Baby Scorpion Cluster** due to its proximity to Zeta Scorpii .

5. **Hubble’s Contributions**
- Hubble’s **Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2** (retired in 2009) conducted the first high-resolution far-ultraviolet survey of the cluster, aiding in detecting **white dwarfs** and studying stellar evolution .

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### Observing Tips
- **Visibility**: Dark, clear skies are essential for naked-eye observation. Binoculars resolve individual stars, while telescopes reveal intricate details, including a central double star .
- **Comparison**: Resembles the Pleiades (M45) but would appear **50x brighter** if placed at the same distance .

For more details, explore Hubble’s imagery or consult star charts for Scorpius during summer months. 🌟
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