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Deep-sky object

Pinwheel Cluster

Pinwheel Cluster is an open cluster 4 100 light-years away, in Auriga, about 9 light-years across, seen as it was 4 100 years ago.

See it live

It is on the live 3D map, where it really is.

Key facts

Type
Open cluster
Constellation
Auriga
Distance
4 100 light-years
Size
about 9.00 light-years across
Brightness from Earth
magnitude 6.0
Catalogue
M36, NGC 1960

See it from here

Bright enough to see with your own eyes from a dark place.

How the map draws it

Drawn as a soft glow in the manner of its kind at its measured distance, as wide as it measures; the pattern in it is illustrative and its true shape is not drawn — the kind of thing, not this exact one.

See also