Open cluster
Gem Cluster (NGC3293)
In Carina (Car) • Magnitude 4.7 • 5.1 arcminutes
Open the free AstroPlanner with Gem Cluster pre-selected, scored against your telescope, location, and the live cloud forecast.
Spectacular open cluster in Carina with contrasting colored stars.
Gem Cluster at a glance
| Catalog IDs | N 3293 |
| Type | Open cluster |
| Constellation | Carina (Car) |
| Right ascension | 10h 35m 49s |
| Declination | -58° 13' 28" |
| Apparent magnitude | 4.70 |
| Angular size | 5.1 × 5.1 arcmin |
| Max altitude at 45°N | Below horizon |
| Best imaging months | Feb, Mar, Apr |
How to image Gem Cluster
Gem Cluster sits in the constellation Carina at right ascension 10h 35m 49s and declination -58° 13' 28". To frame and integrate it well, AstroPlanner will compute the optimal moonless window for tonight from your location, the field-of-view fit against your sensor and focal length, the suggested total integration time given your aperture and sky Bortle class, and a cloud-aware schedule that drops it from the plan if your nearest cloud forecast spike overlaps the best altitude window.