NGC 2360 (also Caroline's Cluster, Caldwell 58, Collinder 134 and Melotte 64) is a magnitude +7.2 open cluster located 6152 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major. The cluster is located in the Perseus Arm, 3.5° east of the star gamma Canis Majoris.
The cluster is compact, with the main stars of the tenth magnitude. Through a pair of 10x50 binoculars it is visible as a distinct small white spot, but resolving the stars is impossible; a 80mm (3.1-inch) telescope shows it as a group of faint stars, elongated in an east-west direction and with a white star of magnitude +8.9 on the eastern edge. A 200mm aperture telescope and magnification of about 100x fully resolves most of the 75 stars. The cluster is of intermediate age, similar to the Hyades and the Pleiades, probably forming about 560 million years ago, although there are age estimates of up to 2.2 billion years old due to it containing fifteen evolved red giants. Its brightest star has a magnitude of +10.4, while the faintest, most of which are of spectral type G and K, are of magnitude +17. The best time to observe is in the evening sky between December and April.
The cluster was discovered by German-British astronomer Caroline Lucretia Herschel using a 4.2 inch reflector at Datchet, Berkshire, on the 26th February 1783.
Right Ascension 07h 17m 43.0s, Declination Dec -5° 38' 29"
