✨ 25 brightest star clusters in the night sky
Also see list of 225 star clusters for a list of all notable star clusters.
Messier Star Clusters
These are the brightest and most interesting open and globular star clusters listed in the Messier Catalog. Messier star clusters are predominately found in the northern hemisphere.
- Star Cluster / Magnitude (m)
- Constellation
Beehive Cluster (4.0)
- Cancer
Cooling Tower (9.0)
- Cygnus
Hercules Cluster (5.9)
- Hercules
Butterfly Cluster (4.2)
- Scorpius
Ptolemy Cluster (3.3)
- Scorpius
Wild Duck Cluster (5.8)
- Scutum
Eagle Nebula (6.5)
- Serpens Claudia
Caldwell Star Clusters
These are the brightest and most interesting open and globular star clusters listed in the Messier Catalog. Messier star clusters are predominately found in the southern hemisphere.
- Star Cluster / Magnitude (m)
- Constellation
Southern Pleiades (1.9)
- Carina
Owl Cluster (6.4)
- Casseopeia
Lambda Centauri (4.5)
- Centaurus
Omega Centauri (3.6)
- Centaurus
Pearl Cluster (5.3)
- Centaurus
Satellite Cluster (4.8)
- Monoceros
S Norma Cluster (5.4)
- Norma
Double Cluster (4.3)
- Perseus
47 Tucanae (4)
- Tucana
Omicron Velorum Cluster (2.5)
- Vela
Herschel Star Clusters
These are the brightest and most interesting star clusters listed in the Herschell 400 Catalog. Herschel star clusters are generally fainter and harder to spot than Messier and Caldwell star clusters.
- Star Cluster / Magnitude (m)
- Constellation
Carolines Rose (6.7)
- Cassiopeia
Wizard Nebula (7.2)
- Cepheus
Cone Nebula (3.9)
- Monoceros