A cluster of hundreds of galaxies whose center lies only 170 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. Like other large clusters of galaxies, it is filled with gas at temperatures of 10 million K, making it an extended, luminous source of X-rays. The brightest individual member is the 11th magnitude elliptical NGC 4696. Together with the IC 4329 Cluster and Hydra I, the Centaurus Cluster is part of the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster.
