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Hi Michael,
Congratulations on "The Turtle" -- the human mind is wonderful at seeing order in almost random dots isn't it? Back when I was young, the outline of the Pleiades always reminded me of an old Chevy -- like the one in the attached pic. (That's not me in the pic; either of them)
The cluster you describe is almost certainly the Pi (as oppsed to "n" or "Eta") Puppis cluster also known as Collinder 135 -- a wide-spread, relatively nearby open cluster. Look carefully and I'm sure you'll find other fainter stars around them most of which are probably part of the cluster. Very nice binocular object with the leading star a bright K3 Ib orange supergiant.
Best,
Les D
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