| NGC 2354 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 2354 (taken from Stellarium) | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 07h 14m 10s [1] |
| Declination | –25° 41.4′ [1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.5 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Other designations | Cr 131 |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Canis Major |
NGC 2354 is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. It lies 2 degrees southwest from NGC 2362 and northeast of Delta Canis Majoris. About 15 member stars are visible through binoculars. [2]
Canis Major is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog" in contrast to Canis Minor, the "lesser dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41.
Canis Minor is a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included as an asterism, or pattern, of two stars in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and it is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "lesser dog", in contrast to Canis Major, the "greater dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter.
Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus. It is one of the 48 ancient constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and among the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is located near several other constellations named after ancient Greek legends surrounding Perseus, including Andromeda to the west and Cassiopeia to the north. Perseus is also bordered by Aries and Taurus to the south, Auriga to the east, Camelopardalis to the north, and Triangulum to the west. Some star atlases during the early 19th century also depicted Perseus holding the disembodied head of Medusa, whose asterism was named together as Perseus et Caput Medusae; however, this never came into popular usage.
Hydra is the largest of the 88 modern constellations, measuring 1303 square degrees, and also the longest at over 100 degrees. Its southern end borders Libra and Centaurus and its northern end borders Cancer. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. Commonly represented as a water snake, it straddles the celestial equator.
Messier 41 (also known as M41 or NGC 2287) is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major, sometimes referred to as The Little Beehive Cluster. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and was perhaps known to Aristotle about 325 BC. It lies about four degrees almost exactly south of Sirius, with which it forms a roughly equilateral triangle with Nu2 Canis Majoris to the west—all three figure in the same field in binoculars.
NGC 752 is an open cluster in the constellation Andromeda. The cluster was discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783 and cataloged by her brother William Herschel in 1786, although an object that may have been NGC 752 was described by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654.
NGC 2360 is an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major. It was discovered on 26 February 1783 by Caroline Herschel, who described it as a "beautiful cluster of pretty compressed stars near 1/2 degree in diameter". Her notes were overlooked until her brother William included the cluster in his 1786 catalogue of 1000 clusters and nebulae and acknowledged her as the discoverer. The cluster lies 3.5 degrees east of Gamma Canis Majoris and less than one degree northwest of the eclipsing binary star R Canis Majoris; it has a combined apparent magnitude of 7.2. It is 13 arc minutes in diameter. By the western edge of the cluster is the unrelated star, 5.5-magnitude HD 56405.
NGC 2362, also known as Caldwell 64, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Canis Major. It was discovered by the Italian court astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna, who published his finding in 1654. William Herschel called it a "beautiful cluster", while William Henry Smyth said it "has a beautiful appearance, the bright white star being surrounded by a rich gathering of minute companions, in a slightly elongated form, and nearly vertical position". In the past it has also been listed as a nebula, but in 1930 Robert J. Trumpler found no evidence of nebulosity. The brightest member star system is Tau Canis Majoris, and therefore it is sometimes called the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster.
Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac and is located in the northern celestial hemisphere. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century AD astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for twins, and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology. Its old astronomical symbol is (♊︎).
NGC 6281 is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Scorpius. It was not included in the Messier or Caldwell catalogues of nebulous objects, but it is the brightest such cluster in the constellation to be left out of both. It is readily observed with the naked eye; it is located about 2° to the east of Mu Scorpii. James Dunlop described the cluster as a "curiously curved line of pretty bright stars, with many stars mixt". John Herschel then described the cluster as both "pretty bright" and "pretty rich".
NGC 6811 is an open cluster in the constellation of Cygnus, near the constellation of Lyra. It has an angular size half that of the full Moon and includes about 1000 stars of roughly similar magnitude. It has also been called "The Hole in the Cluster" because of its dark center.
NGC 2627 is an open cluster in the constellation Pyxis. Around 15 stars are visible when viewed through binoculars.
NGC 1528 is an open cluster in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1790. It is located in the north-eastern part of the constellation, just under 3 degrees north of μ Persei. Less than 1.5° to the southeast is the open cluster NGC 1545. The NGC 1528 is clearly visible with 10x50 binoculars. 165 stars are recognised as members of NGC 1528, the brightest of which has apparent magnitude 8.7.
NGC 1027 is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787. It is visible at the eastern part of the constellation, between two emission nebulae, the Heart and Soul Nebula. However, it is not physically associated with the two nebulae, lying in the foreground, about 3,000 light years away from the Solar System. The apparent magnitude of the cluster is 6.7 and can be seen with 10x50 binoculars around a 7th magnitude star, which is not however a member of the cluster. The brightest member of the cluster has an apparent magnitude of 9,3.
NGC 2301 is an open cluster in the constellation Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1786. It is visible through 7x50 binoculars and it is considered the best open cluster for small telescopes in the constellation. It is located 5° WNW of delta Monocerotis and 2° SSE of 18 Monocerotis. The brightest star of the cluster is an orange G8 subgiant star of 8.0 magnitude, but it is possible that it is a foreground star. The cluster contains also blue giants. The brightest main sequence star is a B9 star with magnitude 9.1.
NGC 1245 is an open cluster in the constellation Perseus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 11 December 1786. It is located 3° southwest of alpha Persei and can be spotted with 10x50 binoculars. The cluster is nearly 1 billion years old. NGC 1245 has about 200 members the brightest of which are of 12th magnitude. The cluster shows evidence of mass segregation and it is possible that it has lost its lower mass members. Lying at a distance of 3kpc, the cluster is estimated to be 27 light years across.
NGC 6939 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1798. The cluster lies 2/3° northwest from the spiral galaxy NGC 6946. The cluster lies approximately 4,000 light years away and it is over a billion years old.
NGC 6940 is an open cluster in the constellation Vulpecula. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. The cluster is nearly a billion years old and it is located 2,500 light years away. It is considered the finest open cluster in the constellation.
NGC 6910 is an open cluster in the constellation Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel on October 17, 1786. The cluster was also observed by John Herschel on September 18, 1828. It is a poor cluster with prominent central concentration and Trumpler class I2p. NGC 6910 is the core cluster of the stellar association Cygnus OB9.
NGC 1444 is a small open cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Perseus, about 2-1⁄4° to the northwest of 43 Persei. It has an angular diameter of 4 arcminutes and a brightness of 6.60 in visual magnitude. The cluster has sixty members of seventh magnitude or fainter, and is better appreciated in larger telescopes. NGC 1444 was discovered on 18 December 1788 by the German-British astronomer William Herschel. It is located at a distance of 4,200 light-years from the Sun and is about 7.1 million years old. The cluster has a physical core radius of 1.73 ± 0.42 ly and a tidal radius of 17.4 ± 4.2 ly. The most prominent member is the triple star system Σ446, with a magnitude 6.7 primary. The cluster is a member of the Camelopardalis OB1 association.
Media related to NGC 2354 at Wikimedia Commons| Stars |
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