NGC 5053

Last updated
NGC 5053
NGC5053 - SDSS DR14 (panorama).jpg
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class XI
Constellation Coma Berenices
Right ascension 13h 16m 27.09s [1]
Declination +17° 42′ 00.9″ [1]
Distance 17.4  kpc (57  kly) [2]
Apparent magnitude (V)9.96 [3]
Apparent dimensions (V)10.5'
Physical characteristics
Tidal radius 89.13 pc (290.7 ly) [2]
Metallicity  = −2.30 [3] dex
Estimated age12.3±0.7  Gyr [4]
Other designations Cr 267, C 1313+179, GCl 23
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

NGC 5053 is the New General Catalogue designation for a globular cluster in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on March 14, 1784 and cataloged as VI-7. In his abbreviated notation, he described it as, "an extremely faint cluster of extremely small stars with resolvable nebula 8 or 10′ diameter, verified by a power of 240, beyond doubt". [5] Danish-Irish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer reported in 1888 that the cluster appeared, "very faint, pretty large, irregular round shape, growing very gradually brighter at the middle". [6]

This is a metal-poor cluster, meaning the stars have a low abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium—what astronomers term metallicity. As recently as 1995, it was considered the most metal-poor globular cluster in the Milky Way. [7] The chemical abundances of the stars in NGC 5053 are more similar to those in the dwarf galaxy Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy than to the Milky Way halo. Along with the kinematics of the globular cluster, this suggests that NGC 5053 may have been stripped from the dwarf galaxy. [8]

There are ten known RR Lyrae variable stars in this cluster with masses ranging from 68% to 78% of the solar mass. Nine of these variables were reported by German astronomer Walter Baade in 1928, and the tenth by American astronomer Helen Sawyer in 1946. [9] The cluster hosts 27 known blue stragglers, [4] of which five are short period SX Phoenicis variable stars. [9]

NGC 5053 is a relatively low mass cluster with a low core concentration factor of 1.32. It sports a stream of tidal debris to the west with a projected length of 1.7 kpc. This stream may have been created through shock-induced processes. [10] The cluster is located less than 1° from Messier 53 and the two have nearly the same distance modulus, which corresponds to a spatial separation of around 2 kpc. There is a tidal bridge joining M53 to NGC 5053, suggesting the pair may have interacted in the past. [2] The cluster is following an orbit through the Milky Way that has a perigalacticon distance of 9 kpc and an orbital eccentricity of 0.84. [10] At present, it is 18.4 kpc from the Galactic Center, with a radial velocity of 42.0±1.4 km/s. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 107</span> Globular cluster in Ophiuchus

Messier 107 or M107, also known as NGC 6171 or the Crucifix Cluster, is a very loose globular cluster in a very mildly southern part of the sky close to the equator in Ophiuchus, and is the last such object in the Messier Catalogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy</span> Satellite galaxy of the Milky Way

The Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy (Sgr dSph), also known as the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, is an elliptical loop-shaped satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It contains four globular clusters in its main body, with the brightest of them—NGC 6715 (M54)—being known well before the discovery of the galaxy itself in 1994. Sgr dSph is roughly 10,000 light-years in diameter, and is currently about 70,000 light-years from Earth, travelling in a polar orbit at a distance of about 50,000 light-years from the core of the Milky Way. In its looping, spiraling path, it has passed through the plane of the Milky Way several times in the past. In 2018 the Gaia project of the European Space Agency showed that Sgr dSph had caused perturbations in a set of stars near the Milky Way's core, causing unexpected rippling movements of the stars triggered when it moved through the Milky Way between 300 and 900 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 3</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici

Messier 3 is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 2</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius

Messier 2 or M2 is a globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius, five degrees north of the star Beta Aquarii. It was discovered by Jean-Dominique Maraldi in 1746, and is one of the largest known globular clusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 53</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Coma Berenices

Messier 53 is a globular cluster in the Coma Berenices constellation. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1775. M53 is one of the more outlying globular clusters, being about 60,000 light-years (18.4 kpc) light-years away from the Galactic Center, and almost the same distance from the Solar System. The cluster has a core radius (rc) of 2.18 pc, a half-light radius (rh) of 5.84 pc, and a tidal radius (rtr) of 239.9 pc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 56</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Lyra

Messier 56 is a globular cluster in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779. It is angularly found about midway between Albireo and Sulafat. In a good night sky it is tricky to find with large (50–80 mm) binoculars, appearing as a slightly fuzzy star. The cluster can be resolved using a telescope with an aperture of 8 in (20 cm) or larger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 68</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Hydra

Messier 68 is a globular cluster found in the east south-east of Hydra, away from its precisely equatorial part. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. William Herschel described it as "a beautiful cluster of stars, extremely rich, and so compressed that most of the stars are blended together". His son John noted that it was "all clearly resolved into stars of 12th magnitude, very loose and ragged at the borders".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 92</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Hercules

Messier 92 is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Hercules.

The Canis Major Overdensity or Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is a disputed dwarf irregular galaxy in the Local Group, located in the same part of the sky as the constellation Canis Major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5466</span> Class XII globular cluster in the constellation Boötes

NGC 5466 is a class XII globular cluster in the constellation Boötes. Located 51,800 light years from Earth and 52,800 light years from the Galactic Center, it was discovered by William Herschel on May 17, 1784, as H VI.9. This globular cluster is unusual insofar as it contains a certain blue horizontal branch of stars, as well as being unusually metal poor like ordinary globular clusters. It is thought to be the source of a stellar stream discovered in 2006, called the 45 Degree Tidal Stream. This star stream is an approximately 1.4° wide star lane extending from Boötes to Ursa Major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5986</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Lupus

NGC 5986 is a globular cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Lupus, located at a distance of approximately 34 kilolight-years from the Sun. It was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop on May 10, 1826. John L. E. Dreyer described it as, "a remarkable object, a globular cluster, very bright, large, round, very gradually brighter middle, stars of 13th to 15th magnitude". Its prograde–retrograde orbit through the Milky Way galaxy is considered irregular and highly eccentric. It has a mean heliocentric radial velocity of +100 km/s. The galacto-centric distance is 17 kly (5.2 kpc), which puts it in the galaxy's inner halo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terzan 7</span>

Terzan 7 is a sparse and young globular cluster that is believed to have originated in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy and is physically associated with it. It is relatively metal rich with [Fe/H] = -0.6 and an estimated age of 7.5 Gyr. Terzan 7 has low levels of nickel which supports its membership in the Sag DEG system since it has a similar chemical signature. It has a rich population of blue stragglers that are strongly concentrated toward the center of Terzan 7. It has an average luminosity distribution of Mv = -5.05. It has a half-light radius (Rh) of 6.5pc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6539</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Serpens

NGC 6539, or GCL 85, is a globular cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens. It was discovered by Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen in 1856. This cluster is visible with a small amateur telescope, having an apparent visual magnitude of 9.6 and an angular size of 6.9″. It is located at a distance of 26.63 kly (8.165 kpc) from the Sun, and 10 kly (3.1 kpc) from the Galactic Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5286</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Centaurus

NGC 5286 is a globular cluster of stars located some 35,900 light years away in the constellation Centaurus. At this distance, the light from the cluster has undergone reddening from interstellar gas and dust equal to E(B – V) = 0.24 magnitude in the UBV photometric system. The cluster lies 4 arc-minutes north of the naked-eye star M Centauri. It was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, active in Australia, and listed in his 1827 catalog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6401</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus

NGC 6401 is a globular cluster in the equatorial constellation of Ophiuchus. This star cluster was discovered by German-English astronomer William Herschel in 1784, but he mistakenly classified it as a bright nebula. Later, his son John Herschel came to the same conclusion because the technology of the day did not allow the individual stars to be visually resolved. It is visible in a small telescope, with an apparent visual magnitude of 7.4 and an angular diameter of 4.8′.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6388</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Scorpius

NGC 6388 is a globular cluster of stars located in the southern constellation of Scorpius. The cluster was discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop on May 13, 1826 using a 20 cm (9 in) reflector telescope. It was later determined to be a globular cluster by English astronomer John Herschel, who was able to resolve it into individual stars. NGC 6388 is located at a distance of approximately 35,600 light-years (10.90 kpc) from the Sun. Due to its apparent visual magnitude of +6.8, binoculars or a small telescope are required to view it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 121</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Tucana

NGC 121 is a globular cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Tucana. It is the oldest globular cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), which is a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. This cluster was first discovered by English astronomer John Herschel on September 20, 1835. The compiler of the New General Catalogue, Danish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer, described this object as "pretty bright, pretty small, little extended, very gradually brighter middle". The cluster is located at a distance of around 200,000 light-years (60 kpc) from the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4147</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4147 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by English astronomer William Herschel on March 14, 1784, who described it as "very bright, pretty large, gradually brighter in the middle". With an apparent visual magnitude of 10.7, it is located around 60,000 light years away from the Sun at a relatively high galactic latitude of 77.2°.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6441</span> Globular cluster in Scorpius

NGC 6441, sometimes also known as the Silver Nugget Cluster, is a globular cluster in the southern constellation of Scorpius. It was discovered by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop on May 13, 1826, who described it as "a small, well-defined rather bright nebula, about 20″ in diameter". The cluster is located 5 arc minutes east-northeast of the star G Scorpii, and is some 43,000 light-years from the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6426</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus

NGC 6426 is a globular cluster of stars located in the equatorial constellation of Ophiuchus. It was discovered by the German-English astronomer William Herschel on 3 June 1786. This cluster is at a distance of 67,000 light years from the Sun. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 10.9 and an angular diameter of 4.2′, making it difficult to observe with a small telescope.

References

  1. 1 2 Goldsbury, Ryan; et al. (December 2010), "The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. X. New Determinations of Centers for 65 Clusters", The Astronomical Journal, 140 (6): 1830–1837, arXiv: 1008.2755 , Bibcode:2010AJ....140.1830G, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1830, S2CID   119183070.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Boberg, Owen M.; et al. (May 2015), "Chemical Abundances in NGC 5053: A Very Metal-poor and Dynamically Complex Globular Cluster", The Astrophysical Journal, 804 (2): 12, arXiv: 1504.01791 , Bibcode:2015ApJ...804..109B, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/804/2/109, S2CID   117834526, 109.
  3. 1 2 Dalessandro, Emanuele; et al. (November 2012), "Ultraviolet Properties of Galactic Globular Clusters with Galex. II. Integrated Colors", The Astronomical Journal, 144 (5): 13, arXiv: 1208.5698 , Bibcode:2012AJ....144..126D, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/144/5/126, S2CID   56419886, 126.
  4. 1 2 Arellano Ferro, A.; et al. (February 2010), "CCD time-series photometry of the globular cluster NGC 5053: RR Lyrae, Blue Stragglers and SX Phoenicis stars revisited", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 402 (1): 226–244, arXiv: 0910.2068 , Bibcode:2010MNRAS.402..226A, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15931.x , S2CID   119301509.
  5. ↑ Herschel, William (1786), "Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 76: 457–499, Bibcode:1786RSPT...76..457H, doi: 10.1098/rstl.1786.0027 See p. 495.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  6. ↑ Dreyer, John L. E. (1971), "New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars", Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society: 141, retrieved 2016-08-08.
  7. ↑ Sarajedini, Ata; Milone, Alejandra A. E. (January 1995), "BVI CCD photometry of NGC 5053: The most metal-poor galactic globular cluster", The Astronomical Journal, 109 (1669): 269–279, Bibcode:1995AJ....109..269S, doi: 10.1086/117271 .
  8. ↑ Sbordone, L.; et al. (July 2015), "Chemical abundances of giant stars in NGC 5053 and NGC 5634, two globular clusters associated with the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy?", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 579: 12, arXiv: 1505.01487 , Bibcode:2015A&A...579A.104S, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201425509, S2CID   55408091, A104.
  9. 1 2 Nemec, James M. (April 2004), "Physical Characteristics of the RR Lyrae Stars in the Very Metal Poor Globular Cluster NGC 5053", The Astronomical Journal, 127 (4): 2185–2209, Bibcode:2004AJ....127.2185N, doi: 10.1086/382903 .
  10. 1 2 Lauchner, Adam; et al. (November 2006), "Discovery of a Tidal Stream Extending from NGC 5053", The Astrophysical Journal, 651 (1): L33–L36, Bibcode:2006ApJ...651L..33L, doi: 10.1086/509254 .


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.