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Messier 21 or M21, also designated NGC 6531 or Webb's Cross, is an open cluster of stars located to the north-east of Sagittarius in the night sky, close to the Messier objects M20 to M25. It was discovered and catalogued by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. This cluster is relatively young and tightly packed. A few blue giant stars have been identified in the cluster, but Messier 21 is composed mainly of small dim stars. With a magnitude of 6.5, M21 is not visible to the naked eye; however, with the smallest binoculars it can be easily spotted on a dark night. The cluster is positioned near the Trifid nebula, but is not associated with that nebulosity. It forms part of the Sagittarius OB1 association.
Messier 26, also known as NGC 6694, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scutum. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. This 8th magnitude cluster is a challenge to find in ideal skies with typical binoculars, where it can be, with any modern minimum 3-inch (76 mm) aperture device. It is south-southwest of the open cluster Messier 11 and is 14′ across. About 25 stars are visible in a telescope with a 150–200 mm (6–8 in) aperture.
Messier 36 or M36, also known as NGC 1960 or the Pinwheel Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the somewhat northern Auriga constellation. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654, who described it as a nebulous patch. The cluster was independently re-discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749, then Charles Messier observed it in 1764 and added it to his catalogue. It is about 1,330 pc away from Earth. The cluster is very similar to the Pleiades cluster (M45), and if as far away it would be of similar apparent magnitude.
Messier 39 or M39, also known as NGC 7092, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Cygnus, positioned two degrees to the south of the star Pi Cygni and around 9° east-northeast of Deneb. The cluster was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749, then Charles Messier added it to his catalogue in 1764. When observed in a small telescope at low power the cluster shows around two dozen members but is best observed with binoculars. It has a total integrated magnitude (brightness) of 5.5 and spans an angular diameter of 29 arcminutes – about the size of the full Moon. It is centered about 1,010 light-years away.
Messier 48 or M48, also known as NGC 2548, is an open cluster of stars in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It sits near Hydra's westernmost limit with Monoceros, about 18° 34′ to the east and slightly south of Hydra's brightest star, Alphard. This grouping was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771, but there is no cluster precisely where Messier indicated; he made an error, as he did with M47. The value that he gave for the right ascension matches, however, his declination is off by five degrees. Credit for discovery is sometimes given instead to Caroline Herschel in 1783. Her nephew John Herschel described it as, "a superb cluster which fills the whole field; stars of 9th and 10th to the 13th magnitude – and none below, but the whole ground of the sky on which it stands is singularly dotted over with infinitely minute points".
Messier 93 or M93, also known as NGC 2447 or the Critter Cluster, is an open cluster in the modestly southern constellation Puppis, the imagined poop deck of the legendary Argo.
NGC 381 is an open cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia, located at a distance of approximately 3,120 light-years from the Sun. Credit for the discovery of this cluster was given to Caroline Herschel by her brother William in 1787, although she may never have actually seen it.
NGC 5749 is an open cluster of stars positioned near the southwest border of the southern constellation of Lupus. It is located at a distance of 3,548 light years from the Sun. This is a poorly populated cluster that shows a low level of concentration; the Trumpler class is IV1p. There are 112 stars brighter than magnitude 14.4 within an angular radius of ~15′ of the cluster center, but only about 30% of these are members. NGC 5749 is 27 million years old with a tidal radius of 11.7 light years and a mass of ~21 M☉. Polarization measurements suggest there is a dust cloud within the cluster.
NGC 6067 is an open cluster in the constellation Norma. It is located to the north of Kappa Normae, with an angular diameter of 12′. Visible to the naked eye in dark skies, it is best observed with binoculars or a small telescope, and a 12-inch aperture telescope will reveal about 250 stars. Discovered by James Dunlop in 1826, it has been described by John Herschel as "a most superbly rich and large cluster" and by Stephen James O'Meara as "one of the sky's most stunning open star clusters". Its brightest stars have an apparent magnitude of around 8. There are 84 member stars with an apparent magnitude brighter than 12.
NGC 2439 is a sparse open cluster of stars in the constellation Puppis. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 6.9, an angular size of 10 arcminutes, and is visible using a small telescope. This is a young cluster with age estimates in the range of 20–300 million years. It has a tidal radius of approximately 82 light years. No chemically peculiar stars have been found.
NGC 129 is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1788. It is located almost exactly halfway between the bright stars Caph and γ Cassiopeiae. It is large but not dense and can be observed by binoculars, through which the most obvious component is a small triangle of stars of magnitude 8 and 9, located in the center of the cluster.
NGC 7209 is an open cluster in the constellation Lacerta. It was discovered by William Herschel on 19 October 1787. The cluster lies 3,810 light years away from Earth. It has been suggested that there is another cluster at a distance of 2,100 light years projected in front of a cluster lying at 3,800 light years away, based on the reddening of the cluster, however, further photometric studies of the cluster did not support that claim.
NGC 2539 is an open cluster in the constellation Puppis, located at the north edge of the constellation. It was discovered by William Herschel on January 31, 1785. It is a moderately rich cluster and with little central concentration, with Trumpler class II1m.
NGC 5460 is an open cluster in the constellation Centaurus. It is a bright but loose cluster of intermediate age located approximately 2,300 light years away from Earth. It is located nearly 2 degrees east-southeast of Zeta Centauri.
NGC 5316 is an open cluster in the constellation Centaurus. It was discovered by James Dunlop in 1826. Located approximately 4,000 light years away from Earth, it is located in the Carina-Sagittarius arm.
NGC 4349 is an open cluster in the constellation Crux. It was discovered by James Dunlop in 1826. It is located approximately 7,000 light years away from Earth.
NGC 4103 is an open cluster in the constellation Crux. It was discovered by James Dunlop in 1826. It is located approximately 5,000 light years away from Earth, in the Carina-Sagittarius arm.
NGC 2527 is an open cluster in the constellation Puppis. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 9, 1784. The cluster was also observed by John Herschel on January 7, 1831. He also observed it on February 5, 1837, identifying it as a different object, which was catalogued as NGC 2520. It is a poor cluster and with no central concentration, with Trumpler class III1p.
NGC 7160 is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It was discovered by William Herschel on November 9, 1789. The cluster was also observed by John Herschel on October 7, 1829. It is a poor cluster and with little central concentration, with Trumpler class II3p. It is part of the stellar association Cepheus OB2, located one degree south-southwest of VV Cephei.
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.
References
- 1 2 3 "NGC 5662". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2015-06-19.
- 1 2 WEBDA: NGC 5662
- 1 2 Piskunov, A. E.; Schilbach, E.; Kharchenko, N. V.; Röser, S.; Scholz, R.-D. (6 November 2007). "Tidal radii and masses of open clusters". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 477 (1): 165–172. Bibcode:2008A&A...477..165P. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20078525 .
- ↑ Jones, K. G. (March 1969). "The search for the nebulae - VI". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 79: 213–222. Bibcode:1969JBAA...79..213J.
- 1 2 Kronberg, Christine; Frommert, Hartmut. "NGC 5662". messier.seds.org.
- ↑ Anderson, Richard I.; Eyer, Laurent; Mowlavi, Nami (July 2013). "Cepheids in open clusters: an 8D all-sky census". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 434 (3): 2238–2261. arXiv: 1212.5119 . Bibcode:2013MNRAS.434.2238A. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stt1160 .
