NGC 6752

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NGC 6752
NGC 6752 Hubble WikiSky.jpg
NGC 6752 by Hubble Space Telescope; 3.5 view
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class VI [1]
Constellation Pavo
Right ascension 19h 10m 52.11s [2]
Declination –59° 59 04.4 [2]
Distance 13.0  kly (4.0  kpc) [3]
Apparent magnitude (V)5.4 [4]
Apparent dimensions (V)20.4
Physical characteristics
Mass1.4×105 [5]   M
VHB13.7
Metallicity  = –1.24 [6] dex
Estimated age11.78  Gyr [6]
Other designations Caldwell 93
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

NGC 6752 (also known as Caldwell 93 and nicknamed the Great Peacock Globular [7] ) is a globular cluster in the constellation Pavo. [8] It is the fourth-brightest globular cluster in the sky, after Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae and Messier 22, respectively. It is best seen from June to October in the Southern Hemisphere. [9]

Contents

NGC 6752 was first identified by one James Dunlop of Parramatta on 30 June 1826, who described it as an irregular bright nebula which could be resolved into a cluster of many stars, highly compressed at the centre. This corresponds with a core region densely populated with stars around 1.3 light-years in diameter, which indicates it has undergone core collapse. The cluster lies around 13,000 light-years distant and is one of the closer globular clusters to Earth. It also lies 17,000 light-years away from the galactic centre. [8] It belongs to Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class VI, namely of intermediate density, [1] and has been calculated to be 11.78  billion years old. [6] There are many binary stars in the system, as well as blue stragglers, which are likely to have been formed by collisions and mergers of smaller stars.

The apparent magnitude of the cluster is 5.4, so it can be seen with the unaided eye. [8] However this depends on good viewing conditions with a minimum of light pollution. [9] With binoculars it can be seen to cover an area three quarters the size of the full moon. It lies 1.5 degrees east of 5th-magnitude Omega Pavonis. [8] The nearest bright star is Peacock, which lies 3.25 degrees north and 9.25 degrees east. [9]

Six X-ray sources have been identified in the cluster's core by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. [9]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 12</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 70</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4833</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Musca

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3201</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Vela

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6723</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius

NGC 6723, also known as the Chandelier Cluster, is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. Its magnitude is given as between 6 and 6.8, and its diameter is between 7 and 11 arcminutes. It is a class VII cluster with stars of magnitude 14 and dimmer. It is near the border of Sagittarius and Corona Australis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6934</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Delphinus

NGC 6934 is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Delphinus, about 52 kilolight-years distant from the Sun. It was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on 24 September 1785. The cluster is following a highly eccentric orbit through the Milky Way along an orbital plane that is inclined by 73° to the galactic plane. It may share a common dynamic origin with NGC 5466. As of 2018, it has been poorly studied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 362</span> Globular cluster located in the constellation Tucana

NGC 362 is a globular cluster located in the constellation Tucana in the Southern Hemisphere, slightly north of the Small Magellanic Cloud, to which it is completely unrelated. It was discovered on August 1, 1826, by James Dunlop. It is visible to the naked eye in dark skies, and is an impressive sight in a telescope, although it is somewhat overshadowed by its larger and brighter neighbour 47 Tucanae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1261</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Horologium

NGC 1261 is a globular cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Horologium, first discovered by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop in 1826. The cluster is located at a distance of 53 kilolight-years from the Sun, and 59 kilolight-years from the Galactic Center. It is about 10.24 billion years old with 341,000 times the mass of the Sun. The cluster does not display the normal indications of core collapse, but evidence suggests it may have instead passed through a post core-collapse bounce state within the past two billion years. The central luminosity density is 2.22 L·pc−3, which is low for a globular cluster. Despite this, it has a Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class of II, indicating a dense central concentration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6362</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Ara

NGC 6362 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ara, lying close to Apus in the southern sky. A telescope with a 150mm primary mirror is required to resolve the stars within this irregularly shaped cluster. British astronomer James Dunlop first observed the cluster on 30 June 1826. It is located about 25,000 light-years from Earth and contains a number of blue stragglers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6352</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Ara

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6496</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Scorpius

NGC 6496 is a globular cluster which is in the direction of the Milky Way's galactic bulge based on observations collected with the WFPC2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 6496 was originally believed to be a member of the disc system of the Galactic Center, but scientists questioned this classification. It was instead suggested that NGC 6496, together with two other clusters, NGC 6624 and NGC 6637, could be halo clusters with strongly inclined orbits. NGC 6496 lies in the Southern sky at RA=17:59:03.68 and Dec=-44:15:57.4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6101</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Apus

NGC 6101 is a globular cluster in the constellation Apus, which was discovered by James Dunlop and catalogued by him as Δ68. It is located at a distance of about 47,600 light-years from the Sun and about 36,500 light-years from the Galactic Center of the Milky Way. It requires a telescope of at least 20 cm (7.9 in) aperture to resolve individual stars. Research revealed this cluster to contain an unexpected large number of black holes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6541</span> Globular cluster in the constellation Corona Australis

NGC 6541 is a globular cluster in the southern constellation of Corona Australis. It is estimated to be around 14 billion years old.

<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.

References

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  6. 1 2 3 Forbes, Duncan A.; Bridges, Terry (May 2010), "Accreted versus in situ Milky Way globular clusters", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 404 (3): 1203–1214, arXiv: 1001.4289 , Bibcode:2010MNRAS.404.1203F, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16373.x , S2CID   51825384.
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  8. 1 2 3 4 O'Meara, Stephen James (2013). Deep-Sky Companions: Southern Gems. Cambridge University Press. pp. 410–12. Bibcode:2013dcsg.book.....O. ISBN   978-1-107-01501-2.
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  10. "Hubble fortuitously discovers a new galaxy in the cosmic neighbourhood". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
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