NGC 6863 | |
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Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Right ascension | 20h 05m 07.3s [1] |
Declination | −03° 33′ 16″ [1] |
Physical characteristics | |
Associations | |
Constellation | Aquila |
NGC 6863 is an asterism in the constellation Aquila. The celestial object was found on July 25, 1827, by the British astronomer John Herschel.
In 2009 an astronomical study by Bidin et al. concluded that whereas the small group of stars in Aquila had been classified as an OCR (Open Cluster Remnant i.e. the dispersed remains of a group of physically related stars) they were in fact an asterism, a group of unrelated stellar bodies. [2]
Messier 13 or M13, also designated NGC 6205 and sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules or the Hercules Globular Cluster, is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules.
The Jewel Box is an open cluster in the constellation Crux, originally discovered by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751–1752. This cluster was later named the Jewel Box by John Herschel when he described its telescopic appearance as "...a superb piece of fancy jewellery". It is easily visible to the naked eye as a hazy star some 1.0° southeast of the first-magnitude star Mimosa. This hazy star was given the Bayer star designation "Kappa Crucis", from which the cluster takes one of its common names. The modern designation Kappa Crucis has been assigned to one of the stars in the base of the A-shaped asterism of the cluster
The Butterfly Cluster is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scorpius. Its name derives from the vague resemblance of its shape to a butterfly. The Trumpler classification of II 3 r encodes it is rich in stars, ranks II out of IV for disparateness and greatly mixes bright with faint components. It is 3.5° to the northwest of Messier 7, both north of the tail of Scorpius.
NGC 225 is an open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is located roughly 2,200 light-years from Earth. It is about 100 to 150 million years old.
NGC 3532, also commonly known as the Pincushion Cluster, Football Cluster, the Black Arrow Cluster and the Wishing Well Cluster, is an open cluster some 405 parsecs from Earth in the constellation Carina. Its population of approximately 150 stars of 7th magnitude or fainter includes seven red giants and seven white dwarfs. On 20 May 1990 it became the first target ever observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. A line from Beta Crucis through Delta Crucis passes somewhat to the north of NGC 3532. The cluster lies between the constellation Crux and the larger but fainter "False Cross" asterism. The 4th-magnitude Cepheid variable star x Carinae appears near the southeast fringes, but it lies between the Sun and the cluster and is not a member of the cluster.
In astronomy, an open cluster remnant (OCR) is the final stage in the evolution of an open star cluster.
NGC 956 is an asterism in the constellation Andromeda.
NGC 5617 is an open cluster in the constellation Centaurus. NGC 5617 forms a binary open cluster with Trumpler 22. It lies one degree west-northwest of Alpha Centauri.
NGC 4753 is a lenticular galaxy located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. NGC 4753 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on February 22, 1784. It is notable for having distinct dust lanes that surround its nucleus. It is a member of the NGC 4753 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.
NGC 4523 is a Magellanic spiral galaxy located about 35 to 50 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on April 19, 1865. NGC 4523 is a member of the Virgo Cluster. A distance of for NGC 4523 was derived from using yellow supergiants in the galaxy as standard candles.
NGC 4564 is an elliptical galaxy located about 57 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4564 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784. The galaxy is also a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 4659 is a lenticular galaxy located about 54 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. NGC 4659 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 7772 is collection of stars in the constellation Pegasus that were thought to be an open cluster. The stars were first recorded on 7 October 1825 by the British astronomer John Herschel. Gaia data shows stars in the area are unrelated.
NGC 592 is an H II region type emission nebula located in the Triangulum galaxy (M33) and thus in the constellation of Triangulum. The nebula contains an open cluster of stars and is approximately 2.86 million light-years away from Earth.
NGC 643 is an open cluster located on the far outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud in the southern constellation of Hydrus, approximately 200,000 light-years from Earth. Due to their close proximity to NGC 643, the open cluster ESO 29-SC44 and the galaxies PGC 6117 and PGC 6256 are also designated NGC 643A, NGC 643B and NGC 643C, respectively. NGC 643 is relatively old. Its brightest stars have an apparent magnitude of 19.
NGC 543 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It is estimated to be 239 million light years from the Milky Way and has a diameter of approximately 40,000 ly. NGC 543 was discovered by the German-Danish astronomer Heinrich Louis d'Arrest. It is a member of the galaxy cluster Abell 194.
The Melotte catalogue is a catalogue of 245 star clusters compiled by British astronomer Philibert Jacques Melotte. It was published in 1915 as A Catalogue of Star Clusters shown on Franklin-Adams Chart Plates. Catalogue objects are denoted by Melotte, e.g. "Melotte 20". Dated prefixes include as Mel + catalogue number, e.g. "Mel 20".