Palomar 12

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Palomar 12
Palomar 12 Hubble.jpg
Palomar 12 by Hubble Space Telescope, 3.36 view
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class XII
Constellation Capricornus
Right ascension 21h 46m 38.84s [1]
Declination –21° 15 09.4 [1]
Distance 63.6 ± 2.9  kly (19.50 ± 0.89  kpc) [2]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.99
Apparent dimensions (V)17.4
Physical characteristics
Mass1.59×104 [3]   M
Radius162 ± 8 ly [4]
Metallicity  = –0.85 [3] dex
Estimated age6.5 Gyr [5]
Notable featuresProbably extragalactic
Other designationsGCl 123 [6]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

Palomar 12 is a globular cluster in the constellation Capricornus, and is a member of the Palomar Globular Clusters group.

Contents

First discovered on the National Geographic Society – Palomar Observatory Sky Survey plates by Robert George Harrington and Fritz Zwicky, [7] it was initially catalogued as a globular cluster; however, Zwicky came to believe it was actually a nearby dwarf galaxy in the Local Group. It is a relatively young cluster, being about 30% younger than most of the globular clusters in the Milky Way. [2] It is metal-rich with a metallicity of [Fe/H] ≈ −0.8. [5] It has an average luminosity distribution of Mv = −4.48. [8]

Based on proper motion studies, this cluster was first suspected in 2000 to have been captured from the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG) about 1.7  Ga ago. [9] It is now generally believed to have originated in that galaxy and is associated with the Sagittarius Stream. [5] It is estimated to be 6.5 Gyr old. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palomar 6</span>

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References

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  4. distance × sin( diameter_angle / 2 ) = 162 ly. radius
  5. 1 2 3 4 Geisler, Doug; et al. (September 2007), "Chemical Abundances and Kinematics in Globular Clusters and Local Group Dwarf Galaxies and Their Implications for Formation Theories of the Galactic Halo", The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 119 (859): 939–961, arXiv: 0708.0570 , Bibcode:2007PASP..119..939G, doi:10.1086/521990, S2CID   119599242.
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