Messier 79
Globular cluster Messier 79 |
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Photo from the Hubble Space Telescope | |
AladinLite | |
Constellation | Hare |
Position equinox : J2000.0 , epoch : J2000.0 |
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Right ascension | 05 h 24 m 10.6 s |
declination | −24 ° 31 ′ 27 ″ |
Appearance | |
Concentration class | V |
Brightness (visual) | 7.7 likes |
Brightness (B-band) | 9.21 mag |
Angular expansion | 9.6 ' |
Physical data | |
Integrated spectral type | F5 |
Redshift | 0.000692 ± 0.000002 |
Radial velocity | 207.5 ± 0.5 km / s |
distance | 41 kLj (12 kpc ) |
history | |
discovery | Pierre Méchain |
Discovery date | October 26, 1780 |
Catalog names | |
M 79 • NGC 1904 • C 0522-245 • GCl 10 • ESO 487-SC007 • |
Messier 79 (also known as NGC 1904 ) is a 7.7 mag bright globular cluster with an angular extent of 9.6 'in the constellation of Rabbit . The star cluster is about 40,000 light years away, 80 light years in diameter, and an estimated 900,000 stars . Its metallicity is 0.025% compared to the sun , which suggests an age of 12 to 13 billion years.
M79 is one of the few globular clusters that can be observed in the winter sky. So it is not, like most other globular clusters, in the direction of the center of the Milky Way, but in almost the opposite direction. According to recent speculations, this object could be a "new immigrant" in our Milky Way system. According to this, M79 could be a globular cluster of the Canis Major dwarf galaxy discovered in 2003 , our closest neighbor galaxy. This satellite of the Milky Way has already largely dissolved due to the strong tidal forces and was previously considered part of the Milky Way.
Individual evidence
- ↑ NASA / IPAC EXTRAGALACTIC DATABASE
- ^ NED data for the Messier Objects
- ^ SEDS : NGC 1904
- ↑ a b SIMBAD
- ↑ M79 at SEDS
- ↑ Seligman
- ↑ Klaus-Peter Schröder: A distant globular cluster, in: STARS AND SPACE , December 2014, p. 73 f.