File:M34_Mazur.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Messier 34 is a group of young stars clustered together in the constellation Perseus that can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope. Astronomers study this open cluster to better understand how stars form and evolve together in groups.
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Wikidata facts
- Distance from Earth
- 499
- Radius
- 7
- Image
- M34a.jpg
Show 13 more facts
- Commons gallery
- Messier 34
- catalog code
- Collinder 31
- apparent magnitude
- 5.2
- time of discovery or invention
- 1654-00-00
- parallax
- 1.9536
- right ascension component of proper motion
- 0.7256
- declination component of proper motion
- -5.7320
- Commons category
- Messier 34
- spectral class
- I
- right ascension
- 40.5208
- declination
- 42.7617
- radial velocity
- -7.27
- metallicity
- 0.02
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Article
Messier 34 (also known as M34, NGC 1039, or the Spiral Cluster) is a large and relatively near open cluster in Perseus. It was probably discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects in 1764. Messier described it as, "A cluster of small stars a little below the parallel of γ (Andromedae). In an ordinary telescope of 3 feet one can distinguish the stars."
Based on the distance modulus of 8.38, it is about 470 parsecs (1,500 ly) away. For stars ranging from 0.12 to 1 solar mass (M☉), the cluster has about 400. It spans about 35′ on the sky which translates to a true radius of 7.5 light years at such distance. The cluster is just visible to the naked eye in very dark conditions, well away from city lights. It is possible to see it in binoculars when light pollution is low.