File:NGC_3201.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Class
- X
- Constellation
- Vela
- Right ascension
- 10 17 36.82
- Declination
- –46 ° 24 ′ 44.9 ″
- Distance
- 4.55 kpc (14.8 kly )
- Apparent magnitude v
- +8.24
- Apparent dimensions v
- 18.2 ′
- Mass
- 1.57 × 10 M ☉
- Radius
- 40 ly
- Metallicity
- [ Fe/H ] = –1.24 dex
- Estimated age
- 12.2 ± 0.5 Gyr
- Other designations
- GCl 15, GC 2068, h 3238, Dun 445, Bennett 44, Caldwell 79, Melotte 99
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Distance from Earth
- 0.005
- Radius
- 40
- Image
- NGC 3201.jpg
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- NGC 3201
- catalog code
- HD 89355
- right ascension
- 154.400
- time of discovery or invention
- 1826-05-28
- apparent magnitude
- 7.006
- radial velocity
- 493
- absolute magnitude
- -7.45
- metallicity
- -1.49
- inception
- 1024000000
- declination
- -46.417
- right ascension component of proper motion
- 5.280
- declination component of proper motion
- -0.9800
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Article
NGC 3201 (also known as Caldwell 79) is a low galactic latitude globular cluster in the southern constellation of Vela. It has a very low central concentration of stars. This cluster was discovered by James Dunlop on May 28, 1826 and listed in his 1827 catalogue. He described it as "a pretty large pretty bright round nebula, 4′ or 5′ diameter, very gradually condensed towards the centre, easily resolved into stars; the figure is rather irregular, and the stars are considerably scattered on the south".
The radial velocity of this cluster is unusually high at 490 km/s, larger than any other cluster known. This corresponds to a peculiar velocity of 240 km/s. While high, this is lower than the escape velocity of the Milky Way galaxy. It is located at a distance of 16,300 light years from the Sun and has an estimated mass of 157,000 times the mass of the Sun. This cluster is about 10.24 billion years old.