NGC 299

NGC 299 is an open cluster of stars in the main body of the Small Magellanic Cloud[6] – a nearby dwarf galaxy. It is located in the southern constellation of Tucana, just under 200,000 light years distant from the Sun.[2] The cluster was discovered on August 12, 1834 by English astronomer John Herschel.[7]

NGC 299
HST image of the cluster NGC 299
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationTucana
Right ascension00h 53m 24.74s[1]
Declination−72° 11′ 47.6″[1]
Distance200 kly[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.73±0.12[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)0.9' x 0.9'[3]
Physical characteristics
Mass600±200[4] M☉
Estimated age26+15
−9 Myr[4]
Other designationsESO 051-SC 005.[5]

The cluster is around 25 million years old with 600 times the mass of the Sun. It spans a radius of 24 ly (7.3 pc). The metallicity of the cluster, what astronomers term the abundance of elements more massive than helium, is almost identical to that of the Sun.[4] The cluster is old enough that the stellar winds from the most massive members has dispersed all of the original dust and gas. Hence, star formation has come to a halt.[6] Two eclipsing binaries and one probable Be star have been identified, but the cluster is lacking any low-amplitude pulsating variables.[8]

References
  1. Rafelski, Marc; Zaritsky, Dennis (June 2005). "The Star Clusters of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Age Distribution". The Astronomical Journal. 129 (6): 2701–2713. arXiv:astro-ph/0408186. Bibcode:2005AJ....129.2701R. doi:10.1086/424938.
  2. "The Toucan and the cluster". Hubble Space Telescope. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  3. "NGC 299". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  4. Perren, G. I.; et al. (June 2017). "Astrophysical properties of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds homogeneously estimated by ASteCA". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 602: 42. arXiv:1701.08640. Bibcode:2017A&A...602A..89P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629520. A89.
  5. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 0299. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  6. Sabbi, E.; et al. (2007). "Star formation in the Small Magellanic Cloud: the youngest star clusters". In Elmegreen, B. G.; Palous, J. (eds.). Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2: Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent ISM. IAU Symposium #237, held 14-18 August, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 199–203. Bibcode:2007IAUS..237..199S. doi:10.1017/S1743921307001469.
  7. "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 250 - 299". Cseligman. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  8. Sanders, R. J.; et al. (April 2013). "Photometric Analysis of Variable Stars in NGC 299". Information Bulletin on Variable Stars. 6054: 1. arXiv:1302.6943. Bibcode:2013IBVS.6054....1S.
  • Media related to NGC 299 at Wikimedia Commons
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