NGC 146

NGC 146 is a small open cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia.

Location of NGC 146.

Observation History

NGC 146 was identified for the first time by John Herschel in 1829 through the reflecting telescope from 18.7 inches that belonged to his father, William; Then he placed it in his General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters with the number 71.[1]

Location

NGC 146 is an open inconspicuous storage; its distance is estimated at about 3032 parsecs (9884 light years ),[2] or, according to other estimates, around 3500 parsecs (11,410 years light),[3] and is located in a remote part of the Perseus Arm or perhaps in an inter-arm area, in a region situated beyond the large OB associations of Cassiopeia and relatively little known, except for the presence of several molecular clouds.[4]

Characteristics

The cluster is at most 10 million years old, as is evident from the presence of numerous stars of spectral type B of the main sequence, and the absence of evolved supergiants, as well as the existence of a population of stars of the pre-main-sequence; among its most massive stars there are two Herbig Be stars.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Catalogo NGC/IC online - result for NGC 146". Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ WEBDA page for open cluster NGC 146, univie.ac.at.
  3. 1 2 Subramaniam, A.; Sahu, D. K.; Sagar, R.; Vijitha, P. (September 2005). "NGC 146: a young open cluster with a Herbig Be star and intermediate mass pre-main sequence stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 440 (2): 511‐522. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20052683. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  4. ↑ Come si evince dai dati riportati nella "Mappa della regione attorno a NGC 146". Galaxy Map. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

Further reading

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