IC 361, also called Melotte 24 is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Camelopardalis. It was discovered by the British amateur astronomer William F. Denning on February 11, 1893.[6] This cluster is located at a distance of 10,500 ± 230 light-years from the Sun.[2] It is very faint with an apparent visual magnitude of 11.7,[3] requiring a telescope to view. Because of its faintness, this cluster has been poorly studied.[7] The cluster spans an angular size of 6.0′.[3]
| IC 361 | |
|---|---|
 Open star cluster IC 361 in the constellation Camelopardalis | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 04h 18m 56.6s[1] |
| Declination | +58° 15′ 07″[1] |
| Distance | 10,500 ± 230 ly (3.22 ± 0.07 kpc)[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.7[3] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 6.0′[3] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mass | 2,459±491[4] M☉ |
| Radius | 24.5 ly[2] |
| Estimated age | 759 Myr[1] |
| Other designations | C 0414+581[5] |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Camelopardalis |
This intermediate–age cluster is located in or beyond the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy.[7] It is situated near dark nebulae, resulting in significant levels of extinction due to interstellar dust. The cluster has a core radius of 2.0′±0.4′ and a cluster radius of 8.0′±0.5′. At an estimated distance of 3.22 kpc this corresponds to a physical core radius of 6.1 ly and a cluster radius of 24.5 ly.[2] It has an estimated age of 759 million years.[1] The cluster is mildly metal deficient, matching the metallicity gradient of the Milky Way.[7]
Two candidate blue stragglers have been identified in this cluster.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Tarricq, Y.; et al. (March 2021), "3D kinematics and age distribution of the open cluster population", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 647, id. A19, arXiv:2012.04017, Bibcode:2021A&A...647A..19T, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039388.
- ^ a b c d Joshi, Gireesh C. (March 2022), "A near-infrared and UBVRI photometric analysis of the open cluster IC 361", Indian Journal of Physics, 96 (3): 659–669, arXiv:1901.02948, Bibcode:2022InJPh..96..659J, doi:10.1007/s12648-021-02020-5.
- ^ a b c d Aranda, Ted (2011), 3,000 Deep-Sky Objects, An Annotated Catalogue, Springer New York, p. 122, ISBN 9781441994196.
- ^ Almeida, Anderson; et al. (October 2023), "Revisiting the mass of open clusters with Gaia data", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 525 (2): 2315–2340, arXiv:2307.15182, Bibcode:2023MNRAS.525.2315A, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad2291.
- ^ "IC 361", SIMBAD, Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg, retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ Seligman, Courtney, "IC Objects: IC 350 - 399", Celestial Atlas, retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ Rain, M. J.; et al. (June 2021), "A new, Gaia-based, catalogue of blue straggler stars in open clusters", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 650, id. A67, arXiv:2103.06004, Bibcode:2021A&A...650A..67R, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202040072.
Further reading
edit- Zdanavičius, J.; et al. (2010), "Multicolor CCD Photometry of the Open Cluster IC 361", Baltic Astronomy, 19 (1–2): 63–94, Bibcode:2010BaltA..19...63Z, doi:10.1515/astro-2017-0413.
- Piccirillo, J.; Stein, W. L. (August 1978), "Preliminary photometry of the open cluster IC 361.", Astronomical Journal, 83: 971–974, Bibcode:1978AJ.....83..971P, doi:10.1086/112277.
- Shapley, H. (June 1918), "The cluster IC 361", The Observatory, 41: 257, Bibcode:1918Obs....41..257S.