Messier 47
Sign in to saveOpen cluster in the constellation Puppis
AI overview
Messier 47 is a group of young stars located in the constellation Puppis that can be seen through a telescope. Astronomers study open clusters like this one to better understand how stars form and evolve together.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Right ascension
- 07 36.6
- Declination
- −14 ° 30 ′
- Distance
- 498 pc
- Apparent dimensions v
- 30 ′
- Mass
- 453 M ☉
- Radius
- 10.61 pc
- Estimated age
- 78 million years
- Other designations
- NGC 2422, NGC 2478, Cr 152
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Messier 47 (M47 or NGC 2422), also known as NGC 2478 is an open cluster in the southern constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and re-discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. It was also independently discovered by Caroline Herschel.
There is no cluster in the position indicated by Messier, which he expressed in terms of its right ascension and declination with respect to the star 2 Puppis. However, if the signs (+ and −) that he wrote are swapped, the position matches. Until that equivalency was found, M47 was considered a lost Messier Object. The identification was made in 1959 by Canadian astronomer T. F. Morris.