Key facts
- Right ascension
- 07 18 41.0
- Declination
- −24 ° 57 ′ 18 ″
- Distance
- 4.83 ± 0.97 kly (1.480 ± 0.296 kpc )
- Apparent dimensions v
- 6′
- Mass
- ≥500 M ☉
- Radius
- ~3 pc
- Estimated age
- 5.0 Myr
- Other designations
- Caldwell 64, Cr 136
- Constellation
- Canis Major
via Wikipedia infobox
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Map showing the location of NGC 2362 in the constellation of Canis Major
NGC 2362, also known as Caldwell 64, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Canis Major. It was discovered by the Italian court astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna, who published his finding in 1654. William Herschel called it a "beautiful cluster", while William Henry Smyth said it "has a beautiful appearance, the bright white star being surrounded by a rich gathering of minute companions, in a slightly elongated form, and nearly vertical position". In the past it has also been listed as a nebula, but in 1930 Robert J. Trumpler found no evidence of nebulosity. The brightest member star system is Tau Canis Majoris, and therefore it is sometimes called the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q15086” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.