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EntityQ921254· pop 32· linked from 413 articles

Also known as New General Catalogue 2281, Broken Heart Cluster

open cluster in the constellation Auriga

In the Vinony graph

Vinony's link graph records 413 inbound references to Q921254, and connects out to list of NGC objects (2001–3000), open cluster and epoch.

It is catalogued under topics including Astronomical objects discovered in 1788, Auriga and Discoveries by William Herschel.

Vinony links it to 32 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Right ascension
06 48 17.(0)
Declination
+41 ° 04 ′ 4(2) ″
Distance
1,722 +104, −91 ly ( 528 +32, −28 pc )
Apparent dimensions v
25 ′
Estimated age
610 million
Other designations
Cr 116, Mel 51, C 0645+411, OCL -446
Constellation
Auriga

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Distance from Earth
558
Image
NGC 2281.jpg
Show 9 more facts
catalog code
Melotte 51
Commons category
NGC 2281
time of discovery or invention
1788-03-04
apparent magnitude
5.4
right ascension
102.0708
declination
41.0783
radial velocity
16.2
right ascension component of proper motion
-3.69
declination component of proper motion
-7.40
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~1 min read

Encyclopedic overview

NGC 2281, also known as the Broken Heart Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Auriga. It was discovered by English astronomer William Herschel on March 4, 1788, and described as a, "cluster of coarsely scattered pretty [bright] stars, pretty rich". The Trumpler class for NGC 2281 is I3p, indicating a poor (p) but compact (I) grouping with a wide range of brightness (3). It is located at a distance of approximately 1,720 ly from the Sun and is 630–661 million years old.

References

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q921254” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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