NGC 299

NGC 299 is an open cluster of stars in the main body of the Small Magellanic Cloud[6] – a nearby dwarf galaxy. It is located in the southern constellation of Tucana, just under 200,000 light years distant from the Sun.[2] The cluster was discovered on August 12, 1834 by English astronomer John Herschel.[7]

NGC 299
Hubble Space Telescope image of the cluster NGC 299
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension00h 53m 24.74s[1]
Declination−72° 11′ 47.6″[1]
Distance200 kly[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.73±0.12[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)0.9' x 0.9'[3]
Physical characteristics
Mass600±200[4] M☉
Estimated age26+15
−9 Myr[4]
Other designationsESO 051-SC 005.[5]
Associations
ConstellationTucana

The cluster is around 25 million years old with 600 times the mass of the Sun. It spans a radius of 24 ly (7.3 pc). The metallicity of the cluster, what astronomers term the abundance of elements more massive than helium, is almost identical to that of the Sun.[4] The cluster is old enough that the stellar winds from the most massive members has dispersed all of the original dust and gas. Hence, star formation has come to a halt.[6] Two eclipsing binaries and one probable Be star have been identified, but the cluster is lacking any low-amplitude pulsating variables.[8]

References
  1. Rafelski, Marc; Zaritsky, Dennis (June 2005). "The Star Clusters of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Age Distribution". The Astronomical Journal. 129 (6): 2701–2713. arXiv:astro-ph/0408186. Bibcode:2005AJ....129.2701R. doi:10.1086/424938. S2CID 4600017.
  2. "The Toucan and the cluster". Hubble Space Telescope. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  3. "NGC 299". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  4. Perren, G. I.; et al. (June 2017). "Astrophysical properties of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds homogeneously estimated by ASteCA". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 602: 42. arXiv:1701.08640. Bibcode:2017A&A...602A..89P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629520. S2CID 56284363. A89.
  5. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 0299. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  6. Sabbi, E.; et al. (2007). "Star formation in the Small Magellanic Cloud: the youngest star clusters". In Elmegreen, B. G.; Palous, J. (eds.). Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2: Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent ISM. IAU Symposium #237, held 14-18 August, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 199–203. Bibcode:2007IAUS..237..199S. doi:10.1017/S1743921307001469.
  7. "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 250 - 299". Cseligman. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  8. Sanders, R. J.; et al. (April 2013). "Photometric Analysis of Variable Stars in NGC 299". Information Bulletin on Variable Stars. 6054: 1. arXiv:1302.6943. Bibcode:2013IBVS.6054....1S.
  • Media related to NGC 299 at Wikimedia Commons
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