NGC 5897

NGC 5897 is a globular cluster in the constellation Libra. This satellite of the Milky Way, which is quite remote (located about 41,000 light years away), has a diameter of over 170 light years. With its Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class of XI, it has very low star density even in its center.[3]

NGC 5897
The globular cluster NGC 5897 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ClassXI[1]
ConstellationLibra
Right ascension15h 17m 24.40s[2]
Declination−21° 00 36.4[2]
Distance24.1 kly
(7.4 kpc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)8.52[2]
Physical characteristics
Radius6.3' x 6.3'[3]
Metallicity = -2.04±0.15[4] dex
Other designationsGCl 33, C 1514-208[2]

The stars of the cluster have only 0.91% of the Sun's metallicity,[5] while the abundance of elements produced by the alpha process is roughly 5 times larger.[4] This means that the cluster formed in a time before the galaxy formed a disk and spiral arms. However, some of the stars are apparently younger, indicating multiple star-forming epochs.[4]

NGC 5897 has a diameter of 12.6 arcminutes and an apparent magnitude of 8.5.

References

  1. Shapley, Harlow; Sawyer, Helen B. (August 1927), "A Classification of Globular Clusters", Harvard College Observatory Bulletin, 849 (849): 11–14, Bibcode:1927BHarO.849...11S.
  2. "NGC 5897". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  3. "NGC 5897". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  4. Koch, Andreas; McWilliam, Andrew (2014), "The chemical composition of a regular halo globular cluster: NGC 5897", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 565: A23, arXiv:1403.1262, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201323119, S2CID 53958921
  5. "A Galactic Globular Clusters Database: NGC 5897". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
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