NGC 8

NGC 8 is an asterism of two completely unrelated stars[1] (spectral types K6I and G4) in the constellation Pegasus, discovered on 29 September 1865 by Otto Wilhelm von Struve.[2] It is approximately 2.7 arc minutes away from NGC 9.[3]

NGC 8
NGC 008 SDSS
NGC 8 as seen on SDSS
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Pegasus
Right ascension 00h 08m 45.3s[1]
Declination +23° 50′ 20″[1]
Other designations
NGC0008 PGC 000648, Holm 3B[1]

The two stars are completely unrelated to each other, with the whiter, dimmer star (2MASS J00084563+2350186[4]) being at a distance of 10400+4400
−2400 light years, and the yellower, brighter star (2MASS J00084521+2350184[5]) having a minimum distance of 215,000 light years. While both stars are technically outside the Milky Way's galactic disc, the nearer is 6400±2100 light-years south of the 1,000-light-year-thick disc, and the further is not only at least 130,000 light-years south of the disk, but is located entirely outside the Milky Way itself, being at least 220,000 light-years from the galactic core.

References
  1. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 0008.
  2. Steinicke, Wolfgang (2010). Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Star Clusters. Cambridge University Press. p. 283. ISBN 9780521192675.
  3. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Notes for object NGC 0008. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
  4. SIMBAD. "Results for 2MASS J00084563+2350186". SIMBAD, Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  5. SIMBAD. "Results for 2MASS J00084521+2350184". SIMBAD, Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
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