NGC 2158

NGC 2158

NGC 2158 to the lower right of M35
Credit: 2MASS/NASA
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Gemini
Right ascension 06h 07m 25s[1]
Declination +24° 05.8[1]
Distance 11,000+ ly[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 8.6[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 5 arcmin[2]
Physical characteristics
Estimated age ~2 billion yrs[2]

NGC 2158 is an open cluster in the constellation of Gemini. It is located southwest of open cluster Messier 35, and is believed to be about 2 billion years old.[2] The two clusters are unrelated, as NGC 2158 is around 9,000 light years further away than M35.

Once thought to be a globular cluster, NGC 2158 is now known to be an intermediate-age, metal-poor open cluster that is a member of the old thin disk population.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for NGC 2158. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Carraro, Giovanni; Girardi, Leo; Marigo, Paola. "The intermediate-age open cluster NGC 2158". arXiv.org. Cornell University Library. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05326.x. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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