NGC 339
Globular cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud
NGC 339 is a globular cluster in the constellation Tucana the Toucan. It is located both visually and physically in the Small Magellanic Cloud, being only about 10,000 ± 12,000 light years (3,000 ± 3,000 parsecs) closer than the cloud. It is rather prominent, being the brightest cluster in the southern reaches of the cloud. It was discovered by John Herschel on September 18, 1835. It was observed in 2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope. Its apparent V-band magnitude is 12.12, but at this wavelength, it has 0.19 magnitudes of interstellar extinction.
NGC 339 is about 6.3 billion years old. Its estimated mass is 5.7×104 M☉, and its total luminosity is 7.2×104 L☉, leading to a mass-to-luminosity ratio of 0.79 M☉/L☉. All else equal, older star clusters have higher mass-to-luminosity ratios; that is, they have lower luminosities for the same mass.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “NGC 339”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- NGC 0339HST.jpg by NASA, ESA and Hubble Space Telescope, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.