Laevens 3

Summary

Laevens 3 is a globular cluster in the constellation of Delphinus. It belongs to the Milky Way but orbits far from the centre. The cluster is named after Benjamin P. M. Laevens, the discoverer. It was first observed in 2015 using Pan-STARRS 1.[1]

Laevens 3
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationDelphinus
Right ascension21h 06m 55.05s[1]
Declination+14° 59′ 03.84″[1]
Distance200+4
−3
kly
(61.4+1.2
−1.0
kpc
[1])
Physical characteristics
Absolute magnitude−2.8[1]
Radiuseffective: 0.64 ± 0.05 or 37.2 ± 3.3 ly (11.4 ± 1.0 pc)
Metallicity = −1.8 ± 0.1[1] dex
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

It is located 210,000 light years from Earth in the outer galactic halo. Its orbit takes it to 133,000 ly from galactic centre and out to 279,000 ly. The half light diameter is only 37 light years. The metallicity is −1.8 dex. The cluster is about 13 billion years old. The brightness is equivalent to 1,125 Suns.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Longeard, Nicolas; Martin, Nicolas; Ibata, Rodrigo A; Collins, Michelle L M; Laevens, Benjamin P M; Bell, Eric; Mackey, Dougal (December 2019). "Detailed study of the Milky Way globular cluster Laevens 3". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 490 (2): 1498–1508. arXiv:1909.08622. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz2592.
  2. ^ Nowakowski, Tomasz (26 September 2019). "Milky Way's satellite globular cluster studied in detail". phys.org. Retrieved 16 October 2019.