NGC 6709 is an open cluster of stars in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, some 5° to the southwest of the star Zeta Aquilae.[4] It is situated toward the center of the galaxy[5] at a distance of 3,510 light-years.[2]

NGC 6709
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension18h 51m 20.6s[1]
Declination+10° 20′ 02[1]
Distance3,510 ly (1,075 pc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)6.7
Apparent dimensions (V)13'
Physical characteristics
Radius26 ly[2] (tidal)
Estimated age141 Myr[2]
Other designationsNGC 6709, Cr 392[3]
Associations
ConstellationAquila
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters

This cluster has a Trumpler class of IV 2 m, and is considered moderately rich[5] with 305[6] member stars. It is around 141[2] million years old; about the same as the Pleiades.[6] The core radius of NGC 6709 is 2.2 ly (0.68 pc) and the tidal radius 26.4 ly (8.08 pc).[2] It contains two Be stars and one of them is a shell star. There is one candidate red giant member.[5]

On the evening of November 13, 1984, David H. Levy discovered his first comet less than a degree from this cluster.[7]

Gallery edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Anders, F. (January 2020). "Clusters and mirages: cataloguing stellar aggregates in the Milky Way". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 633: 22. arXiv:1911.07075. Bibcode:2020A&A...633A..99C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201936691. S2CID 208138247. A99.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Dib, Sami; et al. (January 2018). "Structure and mass segregation in Galactic stellar clusters". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 473 (1): 849–859. arXiv:1707.00744. Bibcode:2018MNRAS.473..849D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2413.
  3. ^ "NGC 6709". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  4. ^ Crossen, Craig; Rhemann, Gerald (2012). Sky Vistas: Astronomy for Binoculars and Richest-Field Telescopes. Springer Vienna. p. 58. ISBN 9783709106266.
  5. ^ a b c Subramaniam, Annapurni; Sagar, Ram (February 1999). "Multicolor CCD Photometry and Stellar Evolutionary Analysis of NGC 1907, NGC 1912, NGC 2383, NGC 2384, and NGC 6709 Using Synthetic Color-Magnitude Diagrams". The Astronomical Journal. 117 (2): 937–961. Bibcode:1999AJ....117..937S. doi:10.1086/300716. S2CID 34294008.
  6. ^ a b Cole-Kodikara, Elizabeth M.; et al. (March 2021). NGC 6709: A Faint Zero-Age Main Sequence Open Cluster. The 20.5th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun (CS20.5), virtually anywhere, March 2–4, 2021. Bibcode:2021csss.confE.175C. doi:10.5281/zenodo.4565515. 175.
  7. ^ Levy, David H. (2003). David Levy's Guide to Observing and Discovering Comets. Cambridge University Press. p. 52.

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