NGC 6231

Coordinates: Sky map 16h 54m 00s, −41° 48′ 00″
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Collinder 315, Melotte 153, De Cheseaux 9, Dunlop 499, Ha. I.7, Lacaille II.13
Associations
ConstellationScorpius
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters
Map showing the location of NGC 6231

NGC 6231 (also known as Caldwell 76) is an open cluster in the southern sky located half a degrees north of Zeta Scorpii. NGC 6231 is part of a swath of young, bluish stars in the constellation Scorpius known as the Scorpius OB1 association.[4] The star Zeta1 (HR 6262) is a member of this association, while its brighter apparent partner, Zeta2 (HR 6271), is only 150 ly from Earth and so is not a member.[citation needed]

This cluster is estimated to be about 2–7 million years old,

B-type stars: 52 ± 8%, indicating that B-type stars are commonly found in binary systems, but not as commonly as in O-type stars.[3]

NGC 6231 also includes three

Wolf-Rayet stars: HD 151932, HD 152270,[7] and HD 152408.[8]

Discovery

The cluster was discovered by

Abbe Lacaille
(1751–52).

Common names

The cluster forms the head of the False Comet, a wider collection of stars from Scorpius OB1 running northward from Zeta Scorpii and NGC 6231 roughly halfway toward Mu Scorpii. The tail is formed by two clusters, Collinder 316 and Trumpler 24. Trumpler 24 is surrounded by the emission nebula IC 4628, also known as the Prawn Nebula, where the tail appears to fan out.

The cluster is also sometimes known as The Northern Jewel Box,

NGC 4755, the Jewel Box cluster, which is further south in the sky.[citation needed
]

Chinese astronomy

The English astronomer Ian Ridpath has identified NGC 6231 with the Chinese constellation of Shengong (Chinese: 神宮; pinyin: Shéngōng).[11] Other sources, however, identifiy this constellation with Zeta Scorpii.[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Kuhn, Michael A.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Sills, Alison; Feigelson, Eric D.; Getman, Konstantin V. (2018). "Kinematics in Young Star Clusters and Associations with Gaia DR2". The Astrophysical Journal. 870 (1): 32.
    S2CID 119328315
    .
  2. ^
    S2CID 119435797
    .
  3. ^
    S2CID 237194742
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-58381-670-7
    .
  5. ^ Sky Catalogue 2000.0
  6. ^ Crossen & Tirion, Binocular Astronomy, p. 119.
  7. S2CID 121125488
    .
  8. ^ The distinction between OIafpe and WNLha stars. A spectral analysis of HD 151804, HD 152408 and HDE 313846.
  9. ^ Stars visible to the naked eye. It meanings "luminous" in Latin.
  10. ^ Michael E. Bakich (July 17, 2014). "The Northern Jewel Box, globular cluster M12, and the Bug Nebula". astronomy.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Ian Ridpath's star Tales
  12. ^ Sun Xiaochuan & Jacob Kistemaker, The Chinese Sky during the Han: Constellating Stars and Society, p. 26, Brill, Leiden (1997)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NGC 6231.


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