Open Cluster Messier 34

Messier 34: Section of the STScI Digitized Sky Survey [147]

History

The discovery of M 34 can be attributed to the Italian astronomer Giovanni Hodierna in 1654. Unfortunately, the publication of his discovered and now famous nebula found little notice outside his homeland of Sicily. It so happened that it was unknown to Charles Messier when he rediscovered the star cluster on 25 August 1764. He noted: «A cluster of small stars, a little below the parallel γ Andromedae; in an ordinary telescope of three feet [focal length] the stars can be distinguished.» [4, 194]

Physical Properties

M 34 is an open star cluster according to the Trumpler classification II3m. According to distance information on Simbad, it is located at a distance of about 1600 light years and is moving in our direction at about 7 km/s. The age is estimated to be around 100 to 200 million years. The cluster will slowly dissolve over time as it migrates around the center. [145, 196]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC, Version 22/9, © Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
DesignationNGC 1039
TypeOCL (II3m)
Right Ascension02h 42m 05.0s
Declination+42° 45' 42"
Diameter25 arcmin
Visual magnitude5.2 mag
Metric Distance0.499 kpc
Dreyer DescriptionCl, B, vL, lC, sc st 9
Identification, RemarksM 34, OCL 382

Finder Chart

The open star cluster M 34 is located in the constellation Perseus approximately in the middle between Algol (β Persei) and Almach (γ1 Andromedae). It is visible to the naked eye on a dark night, preferably from September to February.

Chart Open Cluster Messier 34
Open Cluster Messier 34 in constellation Perseus. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ≈ 6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ≈ 20 mag. [149, 160]

Visual Observation

Description pending ...

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

References