Open Cluster NGC 2420
Object Description
NGC 2420 was discovered on 19 November 1783 by the German-British astronomer William Herschel with its 18.7 inch reflector. It is a Trumpler-type I2r open star cluster of about magnitude 8.3 visual magnitude. [277]
The open star cluster NGC 2420 (also known as Collinder 154, Melotte 69) has an estimated age of 2.5 ± 0.5 billion years. The parallax of the cluster determined from Gaia DR2 2018 gives a distance of 2.55 ± 0.5 kpc (about 8300 light years). There is little interstellar dust on the line of sight, resulting in little blushing of the starlight. [384] The cluster counts 685 ± 27 member stars within a radius of 20 arc minutes, which corresponds to about 12 pc (39 light years). The radius of the core is about 1.32 arc minutes. [385]
| Designation | NGC 2420 |
| Type | OCL (I2r) |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 07h 38m 23.8s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | +21° 34' 27" |
| Diameter | 6 arcmin |
| Visual magnitude | 8.3 mag |
| Metric Distance | 2.500 kpc |
| Dreyer Description | Cl, cL, Ri, C, st 11…18 |
| Identification, Remarks | WH VI 1; h 458; GC 1549; OCL 488 |
Finder Chart
Open star cluster NGC 2420 is located in the constellation of Gemini, some 2° 15' east of the Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392). The best viewing time is September to May.
