NGC 1466
| Kugelsternhaufen NGC 1466 | |
|---|---|
 (c) ESA/Hubble, CC BY 4.0 | |
| Aufnahme des Hubble-Weltraumteleskops | |
| AladinLite | |
| Sternbild | Kleine Wasserschlange |
| Position Äquinoktium: J2000.0, Epoche: J2000.0 | |
| Rektaszension | 03h 44m 33,3s [1] |
| Deklination | −71° 40′ 18″ [1] |
| Erscheinungsbild | |
| Helligkeit (visuell) | 11,4 mag |
| Winkelausdehnung | 1,9' [2] |
| Physikalische Daten | |
| Zugehörigkeit | Große Magellansche Wolke |
| Geschichte | |
| Entdeckung | John Herschel |
| Entdeckungsdatum | 26. November 1834 |
| Katalogbezeichnungen | |
| NGC 1466 • C 0344-718 • ESO 54-SC16 • GC 783 • h 2590 | |
NGC 1466 ist ein Kugelsternhaufen in der Großen Magellanschen Wolke im Sternbild Hydrus, der im New General Catalogue verzeichnet ist. Der Kugelsternhaufen hat eine Winkelausdehnung von 1,9' und eine scheinbare Helligkeit von 11,4 mag. Er wurde am 26. November 1834 von John Herschel entdeckt.[3]
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(c) ESA/Hubble, CC BY 4.0
Climbing the cosmic distance ladder
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals an ancient, glimmering ball of stars called NGC 1466. It is a globular cluster — a gathering of stars all held together by gravity — that is slowly moving through space on the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our closest galactic neighbours.
NGC 1466 certainly is one for extremes. It has a mass equivalent to roughly 140 000 Suns and an age of around 13.1 billion years, making it almost as old as the Universe itself. This fossil-like relic from the early Universe lies some 160 000 light-years away from us.
Nestled within this ancient time capsule are 49 known RR Lyrae variable stars, which are indispensable tools for measuring distances in the Universe. These variable stars have well-defined luminosities, meaning that astronomers know the total amount of energy they emit. By comparing this known luminosity to how bright the stars appear in the sky, their distance can be easily calculated. Astronomical objects such as this are known as standard candles, and are fundamental to the so-called cosmic distance ladder.
Credit:
ESA/Hubble & NASA