Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Dorado |
Right ascension | 05h 18m 11.0s[1][2] |
Declination | −68° 27′ 00″[1][2] |
Characteristics | |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | -1.354 km/s |
Distance | 1,354 ly (415 [3] pc) |
Details | |
Age | 0.6[4] Gyr |
Other designations | |
ESO 56-SC91, OCL 791 |
NGC 1901 is an open cluster in the Dorado Constellation. It has a bright middle and is a little rich, with stars from 7th magnitude downwards. The celestial object was discovered on 30 December 1836 by the British astronomer John Herschel.[5] The cluster is sparsely populated with GAIA data suggesting a membership of around 80 stars.[6] It is considered unlikely it will survive its next pass through the Milky Way’s galactic plane in about 18 million years time.[6]