NGC 1466

NGC 1466
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationHydrus
Right ascension03h 44m 33s[1]
Declination−71° 40′ 17″[1]
Distance48.5 kpc (158 kly)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)11.4[3]
Apparent dimensions (V)3.50′[1]
Physical characteristics
Mass1.4×105[4] M☉
Metallicity = −1.60[5] dex
Estimated age13.1[6] Gyr
Other designationsSL1, LW1, ESO54SC16, KMHK1,[1] PGC 2802621
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

NGC 1466 is the New General Catalogue designation for a globular cluster in the deep southern constellation of Hydrus. It is located in the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud,[5] which is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The object was discovered November 26, 1834 by English astronomer John Herschel.[7] John Dreyer described it as "pF, pS, iR, glbM, *7 f", meaning "pretty faint, pretty small, irregular round, gradually a little brighter middle, with a 7th magnitude star nearby".[8] When using a small telescope, this is a "faint, small, unresolved and difficult" target with an angular size of 1.9 arc minutes. It has an integrated visual magnitude of 11.4.[3]

This cluster has a reddening corrected distance modulus of 18.43±0.15,[5] corresponding to a distance of 48.5 kpc.[2] The cluster has a mass of about 140,000 times the mass of the Sun.[4] It is an old cluster, having an estimated age of 13.1 billion years.[5] In photographs, the cluster spans an apparent size of 3.50 arc minutes.[1] The core radius has an angular size of 10.7±0.4 arc seconds,[5] while the half-light radius is 24.3 arc seconds.[4]

There are a total of 49 known and one candidate RR Lyrae variable stars in the cluster, as of 2011. Eight are RRd, or double-mode RR Lyrae variables. The average periods are 0.591 days for RR Lyrae type ab and 0.335 days for RR Lyrae type c. These are consistent with a classification of Oosterhoff-intermediate for the cluster. Twelve other variables have been identified, including two long-period variables and a Cepheid variable.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Bica2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Webb1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Inglis2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Noyola2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference Kuehn2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Santos2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Seligman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference dreyer1888 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).