NGC 1868

NGC 1868
Photograph of NGC 1868 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationDorado
Right ascension05h 14m 36s[1]
Declination−63° 57′ 18″[1]
Distance~163000 ly (~50000 pc)
Apparent magnitude (V)11.57[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)2.7' × 2.7'[1]
Physical characteristics
Other designationsNGC 1868, ESO 85-56, KMHK 674, LW 169[1]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

NGC 1868 is a globular cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud in the constellation Dorado.[2] It was discovered by John Herschel in 1834.[2] The cluster is fairly metal-poor and as a result appears relatively blue. It maintains an abundant population of mature giant branch stars which have been used to fit its age to roughly 700 million years old.[3] The cluster is located in a relatively sparse region of the Large Magellanic Cloud which has allowed it to be studied relatively free of crowding from background stars.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d e "NGC 1868". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg.
  2. ^ a b Seligman, Courtney. "Celestial Atlas: NGC Objects: NGC 1850 - 1899". cseligman.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b "1980ApJ...235..769F Page 769". adsabs.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-12.