NGC 2158

NGC 2158
NGC 2158 to the lower right of M35
Credit: 2MASS/NASA
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Right ascension06h 07m 25s[1]
Declination+24° 05.8′[1]
Distance11,000+ ly[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)8.6[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)5 arcmin[2]
Physical characteristics
Radius8 ly
Estimated age~2 billion yrs[2]
Associations
ConstellationGemini
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters

NGC 2158 is an open cluster in the constellation of Gemini. It is, in angle, immediately southwest of open cluster Messier 35, and is believed to be about 2 billion years old.[2] The two clusters are unrelated, as the subject is around 9,000 light years further away.

Once thought to be a globular cluster, it is now known to be an intermediate-age, metal-poor open cluster that is a member of the old thin disk population.[2]

  1. ^ a b c "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for NGC 2158. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e Carraro, Giovanni; Girardi, Leo; Marigo, Paola (2002). "The intermediate-age open cluster NGC 2158". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 332 (3): 705. arXiv:astro-ph/0202018. Bibcode:2002MNRAS.332..705C. doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05326.x. S2CID 15054623.