NGC 2169 is an

open cluster An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of tens to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, and ...

in the

Orion constellation Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. It is named after a hun ...

. It was possibly discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and discovered by

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel ( ; ; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover ...

on October 15, 1784. NGC 2169 is at a distance of about 3,600

light year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...

s away from

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. It is nicknamed "The '37' Cluster" due to its striking resemblance to the numerals " 37". The cluster is composed of components ''Collinder 38'', a I3pn open cluster, and ''Collinder 83'', a III3m open cluster. NGC2169

References

External links

*
SEDS entry
* * 2169 Open clusters Orion (constellation) {{star-cluster-stub