NGC 2451 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
Puppis constellation, probably discovered by
Giovanni Battista Hodierna
Giovanni Battista Hodierna, also spelled as Odierna (April 13, 1597 – April 6, 1660) was an Italian astronomer at the court of Giulio Tomasi, Duke of Palma (Palma di Montechiaro). He compiled a catalogue of comets and other celestial object ...
before 1654 and
John Herschel
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical work. ...
in 1835.
In 1994, it was postulated that this was actually two open clusters that lie along the same line of sight. This was confirmed in 1996. The respective clusters are labeled ''NGC 2451 A'' and ''NGC 2451 B'', and they are located at distances of 600 and 1,200
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astr ...
s, respectively.
References
External links
*
NGC 2451 @ SEDS NGC objects pages*
2451
Open clusters
Puppis
{{star-cluster-stub