NGC 6204 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

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Ara, lying close to the

galactic equator The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its center, the primary direction aligned with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel to an ap ...

. It is 3,540 ly (1,085 pc) distant from Earth. The cluster was discovered on 13 May 1826 by British astronomer

James Dunlop James Dunlop FRSE (31 October 1793 – 22 September 1848) was a Scottish astronomer, noted for his work in Australia. He was employed by Sir Thomas Brisbane to work as astronomer's assistant at his private observatory, once located at Param ...

References

External links

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http://seds.org/
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Image NGC 6204
{{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 6204 NGC 6204 6204 Ara (constellation) Astronomical objects discovered in 1826

References

Further reading

External links