Astronomy:Mayall II

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Short description: Group of stars in the constellation Andromeda
Mayall II
HST G1 (Mayall II).jpg
Hubble Telescope image of Mayall II – colour picture assembled from separate images taken in visible and near-infrared wavelengths in July 1994
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationAndromeda
Right ascension 00h 32m 46.51s[1]
Declination+39° 34′ 39.7″[1]
Distance2.52 ± 0.14 Mly (770 ± 40 kpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)+13.81[1]
Physical characteristics
Mass1×107[2] M☉ (2×1037 kg)
Radius21.2 ± 1.0 ly (6.5 ± 0.3 pc) (Half light radius rh) and tidal radius 263.2 ± 12.7 ly (80.7 ± 3.9 pc)[3]
Estimated age~ 12 Gyr[2]
Other designationsSKHB 1, HBK 0-1[1]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

Mayall II, also known as NGC-224-G1, SKHB 1, GSC 2788:2139, HBK 0-1, M31GC J003247+393440 or Andromeda's Cluster, is a globular cluster orbiting M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.

It is located 130,000 light-years (40 kpc)[3] from the Andromeda Galaxy's galactic core, and is the brightest[3] (by absolute magnitude) globular cluster in the Local Group, having an apparent magnitude of 13.81 in V band. Mayall II is considered to have twice the mass of Omega Centauri, and may contain a central, intermediate-mass (~ 2×104 M⊙) black hole.[3]

It was first identified as a possible globular cluster by American astronomers Nicholas Mayall and Olin J. Eggen in 1953 using a Palomar 48-inch (1.2 m) Schmidt plate exposed in 1948.[3]

Because of the widespread distribution of metallicity, indicating multiple star generations and a large stellar creation period, many contend that it is not a true globular cluster, but is actually the galactic core that remains of a dwarf galaxy consumed by Andromeda.[3][4]

Origin of names

  • Mayall II is named after Nicholas U. Mayall, who, with Olin J. Eggen, discovered it in 1953.
  • SKHB 1 is named for Wallace L. W. Sargent, Charles T. Kowal, F. D. A. Hartwick and Sidney van den Bergh. They also named it G1 in 1977.
  • HBK 0-1 is named for John Huchra, J. P. Brodie and S. M. Kent in 1991.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "NAME Mayall II". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=NAME+Mayall+II. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ma, Jun; de Grijs, Richard; Fan, Zhou; Rey, Soo-Chang; Wu, Zhen-Yu; Zhou, Xu; Wu, Jiang-Hua; Jiang, Zhao-Ji et al. (June 2009). "RESEARCH PAPER: Old stellar population synthesis: new age and mass estimates for Mayall II = G1". Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 (6): 641–652. doi:10.1088/1674-4527/9/6/003. Bibcode: 2009RAA.....9..641M. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Ma, J.; de Grijs, R.; Chen, D.; van den Bergh, S.; Fan, Z.; Wu, Z.; Wu, H.; Zhou, X. et al. (April 2007). "Structural parameters of Mayall II = G1 in M31". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 376 (4): 1621–1629. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11573.x. Bibcode: 2007MNRAS.376.1621M. 
  4. ↑ Meylan, G.; Sarajedini, A.; Jablonka, P.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Bridges, T.; Rich, R. M. (August 2001). "Mayall II=G1 in M31: Giant Globular Cluster or Core of a Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy?". The Astronomical Journal 122 (2): 830–841. doi:10.1086/321166. Bibcode: 2001AJ....122..830M. 

External links



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