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. Bibcode2009RAA.....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. Bibcode2007MNRAS.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. Bibcode2001AJ....122..830M. 

External links




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