NGC 6934 (also known as Caldwell 47) is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Delphinus, about 52 kilolight-years distant from the Sun.[3] It was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on 24 September 1785.[4] The cluster is following a highly eccentric orbit (with an eccentricity of 0.81) through the Milky Way along an orbital plane that is inclined by 73° to the galactic plane. It may share a common dynamic origin with NGC 5466.[6] As of 2018, it has been poorly studied.[9]
This appears to be a Oosterhoff type I cluster with an intermediate metallicity.[10] It has an Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class of VIII,[1] with a core radius of 15″[3] and a half-light radius of 36″.[5] The estimated mass is 295,000 times the mass of the Sun.[7] The cluster displays photometric anomalies, with a split subgiant branch on the HR diagram.[9] Searches for variable stars have discovered 85 in the cluster field, of which 79 are of the RR Lyrae class and one is a SX Phe variable.[10] There is some evidence for a tidal tail.[11]
References
↑ 1.01.1Shapley, Harlow; Sawyer, Helen B. (August 1927), "A Classification of Globular Clusters", Harvard College Observatory Bulletin849 (849): 11–14, Bibcode: 1927BHarO.849...11S.
↑ 2.02.1Goldsbury, Ryan et al. (December 2010). "The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. X. New Determinations of Centers for 65 Clusters". The Astronomical Journal140 (6): 1830–1837. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1830. Bibcode: 2010AJ....140.1830G.
↑ 6.06.1Dinescu, Dana I. et al. (October 2001). "Orbits of Globular Clusters in the Outer Galaxy: NGC 7006". The Astronomical Journal122 (4): 1916–1927. doi:10.1086/323094. Bibcode: 2001AJ....122.1916D.
↑ 10.010.1Kaluzny, J. et al. (March 2001). "Image-Subtraction Photometry of Variable Stars in the Field of the Globular Cluster NGC 6934". The Astronomical Journal121 (3): 1533–1550. doi:10.1086/319411. Bibcode: 2001AJ....121.1533K.
↑Wilhelm, R. et al. (December 2002). "Does NGC 6934 Have a Tidal Tail?". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society34: 1101. Bibcode: 2002AAS...201.0702W.