NGC 2451

Open Cluster NGC 2451

(= Collinder 161)

in Puppis

Right Ascension	07 : 45.4 (h:m)
Declination	-37 : 58 (deg:m)
Distance	0.85 (kly)
Visual Brightness	2.8 (mag)
Apparent Dimension	45 (arc min)

This cluster was probably another one discovered by

Hodierna.

Because of its southern declination, northern observers as Messier and

William Herschel could not find it.

NGC 2451 consists of 40 stars, the brightest of which is of magnitude

3.6, and of spectral type B8. Its age was estimated at 36 million years,

and it is receding from us at 26 km/sec. At only about 850 light years,

this cluster is quite close to us.

In John Caldwell’s List

and in the

Astronomical League’s Southern Sky Binocular Club List.

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Hartmut Frommert

([email protected])

Christine Kronberg

([email protected])

Last Modification: 21 Mar 1998, 14:00 MET