Messier 50
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Messier 50 or M 50, also known as NGC 2323 or the Heart-shaped Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation Monoceros. It was recorded by G. D. Cassini before 1711 and independently discovered by Charles Messier in 1772Template:Efn while observing Biela's Comet. It is sometimes described as a 'heart-shaped' figure or a blunt arrowhead.<ref name=Thompson2007/>
M50 is about 2,900 light-years away from Earth<ref name=kharchenko2005/> and is near to but narrowly not estimated to be gravitationally tied to the Canis Major (CMa) OB1 association.<ref name=Claria1998/> It has a core radius of Template:Convert<ref name=Sharma2008/> and spans Template:Convert.<ref name=Claria1998/> The cluster has 508 confirmed and 109 probable members – their combined mass is more than Template:Val, the mean stellar density would thus be 1.3 stars per cubic parsec.<ref name=Claria1998/> It is around 140 million years old,<ref name=Frolov2012/> with two high-mass white dwarfs<ref name=Cummings2016/> and two chemically peculiar stars.<ref name=Paunzen2014/>
Traditionally considered to be a single star cluster, in 2025 it was found to consist of two separate sub-clusters (NGC 2323-a and NGC 2323-b), making it a binary cluster.<ref name=Qin2025>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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External linksEdit
- Messier 50 - at Deep Sky Videos
- Messier 50, SEDS Messier pages
- M50 Image by Waid Observatory
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