NGC 2362

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NGC 2362, also known as Caldwell 64, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Canis Major. It was discovered by the Italian court astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna, who published his finding in 1654.<ref name=Dahm2008/> William Herschel called it a "beautiful cluster", while William Henry Smyth said it "has a beautiful appearance, the bright white star being surrounded by a rich gathering of minute companions, in a slightly elongated form, and nearly vertical position". In the past it has also been listed as a nebula, but in 1930 Robert J. Trumpler found no evidence of nebulosity.<ref name=OMeara2002/> The brightest member star system is Tau Canis Majoris, and therefore it is sometimes called the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster.

The cluster is located at a distance of approximately 1.48 kpc from the Sun,<ref name=Wu2009/> and appears associated with the giant nebula Sh2-310 that lies at the same distance,<ref name="VY"/> about one degree to the east. This giant H II region is being ionized by the brighter members of the NGC 2362 cluster.<ref name=Dahm2008/>

At 4–5 million years, NGC 2362 is a relatively young cluster<ref name=Currie2009/> but is devoid of star-forming gas and dust, indicating that the star formation process has come to a halt.<ref name=Dahm2008/> It is a massive open cluster, with more than 500 solar masses,<ref name=Currie2009/> an estimated 100-150 member stars, and an additional 500 forming a halo around the cluster. Of these cluster members, only around 35 show evidence of a debris disk.<ref name=Currie2009/> There is one slightly evolved O-type star, Tau Canis Majoris, and around 40 B-type stars still on the main sequence. Only one candidate classical Be star has been found, as of 2005.<ref name=Dahm2008/>

Gallery

• Starshine in Canis Major NGC 2362.tif

  NGC 2362 image created as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems programme.<ref name=ESO/>

• NGC 2362 NASA.jpg

  The stars of NGC 2362 surrounding τ CMa (Infrared image taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope)

External links

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