Mayall II
| Mayall II | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Hubble Telescope image of Mayall II | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Andromeda |
| Right ascension | 00h 32m 46.51s[1] |
| Declination | +39° 34′ 39.7″[1] |
| Distance | 2.52 ± 0.14 Mly (770 ± 40 kpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +13.7[1] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Other designations | SKHB 1, HBK 0- 1[1] |
Mayall II (M31 G1) also known as NGC-224-G1, SKHB 1, GSC 2788:2139, HBK 0-1 or Andromeda's Cluster is a globular cluster in M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.
It is located 170,000 light years from the galactic core, and is the brightest (absolute magnitude) globular cluster in the Local Group, having an apparent magnitude of 13.7 . G1 is considered to have twice the mass of Omega Centauri.
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.[2]
Mayall II is named after N.U. Mayall and O.J. Eggen in 1953.
SKHB 1 is named for Wallace L. W. Sargent, C.T. Kowal, F.D.A. Hartwick, Sidney van den Bergh. They also named it G1 in 1977.
HBK 0-1 is named for J.P. Huchra, J.P. Brodie, and S.M. Kent in 1991.
References
- ^ a b c d "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for Mayall II. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
- ^ Meylan, 2001, "G1 in M31 - Giant Globular Cluster or Core of a Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy?", arXiv