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M52

Messier 52
Open Star Cluster

Right Ascension 23h 24m 12s Best Seen 7/15 - 3/15
Declination 61° 35' 00" Magnitude 7.3
Constellation Cassiopeia

Actual
Compared
to Sun
Distance 5,200 ly --
Diameter 19 ly --
Number of Stars 200 1
Actual Brightness -- --
Age 35 million years 5 billion
Integrated Spectral Type -- G2 V
Density (gram/cubic cm) -- --

What To Look For Through The Telescope


  1. Recommended eyepiece: 40mm or 80 mm.

  2. When people look through the telescope the cluster will appear as a group of individual stars; much like sugar or salt sprinkled on a table top.


M52 INFORMATION:


  1. This cluster was discovered by Charles Messier in 1774.

  2. The estimated distance to M52 varies: much of the light from M52 has been absorbed by gas and dust between us and the cluster. It is difficult to determine just how much light has been absorbed, so it is difficult to estimate the distance to the cluster. A distance of about 5,000 light years is the best estimate so far.

  3. Average separation of stars in this cluster is about 1 light year.

Home > Star Clusters > Open > M52 > Reference top
References
Item Updated Notes
Coordinates 2003-01-05 tweaked a bit
Distance 2003-01-05 some variation, but OK with http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m052.html
Actual Brightness --
Number of Stars 2003-01-05 some variation, but OK with http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m052.html
Diameter 2003-01-05 previous 10-15 l.y. – BUT with 5,000 ly distance adopted, it’s 19 ly according to http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m052.html
Age 2003-01-05 OK with http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m052.html
Integrated Spectral Type --
Other Information 2003-01-05 from http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m052.html
Also, previously said M52 comparable age to Pleiades, however, SEDs site on Pleiades says 1993 calculations say Pleiades age is about 100 million years