Messier 34 (also known as M34 or NGC 1039) is a large and relatively near

open cluster An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, an ...

in Perseus. It was probably discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and included by

Charles Messier Charles Messier (; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the ''Messier objects''. Messier's purpose ...

in his catalog of

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

-like objects in 1764. Messier described it as, "A cluster of small stars a little below the parallel of γ (Andromedae). In an ordinary telescope of 3 feet one can distinguish the stars." Based on the

distance modulus The distance modulus is a way of expressing distances that is often used in astronomy. It describes distances on a logarithmic scale based on the astronomical magnitude system. Definition The distance modulus \mu=m-M is the difference between th ...

of 8.38, it is about away. For stars ranging from 0.12 to 1 solar mass (), the cluster has about 400. It spans about 35 ′ on the sky which translates to a true radius of 7.5 light years at such distance. The cluster is just visible to the naked eye in very dark conditions, well away from city lights. It is possible to see it in binoculars when light pollution is low. The age of this cluster lies between the ages of the

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...

open cluster at 100 million years and the

Hyades Hyades may refer to: * Hyades (band) *Hyades (mythology) *Hyades (star cluster) The Hyades (; Greek Ὑάδες, also known as Caldwell 41, Collinder 50, or Melotte 25) is the nearest open cluster and one of the best-studied star clusters. Loca ...

open cluster at 800 million years. Specifically, comparison between noted stellar spectra and the values predicted by stellar evolutionary models suggest 200–250 million years. This is roughly the age at which stars with half a solar mass enter the main sequence. By comparison, stars like the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

enter the main sequence after 30 million years. The average proportion of elements with higher atomic numbers than helium is termed the metallicity by astronomers. This is expressed by the logarithm of the ratio of iron to hydrogen, compared to the same proportion in the Sun. For M34, the metallicity has a value of e/Hnbsp;= +0.07 ± 0.04. This is equivalent to a 17% higher proportion of iron compared to the Sun. Other elements show a similar abundance, save for nickel which is underabundant. At least 19 members are

white dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

s. These are stellar remnants of progenitor stars of up to eight solar masses () that have evolved through the main sequence and are no longer have

thermonuclear fusion Thermonuclear fusion is the process of atomic nuclei combining or “fusing” using high temperatures to drive them close enough together for this to become possible. There are two forms of thermonuclear fusion: ''uncontrolled'', in which the re ...

to generate energy. Seventeen of these are of spectral type DA or DAZ, while one is a type DB and the last is a type DC.

References

External links

*
Messier 34, SEDS Messier pages

– Image by Donald P. Waid * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Messier 34 Messier 034 Messier 034 034 Messier 034 Orion–Cygnus Arm ?

See also

References

External links