NGC 4372 (also known as Caldwell 108) is a

globular cluster A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of membe ...

in the southern constellation of

Musca Musca () is a small constellation in the deep southern sky. It was one of 12 constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, and it first appeared on a celestial globe in dia ...

. It is southwest of γ Muscae (Gamma Muscae) and west of the southern end of the

Dark Doodad Nebula The Dark Doodad Nebula is a dark nebula near the globular cluster NGC 4372, much closer than the centre of the galaxy and in the galactic plane, having a length of nearly three degrees of arc. Although officially unnamed, this long molecular clou ...

(Sandqvist 149), a 3° thin streak of black across a southern section of the great plane of the Milky Way. NGC 4372 "is partially obscured by dust lanes, but still appears as a large object some 10 arcseconds in diameter," according to ''Astronomy of the Milky Way'' (2004). The cluster has highly peculiar chemistry similar to

NGC 5694 NGC 5694 (also known as Caldwell 66) is a globular cluster in the constellation Hydra. It was discovered in 1784 by William Herschel. Characteristics This globular cluster is located at a distance of from the Sun and from the Galactic Cente ...

, being extremely iron-poor yet having super-solar abundances of magnesium and titanium.

References

External links

*
NGC 4372
at Wikisky

at Astrosurf * * {{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 4372 Globular clusters Musca 4372 108b