NGC 5694 (also known as Caldwell 66) 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 constellation Hydra. It was discovered in 1784 by

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline ...

Characteristics

This globular cluster is located at a distance of from 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 ...

and from the

Galactic Center The Galactic Center or Galactic Centre is the rotational center, the barycenter, of the Milky Way galaxy. Its central massive object is a supermassive black hole of about 4 million solar masses, which is called Sagittarius A*, a compact ra ...

and is one of the oldest known globular clusters in the

Milky Way Galaxy The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

, forming nearly 12 billion years ago. Its chemical composition is highly peculiar, being highly (to nearly solar levels) enriched in alpha elements, suggesting an extragalactic origin before being captured by the Milky Way.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 5694 Globular clusters Hydra (constellation) 5694 066b Astronomical objects discovered in 1783

Characteristics

See also

References

External links