The universe, a vast expanse of space that is home to countless galaxies, stars, and celestial bodies, has always been a subject of fascination and curiosity. Among these celestial wonders is NGC 2345, a young open cluster located in the Southern hemisphere constellation of Canis Major.

Stellar clusters stand as celestial laboratories, offering researchers a unique vantage point to delve into the mysteries of stellar evolution. Unified by their origins within the same interstellar clouds, cluster stars share crucial attributes—distance, age, and initial composition—providing invaluable insights into their evolutionary trajectories. While globular clusters provide panoramic views of stellar evolution, open clusters offer fleeting glimpses due to their youth and smaller populations.

NGC 2345 images taken from Skynet Prompt Telescopes

NGC 2345 was discovered in 1836 by the renowned British astronomer John Herschel. Herschel, who made significant contributions to the field of astronomy, cataloged numerous celestial objects, and NGC 2345 was one of them. Since its discovery, this cluster has been a subject of interest for many astronomers and has been studied extensively.

Situated close to the celestial equator, NGC 2345 is at least partly visible from both hemispheres at certain times of the year. It is located most likely some 10,000 light years away within the disk of the Milky Way galaxy. Given its visual magnitude of 7.7, NGC 2345 is visible with the help of a binocular with a 40-50mm aperture or a small telescope.

Altitude	25.3°
Azimuth	180.7°
Direction	South

NGC 2345 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.

What makes NGC 2345 particularly interesting is its composition and the insights it provides into stellar evolution. This cluster is known for its relatively high fraction of Be stars, which are B-type stars that exhibit line emission over the entire electromagnetic spectrum. NGC 2345 also contains blue and red supergiants, providing a diverse range of stellar types for observation and study.

The distance to NGC 2345 was measured to be approximately 9,100 light years. Adopting this distance, the radius of the cluster was calculated to be 33.8 light years. The core and tidal radius of NGC 2345 were estimated to be 10.3 and 64.9 light years, respectively.

BP-RP vs RP and J-H vs H Isochrone matching diagrams.

These HR diagrams provide a unique understanding of the intrinsic properties of the NGC 2345 open cluster, offering astronomers vital information such as stellar mass, age, and evolutionary phase. This unlocks deeper insights into the cluster’s formation and dynamics, enabling a comprehensive exploration of its celestial characteristics and evolutionary journey.

Star Counts	Mass	Log_Age	RA	DEC	pm_ra	pm_dec	distance	Metallicity	E(B-V)
702	15801.5	7.9	107.08	-13.2	-1.33	1.38	2.77	0.2	0.53

This data extracted from Clustermancer provides further understanding of NGC 2345.

NGC 2345 is a fascinating celestial object that continues to provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our galaxy. As technology advances and our understanding deepens, we can look forward to more exciting discoveries about NGC 2345 and other celestial wonders in the universe.

 

 

On a personal note:  Exploring NGC 2345 and this course in general has been an incredibly enriching journey for me on a personal level. Immersing myself in the study of celestial wonders, unraveling their secrets, and delving into the intricate details of their formation and dynamics have brought me a strange sense of fulfillment. Seeing the data that I gathered come together to create enchanting images made me understand that beyond human comprehension, there lies a vast cosmos of mysteries and alluring beauty.

No matter how insignificant we might be in the vast expanse of the universe, human curiosity knows no bounds and will eventually understand the intricacies of the cosmos, unraveling its secrets one discovery at a time.

References:

1. Alonso-Santiago, J., et al. (2019). A comprehensive study of NGC 2345, a young open cluster with a low metallicity. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 631, A124. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2019/11/aa36109-19/aa36109-19.html
2. The Sky Live. (n.d.). NGC 2345 – Open Cluster in Canis Major.  https://theskylive.com/sky/deepsky/ngc2345-object
3. Nowakowski, T. (2024, March). Astronomers perform a comprehensive study of the young open cluster NGC 2345.  Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-astronomers-comprehensive-young-cluster-ngc.html
4. Tauh, S. (2023, March 31). NGC 2345. USask Astronomy – University of Saskatchewan. https://sites.usask.ca/astro/2023/03/31/ngc-2345/
5. Reichart et al. (2004). Skynet Robotic Telescope Network. University of North Carolina. https://skynet.unc.edu/