NGC 2419 is a globular cluster

Globular cluster

A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes and relatively high stellar densities toward their centers. The name of this category of star cluster is...

 in the constellation Lynx

Lynx (constellation)

Lynx is a constellation in the northern sky, introduced in the 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is named after the lynx, a genus of cat. It is a very faint constellation; its brightest stars form a zigzag line.-History:...

. It was discovered by William Herschel

William Herschel

Sir Frederick William Herschel, KH, FRS, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel was a German-born British astronomer, technical expert, and composer. Born in Hanover, Wilhelm first followed his father into the Military Band of Hanover, but emigrated to Britain at age 19...

 on December 31, 1788. NGC 2419 is at a distance of about 300,000 light years from the solar system

Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

 and at the same distance from the galactic center

Galactic Center

The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy. It is located at a distance of 8.33±0.35 kpc from the Earth in the direction of the constellations Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Scorpius where the Milky Way appears brightest...

.

NGC 2419 bears the nickname "the Intergalactic Wanderer," which was bestowed when it was erroneously thought not to be in orbit around the Milky Way

Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...

. Its orbit brings it further away from the galactic center than the Magellanic Clouds

Magellanic Clouds

The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...

, but it can (with qualifications) be considered as an element of the Milky Way. At this great distance it takes three billion years to make one trip around the galaxy.

The cluster is dim in comparison to more famous globular clusters such as M13

Messier 13

Messier 13 or M13 is a globular cluster of about 300,000 stars in the constellation of Hercules....

. Nonetheless, NGC 2419 is a 9th magnitude object and is readily viewed, in good sky conditions, with good quality telescopes as small as 102mm (four inches) in aperture.

Astronomer Leos Ondra has noted that NGC 2419 would be the "best and brightest" for any observers in the Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, and is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the...

, looking for globular clusters in our galaxy since it lies outside the obscuring density of the main disk. This is analogous to the way the cluster G1

Mayall II

Mayall II also known as NGC-224-G1, SKHB 1, GSC 2788:2139, HBK 0-1, M31GC J003247+393440 or Andromeda's Cluster is a globular cluster orbiting M31, the Andromeda Galaxy....

can be seen orbiting outside of the Andromeda Galaxy from Earth.

External links

• SEDS – NGC 2419
• perseus.gr – NGC 2419 in a LRGB CCD image based on 2 hrs total exposure
• APOD (2009-01-23) – NGC 2419