NGC 2419
The Galactic Wanderer in Lynx




NGC 2419 is so far from the galactic center that it was long wondered if it even belonged to our galaxy. *(See Note Below)

NGC 2419 is about 210,000 light years from the galactic center, putting it almost as far away as the nearest galaxies. It is so remote that nothing but a fuzzy patch can be seen in the telescope. This long exposure photograph resolves some of the brighter stars but these are red giants, some 400 times brighter than the Sun.


This drawing is to put things into perspective. The vast majority of globular clusters are contained within a sphere or halo about 65,000 light years from the Galactic center.

It's obvious from the drawing why NGC 2419 is called the Galactic Wanderer.

* I received the following note from Brian Skiff of Lowell Observatory.....

"NGC 2419 is well-bound to the Galaxy. The galactic rotation curve is flat out to at least 250kpc (750,000 light- years), and the mass necssary to maintain that rotation is more than enough to keep NGC 2419 bound. It is probably, however, at apogalacticon (farthest point in its orbit around the galactic center) or somewhere near that point."




All photos taken with the...
JSP ASTROCAMERA

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