NGC 1333 is a reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Perseus, positioned next to the southern constellation border with Taurus and Aries.[3] It was first discovered by German astronomer Eduard Schönfeld in 1855.[4] The nebula is visible as a hazy patch in a small telescope, while a larger aperture will show a pair of dark nebulae designated Barnard 1 and Barnard 2.[5] It is associated with a dark cloud L1450 (Barnard 205). Estimates of the distance to this nebula range from 980–1,140 ly (300–350 pc).[4]
Reflection nebula | |
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![]() An infrared image of NGC 1333 by the Spitzer Space Telescope | |
Observation data: J2000.0 epoch | |
Right ascension | 03h 29m 11.3s[1] |
Declination | +31° 18′ 36″[1] |
Distance | 967 ly (296.5 pc)[1] ly |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 5.6 |
Apparent dimensions (V) | 6′ x 3′ |
Constellation | Perseus |
Designations | Ced 16, GN 03.26.1, LBN 741[2] |
See also: Lists of nebulae |
This nebula is in the western part[4] of the Perseus molecular cloud and is a young region of very active star formation,[6] being one of the best-studied objects of its type.[4] It contains a fairly typical hierarchy of star clusters that are still embedded in the molecular cloud in which they formed,[7] which are split into two main sub-groups to the north and south. Most of the infrared emission is happening in the southern part of the nebula. A significant portion of the stars seen in the infrared are in the pre-main sequence stage of their evolution.[6]
The nebula region has a combined mass of approximately 450 M☉,[4] while the cluster contains around 150 stars with a median age of a million years and a combined mass of 100 M☉. The average star formation rate is 10×10−4 M☉ yr–1.[4] Within the nebular are 20 young stellar objects producing outflows, including Herbig–Haro objects. A total of 95 X-ray sources that are associated with known members of embedded star clusters.[6] In 2011 researchers reported finding 30 to 40 brown dwarf objects in the cloud and in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.[8]
Constellation of Perseus | |||||||||||||
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Stars |
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Star clusters |
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Nebulae |
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New General Catalogue 1000 to 1499 | |
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