IC 348

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Reflection nebula in the constellation Perseus

title: "IC 348" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["open-clusters", "ic-objects", "star-forming-regions", "perseus-(constellation)"] description: "Reflection nebula in the constellation Perseus" topic_path: "general/open-clusters" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_348" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Reflection nebula in the constellation Perseus ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox open cluster"]

FieldValue
image[[File:Perseus' Stellar Neighbors.jpg
captionSpitzer Space Telescope image of IC 348
nameIC 348
epochJ2000
constellationPerseus
ra
dec
dist_ly1028 ly
appmag_v7.3
size_v20'
age
namesC 0341+321, Collinder 41
::

|image= [[File:Perseus' Stellar Neighbors.jpg|300px]] |caption= Spitzer Space Telescope image of IC 348 | name = IC 348 | epoch = J2000 | class = | constellation = Perseus | ra = | dec = | dist_pc = | dist_ly = 1028 ly | appmag_v = 7.3 | size_v = 20' | mass_kg = | mass_msol = | radius_ly = | v_hb = | age = | notes = | names = C 0341+321, Collinder 41

IC 348 is a star-forming region in the constellation Perseus located about 1,000 light years from the Sun. Together with NGC 1333 it is part of the Perseus molecular cloud. It consists of nebulosity and an associated 2-million-year-old cluster of roughly 400 stars within an angular diameter of 20. A later work found an older age of about 5 Million years. The most massive stars in the cluster are the binary star system HD 281159 (BD+31°643), which has a combined spectral class of B5, and is surrounded by an accretion disk. This binary is surrounded by an incomplete spherical shell open to the northwest, 50,000 AU in diameter, seen in infrared images of Spitzer and JWST.

Based upon infrared observations using the Spitzer Space Telescope, about half of the stars in the cluster have a circumstellar disk, of which 60% are thick or primordial disks. One team observed 136 class II sources with ALMA, detecting 40 sources. The team found disk masses similar to disks in Chamaeleon I and the Sigma Orionis Cluster. 20 disks (about 5%) are massive enough to form giant planets. The 96 non-detected disks have dust masses below around 0.4 and might be capable to form small rocky planets.

IC 348 shows a rich molecular chemistry. It contains common molecules such as hydrogen molecules, hydroxyl, water, carbon dioxide and ammonia. Additionally it contains several carbonaceous molecules, including complex molecules such as PAHs and fullerenes. In 2023, the emission spectrum of tryptophan was claimed to be discovered in the interstellar gas of the star cluster IC 348. A re-analysis of the Spitzer data did not find any tryptophan. Later observations with JWST and an improved laboratory spectrum showed that IC 348 does not contain any tryptophan. The team showed that the lines were due to instrumental artifacts.

Planetary-mass brown dwarfs

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/PMO_binary_LRL_11044+11043.png" caption="A planetary-mass binary consisting out of two objects. The primary LRL 11044 has a mass of 12 {{Jupiter mass}} and the secondary LRL 11043 has a mass of 6 {{Jupiter mass}}."] ::

The young age and close proximity to earth allows astronomers to study star-formation down to the lowest masses. Astronomers have found a number of so called free-floating planetary-mass objects that probably formed like stars and are called planetary-mass brown dwarfs.

Multiple works did detect planetary-mass objects (PMOs) in IC 348. These PMOs were found to have masses as low as 4-5 from searches with Hubble and Spitzer. Additionally it was found that around 46% of these objects are surrounded by a disk.

The relatively young age of the IC 348 star cluster has facilitated the discovery of three low-mass brown dwarfs. As these objects cool over time, they become more detectable, particularly in their youth. Recent observations conducted in 2023 by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have confirmed these findings, identifying them as the smallest free-floating brown dwarfs on record, with the lightest among them weighing a mere three to four times the mass of Jupiter. This groundbreaking revelation, announced by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope team, challenges existing paradigms in the field of stellar formation. Found within the IC 348 cluster, located 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus star-forming region, these brown dwarfs serve as intriguing celestial entities, bridging the gap between stars and planets. Some share striking similarities with gas giants, boasting masses just slightly larger than Jupiter. JWST has discovered new PMOs down to 2 . Spectroscopy with NIRSpec has shown that the brightest PMOs resemble L dwarfs. The faintest and lowest mass objects do however show absorption of hydrocarbons at 3.4 μm, which lead the researchers to propose a new spectral type of "H". Two objects in this sample showed infrared excess due to a disk around the PMOs.

Gallery

File:Star Cluster IC 348 (NIRCam image) (weic2331a).jpg|JWST NIRCam image of the shell around HD 281159 (bright star at the very center). The bright star at the middle left is IC 348 12. File:IC 348 jwst nircam.jpg|JWST NIRCam image of a large portion of IC 348. At the lower right are outflows, belonging to IC 348. File:IC 348 PanSTARRS.jpg|IC 348 with PanSTARRS in visible to infrared light File:Hubble image of LRLL 54361 and its surroundings.tif|Hubble image of LRLL 54361 (lower right) and its surroundings in IC 348. File:IC 348 outflows detail jwst nircam version 2.jpg|Outflows located south-west of IC 348. These include HH 211, HH 797A and LRLL 54361. The reflection nebula in the center is called the flying ghost nebula. NIRCam image. File:A prominent protostar in Perseus (potm2311a).jpg|HH 797 and LRLL 54361 (top) with JWST NIRCam File:HH 211 (NIRCam image, cropped) (weic2322a).jpg|The Herbig-Haro object HH 211 with JWST NIRCam. File:Omicron Persei.jpg|IC 348 south of Omicron Persei

References

References

  1. "IC 348: Cluster with Nebulosity | Deep⋆Sky Corner".
  2. "Hubble captures strobe flashes from a young star". ESA/Hubble Press Release.
  3. (2006-06-20). "Multiple Outflows and Protostars near IC 348 and the Flying Ghost Nebula". The Astronomical Journal.
  4. "IC 348 -- Open (galactic) Cluster". [[Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg]].
  5. (2021). "3D kinematics and age distribution of the open cluster population". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  6. Luhman, K. L.. (August 2003). "A Census of the Young Cluster IC 348". The Astrophysical Journal.
  7. Lada, Charles J.. (March 2006). "Spitzer Observations of IC 348: The Disk Population at 2-3 Million Years". The Astronomical Journal.
  8. (April 24, 2009). "Astronomers Discover Youngest And Lowest Mass Dwarfs In Solar Neighborhood". [[Science Daily]].
  9. (August 2012). "Polarimetric coronagraphy of BD + 31°643". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  10. (August 2007). "The Spitzer c2d Survey of Large, Nearby, Interstellar Clouds. VI. Perseus Observed with MIPS". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.
  11. (June 2025). "A New Spectral Class of Brown Dwarfs at the Bottom of the IMF in IC 348". The Astrophysical Journal.
  12. (20 June 2023). "Amino Acid Tryptophan Detected in Young Star Cluster".
  13. (January 2024). "A JWST Survey for Planetary Mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348". The Astronomical Journal.
  14. (2013-01-01). "Spectroscopy of brown dwarf candidates in IC 348 and the determination of its substellar IMF down to planetary masses". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  15. (August 2020). "New Candidates for Planetary-mass Brown Dwarfs in IC 348". The Astronomical Journal.
  16. (March 2025). "Discs around young free-floating planetary-mass objects: ultradeep Spitzer imaging of IC348". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  17. (13 December 2023). "NASA's Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf". NASA.
  18. (June 2024). "On the Origin of Infrared Bands Attributed to Tryptophan in Spitzer Observations of IC 348". The Astrophysical Journal.
  19. (May 2023). "A rich molecular chemistry in the gas of the IC 348 star cluster of the Perseus Molecular Cloud". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  20. Iglesias-Groth, S.. (October 2019). "Fullerenes in the IC 348 star cluster of the Perseus molecular cloud". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  21. Hudson, Reggie L.. (December 2023). "Interstellar tryptophan revisited". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  22. (August 2018). "ALMA survey of circumstellar discs in the young stellar cluster IC 348". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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open-clustersic-objectsstar-forming-regionsperseus-(constellation)