NGC 188
Open cluster in the constellation Cepheus
title: "NGC 188" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["open-clusters", "cepheus-(constellation)", "ngc-objects", "caldwell-objects", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1825"] description: "Open cluster in the constellation Cepheus" topic_path: "general/open-clusters" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_188" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Open cluster in the constellation Cepheus ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox cluster"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | NGC 188 |
| image | File:Integrated Flux Nebula Surrounding Polaris - Kush Chandaria.jpg |
| caption | Deep exposure of Polaris, integrated flux nebulae, and NGC 188 |
| epoch | J2000 |
| ra | |
| dec | |
| dist_ly | 6,000 ly |
| dist_pc | |
| age | 6.41 ± 0.33 Gyr |
| appmag_v | 10.0 |
| last | Clark |
| year | 1990 |
| title | Visual Astronomy of the Deep Sky |
| page | 287 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| bibcode | 1990vads.book.....C |
| isbn | 978-0-521-36155-2 |
| size_v | |
| radius_ly | |
| absmag_v | Unknown |
| constellation | Cepheus |
| notes | One of the oldest known open clusters |
| names | Caldwell 1, Cr 6, Mel 2 |
| :: |
| name = NGC 188 | image = File:Integrated Flux Nebula Surrounding Polaris - Kush Chandaria.jpg | caption = Deep exposure of Polaris, integrated flux nebulae, and NGC 188 | credit = | epoch = J2000 | ra = | dec = | dist_ly = 6,000 ly | dist_pc = | age = 6.41 ± 0.33 Gyr | appmag_v = 10.0 |last=Clark |first=R. N. |year=1990 |title=Visual Astronomy of the Deep Sky |page=287 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |bibcode=1990vads.book.....C |isbn=978-0-521-36155-2 | size_v = | radius_ly = | absmag_v = Unknown | constellation = Cepheus | notes = One of the oldest known open clusters | names = Caldwell 1, Cr 6, Mel 2
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Open_cluster_HR_diagram_ages.PNG" caption="M 67]], indicating their relatively high ages"] ::
** NGC 188** (also known as Caldwell 1 or the Polarissima Cluster) is an open cluster in the constellation Cepheus. It was discovered by John Herschel in 1825. Unlike most open clusters that drift apart after a few million years because of the gravitational interaction of our Milky Way galaxy, NGC 188 lies far above the plane of the galaxy and is one of the most ancient of open clusters known, at approximately 6.8 billion years old.
NGC 188 is very close to the North Celestial Pole, under five degrees away, and in the constellation of Cepheus at an estimated 6,000 light-years' distance, this puts it slightly above the Milky Way's disc and further from the center of the galaxy than the Sun.
References
References
- "NGC 188".
- (2025). "A novel approach to determining the age of stellar clusters: Application to NGC 188". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
- (2014). "interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas". Cambridge University Press; Oculum-Verlag GmbH.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::