NGC 346

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title: "NGC 346" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["open-clusters", "h-ii-regions", "star-forming-regions", "small-magellanic-cloud", "tucana", "ngc-objects", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1826", "discoveries-by-james-dunlop"] description: "Open cluster in the constellation Tucana" topic_path: "general/open-clusters" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_346" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Open cluster in the constellation Tucana ::

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

Field	Value
name	NGC 346
image	[[File:NGC 346 MIRI image (weic2324a).jpg
caption	James Webb Space Telescope image of NGC 346
epoch	J2000
constellation	Tucana
ra
dec
dist_ly	210,000 light-years
notes	H II region
names	ESO 51-10, N66
::

| name = NGC 346 | image = [[File:NGC 346 MIRI image (weic2324a).jpg|250px| ]] | caption = James Webb Space Telescope image of NGC 346 | credit = | epoch = J2000 | constellation = Tucana | ra = | dec = | dist_ly = 210,000 light-years | mass_msol = | radius_ly = | age = | notes = H II region | names = ESO 51-10, N66 NGC 346 is a young open cluster of stars with associated nebula located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) that appears in the southern constellation of Tucana. It was discovered August 1, 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as, "bright, large, very irregular figure, much brighter middle similar to double star, mottled but not resolved". On the outskirts of the cluster is the multiple star system HD 5980, one of the brightest stars in the SMC.

Description

This cluster is located near the center of the brightest H II region in the SMC, designated N66. This is positioned in the northeast section of the galactic bar. Stellar surveys have identified 230 massive OB stars in the direction of this cluster. 33 of the cluster members are O-type stars, with 11 of type O6.5 or earlier. The inner radius of the cluster appears centrally condensed, while the area outside that volume is more dispersed. The youngest cluster members near the center have ages of less than two million years, and observations suggests the cluster is still engaged in high mass star formation. The cluster star formation rate is estimated at yr−1.

Image Gallery

File:ESO-NGC346.jpg|Image of NGC 346 with a 30 arcminute wide field of view showing the wispy nebular structure around it. File:Stellar sculptors in NGC 346 (heic2502a).jpg|NGC 346 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope File:NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Provide Census of Fledgling Stars in Stellar Nursery (45376129965).jpg |James Webb Space Telescope image of star formation in NGC 346 File:NGC 346 in the Small Magellanic Cloud.jpg|Narrowband view of NGC 346 showing complex ionized gas structures shaped by radiation from young massive stars.

::data[format=table title="Prominent stars{{Cite journal|last1=Massey|first1=Philip|last2=Waterhouse|first2=Elizabeth|last3=DeGioia-Eastwood|first3=Kathleen|author3-link=Kathy Eastwood|date=May 2000|title=The Progenitor Masses of Wolf–Rayet Stars and Luminous Blue Variables Determined from Cluster Turnoffs. I. Results from 19 OB Associations in the Magellanic Clouds|journal=The Astronomical Journal|volume=119|issue=5|pages=2214–2241|arxiv=astro-ph/0002233|bibcode=2000AJ....119.2214M|doi=10.1086/301345|issn=0004-6256|s2cid=16891188}}"] | Walborn | ELS | MPG | NMC | SSN | Spectral type | Effective temperature (K) | Absolute magnitude | Bolometric magnitude | Mass () | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | 207758 | 755 (HD 5980/AB5) | | | LBV WN4 OI | 45,000 45,000 34,000 | −7.1 (−8.1) −6.8 −6.7 | −11.135 −10.885 −9.885 | 61 66 34 | | 1 | | 435 | 26 | 7 | O5.5If | 43,400 | −6.7 | −10.7 | 91 | | | 1 | 789 | | 5 | O7If | 38,900 | −7 | −10.7 | 85 | | 3 | | 355 | 29 | 9 | O3V | 51,300 | −5.7 | −10.3 | 76 | | 6 | 7 | 324 | 32 | 13 | O4V | 48,600 | −5.2 | −9.6 | 54 | | 4 | | 342 | 30 | 11 | O5.5V | 44,900 | −5.5 | −9.7 | 53 | | | | 368 | 28 | 15 | O5.5V | 44,900 | −5 | −9.2 | 43 | | 2 | | 470 | 25 | | O8.5III | 35,700 | −5.4 | −8.9 | 34 | ::

References

References

1. (May 2000). "The Progenitor Masses of Wolf–Rayet Stars and Luminous Blue Variables Determined from Cluster Turnoffs. I. Results from 19 OB Associations in the Magellanic Clouds". The Astronomical Journal.

::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. ::