NGC 1847 is a notable open star cluster situated in the southern constellation Dorado (The Swordfish), within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. Located approximately 160,000 light-years from Earth, NGC 1847 was first identified by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop in the 1820s.
Composition
This cluster is relatively young, with an estimated age of about 220 million years. It consists primarily of hot, blue stars that formed together from the same molecular cloud. Since its stars remain fairly close together, the cluster’s compact structure suggests that it formed relatively recently in astronomical terms. The stars within NGC 1847 are held together by weak gravitational forces, as is typical of open clusters, and over time these stars will gradually disperse due to gravitational interactions with nearby stellar objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The cluster has an estimated diameter of about 10 light-years across. This size is typical for open star clusters, allowing for a relatively close grouping of stars within the cluster.
Observation
NGC 1847 has an apparent diameter of about 7 arcminutes and a magnitude of approximately 9.2, making it relatively faint. Despite its faintness, it is visible through binoculars or a small telescope under dark skies, though resolving individual stars within the cluster requires a larger telescope with moderate to high magnification. In binoculars, NGC 1847 appears as a faint, fuzzy patch, but through telescopes, its individual stars become visible, revealing the cluster’s beauty.
The best time to observe NGC 1847 from the Southern Hemisphere is during the austral summer months, roughly from October to March, when Dorado is high in the night sky. However, depending on location and local sky conditions, it may still be visible at other times of the year.
