Open AccessParameter Determination for Old Open Cluster NGC 188
Author(s) -
Abigail Bohl,
Mark Brooks Hedstrom
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of student research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2167-1907
DOI - 10.47611/jsrhs.v10i4.2436
Subject(s) - open cluster , metallicity , milky way , astrophysics , physics , virial mass , cluster (spacecraft) , star cluster , galaxy , star (game theory) , astronomy , virial theorem , stars , computer science , programming language
NGC 188, one of the oldest open clusters in the Milky Way, provides a unique insight into the history of the universe. NGC 188 has been historically used as a reliable test subject for various methods of determining data about star clusters. Because of its importance in the field of astronomical study and due to its unique age, this paper serves to independently verify the data found by previous research and to determine the age, metallicity, distance, and mass of open cluster NGC 188. Methods involved color magnitude diagram creation, isochrone fitting, and mass determination using the virial theorem. This research verifies that NGC 188 has an age of 6 billion years, a metallicity of 0.2 [Fe/H], a distance of 1348 parsecs, and a mass of 1392 solar masses.