List of largest star clusters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Below is a list of the largest known star clusters, ordered by diameter in light years, above the size of 50 light years in diameter. This list includes globular clusters, open clusters, super star clusters, and other types.
List
| Cluster name | Diameter (light-years) | Type of cluster | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palomar 12 | 324[1] | Globular cluster | Associated with the Sagittarius Stream, possibly captured from the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. Might be the largest star cluster in the Milky Way. |
| Terzan 7 | 316[2] | Within the main body of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. | |
| Messier 54 | 306[3] | The brightest globular cluster of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, appears to reside at its core. | |
| NGC 339 | 238[4] | Located in the Small Magellanic Cloud. | |
| Messier 3 | 226[5] | Quite isolated at 31.6 kly (9.7 kpc) above the Galactic plane and roughly 38.8 kly (11.9 kpc) from the center of the Milky Way. | |
| Messier 11 (Wild Duck Cluster) | 190[6] | Open cluster | |
| Messier 2 | 174.4[7] | Globular cluster | In the southern galactic cap of the Milky Way's galactic halo. |
| Omega Centauri | 172 ± 12[8] | Might be the largest globular cluster in the Milky Way.[9] Possibly a core of an absorbed dwarf galaxy.[10] | |
| Messier 13 | 168[11] | ||
| Messier 15 | 166[12] | ||
| Palomar 5 | 152[13] | ||
| Messier 75 | 126[14] | ||
| 47 Tucanae | 120[15] | ||
| Messier 68 | 106[16] | ||
| Messier 22 | 100 ± 10[17] | One of the first star clusters ever discovered.[18] | |
| Messier 14 | 100[17] | ||
| Messier 62 | 98[19] | ||
| Messier 55 | 96[20] | ||
| NGC 265 | 94[21] | Open cluster | |
| Messier 69 | 90[22] | Globular cluster | |
| Messier 9 | 90[23] | ||
| Messier 56 | 84[24] | ||
| Messier 10 | 83.2[25] | ||
| NGC 3201 | 80[26] | ||
| Messier 107 | 79[27] | ||
| Messier 46 | 75.6[28] | Open cluster | |
| Messier 4 | 75[29] | Globular cluster | Nearest globular cluster to the Earth. Also the first globular cluster known to have exoplanets (PSR B1620-26b) |
| Messier 12 | 74.4[30] | ||
| Messier 70 | 68[31] | ||
| NGC 290 | 66[32] | Open cluster | |
| Messier 28 | 60[33] | Globular cluster | |
| Messier 18 | 52.4[34] | Open cluster | |
| The following notable star clusters are listed for the purpose of comparison. | |||
| MGC1 | 49 (half-light), 7,800 (tidal)[35] | Globular cluster | |
| Mayall II | 42±1 (half-light), 526±25.4 (tidal)[36] | ||
| Pleiades | 40.68[37] | Open cluster | Nearest Messier Object to Earth and the easiest to see in the night sky. |
| RSGC2 (Stephenson 2) | 26.1[38] | ||
| Alpha Persei cluster | 22.8[39] | ||
| Jewel Box | 20[40] | ||
| Hyades | 17.6[41] | Nearest open cluster | |
| Beehive Cluster (Praesepe) | 15[42] | ||
| RSGC1 | 9.78 ± 1.96[43] | ||
| Westerlund 1 (Ara Cluster) | 6.52[44] | Super Star Cluster/Open cluster | |