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Open star cluster

NGC 6231

Also Caldwell 76

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A young cluster of hot, massive stars in Scorpius, the heart of the Sco OB1 association.

Measured

Distance
5,067 light-years
Size
about 14.4 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Scorpius
Position (J2000)
RA 16h 54m 17s, Dec −41.84°

How far, from the Sun

5,070 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light5,070 years
  • Voyager 1's speed90 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h54.7 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • It holds about 15 O-type star systems and one Wolf-Rayet star, all very massive; a few other Wolf-Rayet stars lie outside its centre.
  • Gaia picks out about 646 member stars (Hunt & Reffert 2023).

Where this comes from

  • Hunt & Reffert 2023, A&A 673, A114: Gaia DR3 cluster distance 1553.4 pc (16th–84th percentile 1551–1555.7 pc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.