NGC 376 is a young[2]open cluster of stars in the southernconstellation ofTucana. It was discovered on September 2, 1826, by Scottish astronomerJames Dunlop.Dreyer, a Danish/British astronomer, described it as a "globular cluster, bright, small, round."[5] It is irregular in form, with a central spike.[2]
The cluster is located in the eastern extension of theSmall Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a nearbydwarf galaxy. It may have already lost 90% of its original mass and is in the process of dissolving into the SMC. As a result, it has achieved a relatively low concentration of stars and is no longer indynamic equilibrium. The cluster is about 28[3] million years old and contains ~3,400 times themass of the Sun.[2] It has a core radius of 7.6 ± 0.3 ly and atidal radius of 19.2 ± 0.7 ly.[3]
Media related toNGC 376 at Wikimedia Commons
