Globular Cluster NGC 3201

NGC 3201
NGC 3201: Image taken with the ESO/MPG 2.2-m telescope at La Silla. © 2018 ESO [736]

History

Scottish astronomer James Dunlop discovered NGC 3201 on 1 May 1826 while observing with his 9-inch f/12 speculum reflector from Parramatta, NSW. He listed it as Δ 445, observed it five times and wrote: «A pretty large, pretty bright round nebula, 4' or 5' diameter, very gradually condensed towards the centre, easily resolved into stars; the figure is rather irregular, and the stars are considerably scattered on the south preceding side: the stars are also of slightly mixed magnitudes.» [50]

John Herschel observed this cluster from while sweeping the southern sky using his 18.3 inch telescope from Cape Town in South Africa. He listed this cluster as h 3238 and observed it two times. His notes for sweep 695 on 20 April 1836: «Globular cluster; irregularly round, gradually brighter in the middle, not very much compressed, 6', resolved into stars 13...15th mag.» On sweep 776 (3 March 1837) he noted: «Globular cluster; irregularly round, 7' diameter, but the outliers extend to at least 10' or 12'; gradually pretty much brighter middle, but not very much compressed; all resolved into stars 13..16th mag.» [11]

Physical Properties

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
DesignationNGC 3201
TypeGCL (X)
Right Ascension (J2000.0)10h 17m 36.8s
Declination (J2000.0)-46° 24' 38"
Diameter20 arcmin
Visual magnitude6.9 mag
Metric Distance4.900 kpc
Dreyer Descriptionglobular, vL, iR, lCM, st 13…16
Identification, Remarksh 3238; GC 2068; GCL 15; ESO 263-SC26

Finder Chart

The globular cluster NGC 3201 is located in the constellation Vela. Unfortunately it is not visible from Europe. On 22 February it in opposition with the Sun and is therefore highest in the sky at local midnight.

Vela: Globular Cluster NGC 3201
Finder Chart Globular Cluster NGC 3201
never
14:27 | -3.3°
always
Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. Times are shown for timezone UTC, Latitude 46.7996°, Longitude 8.23225°, Horizon height 5°, Date 2025-07-12. [149, 160]

Objects Within a Radius of 25°

Omicron Velorum Cluster
IC 2391
Southern Pleiades
IC 2602
Running Chicken Nebula
IC 2944
Kohoutek 1-1
Southern Beehive Cluster
NGC 2516
NGC 2669
NGC 2867
Southern Ring Nebula
NGC 3132
Eta Carinae Nebula
NGC 3372
NGC 3532
NGC 3621
Pearl Cluster
NGC 3766

References

  • [11] Results of astronomical observations made during the years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, at the Cape of Good Hope ... : being the completion of a telescopic survey of the whole surface of the visible heavens, commenced in 1825; Herschel, John F. W.; London: published by Smith, Elder and Co., 1847; DOI:10.3931/e-rara-22242
  • [50] VIII. A catalogue of nebulæ and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere, observed at Paramatta in New South Wales, by James Dunlop, Esq. In a letter addressed to Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Bart. K. C. B. late Governor of New South Wales. Presented to the Royal Society by John Frederick William Herschel, Esq. Vice President; James Dunlop; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Volume 118, pages 113-151, published 1 January 1828; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1828.0010
  • [149] SkySafari 6 Pro, Simulation Curriculum; skysafariastronomy.com
  • [160] The STScI Digitized Sky Survey; archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form
  • [277] Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge; Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke; 2021-02-17
  • [736] The globular cluster NGC 3201; eso.org/public/images/ngc3201; 2025-06-29