NGC 1980
| NGC 1980 | |
|---|---|
DSS image of the open cluster NGC 1980, located on the southern tip of the Orion Nebula, and the nebula NGC 1982 (M43) located on its northern edge | |
| Observation data (J2000.0 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 05h 25m 26.0s |
| Declination | −05° 54′ 36″ |
| Distance | 1793 ly (550 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 2.5 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 14.00 x 14.0 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Estimated age | 4.7 million |
| Other designations | Lower Sword, Collinder 72, OCL 529, WH V 31 |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Orion |
NGC 1980 (also known as OCL 529, Collinder 72 and The Lost Jewel of Orion) is a young open cluster associated with an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by William Herschel on 31 January 1786. Its apparent size is 14 × 14 arc minutes and it is located around the star Iota Orionis on the southern tip of the Orion constellation.
Herschel made his first observation of the cluster which was called WH V 31 on 31 January 1786, but he possibly observed it during his studies of double stars on 20 September 1783.