About IC 1290
IC 1290 is an uncommon cluster. It sits in the constellation Sgr.
A stellar association: a sprawling family of hot young stars that shared a birthplace but were never gravitationally bound to each other.
Uncommon cluster 24 EP
IC 1290
RA 279.6471° · Dec -24.0968° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Toward the galactic centre +8
- Star cluster +7
- Loose stellar association +6
- On the zodiac +3
Total score 24
10 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Star cluster · +7
- Loose stellar association · +6
- Toward the galactic centre · +8
- On the zodiac · +3
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A stellar association: a sprawling family of hot young stars that shared a birthplace but were never gravitationally bound to each other.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. It is already coming apart. Associations dissolve into the general population of the galaxy within tens of millions of years.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Sagittarius.
- Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around June — that's when to go looking.
How we came to know it
- The Index Catalogue. The IC was the 1895 and 1908 supplement to the NGC — the first catalogue in history to be filled largely with objects found on photographic plates rather than by eye.
Properties
- constellation
- Sgr
- dso type
- *Ass
- name
- IC 1290
How to see it
Look for IC 1290 in the constellation Sgr.
Like any astronomical target, IC 1290 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why IC 1290 is an uncommon cluster
IC 1290 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Star cluster, Loose stellar association, Toward the galactic centre and On the zodiac — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.