About NGC 2678
NGC 2678 is a common cluster. It sits in the constellation Cnc.
An open cluster: a few hundred stars born together out of one collapsing cloud, still drifting along in loose formation.
Common cluster 18 EP
NGC 2678
RA 132.5115° · Dec 11.3381° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesCommon 22 pts → Uncommon
- Star cluster +7
- Big on the sky +5
- Open cluster +3
- On the zodiac +3
Total score 18
4 more points to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Star cluster · +7
- Open cluster · +3
- On the zodiac · +3
- Big on the sky · +5
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. An open cluster: a few hundred stars born together out of one collapsing cloud, still drifting along in loose formation.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. Gravity is not strong enough to hold it. Within a few hundred million years these siblings will be scattered right around the galaxy.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Cancer.
- Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around February — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. Open clusters look blue-white because they are young — their hottest, bluest stars have not had time to die yet.
How we came to know it
- The New General Catalogue. Its NGC number comes from J. L. E. Dreyer's 1888 catalogue, itself built on decades of sky sweeps by William Herschel and his sister Caroline.
Properties
- constellation
- Cnc
- dso type
- OCl
- name
- NGC 2678
- radial velocity kms
- 34
- redshift
- 0.0001
- size arcmin
- 10
Nearby objects
- Common HIP 43387 star · <0.1° away
- Uncommon NGC 2682 YBP 401 b exoplanet · 0.5° away
- Uncommon HIP 43465 star · 0.5° away
- Trash HD 75718 star · 0.5° away
- Common NGC 2682 Sand 978 b exoplanet · 0.5° away
- Uncommon NGC 2682 YBP 1194 b exoplanet · 0.5° away
- Rare NGC 2682 cluster · 0.6° away
- Trash HIP 43491 star · 0.6° away
How to see it
Look for NGC 2678 in the constellation Cnc.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 2678 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 NGC 2678 is a common cluster
NGC 2678 scores 18 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Star cluster, Open cluster, On the zodiac and Big on the sky — 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.