NGC 2419 - Intergalactic Wanderer

NGC 2419 in the constellation Lynx is known as the "Intergalactic Wanderer". It lies on the opposite side of the sky from the globular-cluster-rich interior of the Milky Way.

NGC 2419 was discovered by William Herschel on December 31, 1788. The cluster is dim (magnitude 9.1) in comparison to more famous globular clusters such as M 13 in the constellation Hercules, but it is readily viewed, in good sky conditions, with good quality telescopes as small as 4" in aperture. NGC 2419 has a fairly bright, mottled 2.5' halo with a few stars resolved at the edges of the custer. The central area is somewhat brighter but not concentrated.

NGC 2419 is one of the most remote globulars of our Milky Way. It lies 300,000 light years away from the Sun, and about the same distance from our galaxy's center - nearly twice as far out as the Large Magellanic Cloud. At this great distance it takes three billion years to make one trip around the galaxy. The nickname "Intergalactic Wanderer" was bestowed when NGC 2419 was erroneously believed not to be in orbit around the Milky Way.

NGC 2419 is intrinsically luminous, with an absolute magnitude of -9.48. It ranks with Omega Centauri and M 54 in absolute brightness. The brightest stars in NGC 2419 are red and yellow giants far more luminous than our Sun.