Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 10, 2026

Norma Cluster

The Norma Cluster (ACO 3627 or Abell 3627) is a rich cluster of galaxies located near the center of the Great Attractor; it is about 68 Mpc (222 Mly) distant. Although it is both nearby and bright, it is difficult to observe because it is located in the Zone of Avoidance, a region near the plane of the Milky Way. Consequently, the cluster is severely obscured by interstellar dust at optical wavelengths. Its mass is estimated to be on the order of 1015 solar masses.

Last revised
Jun 10, 2026
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Norma Cluster
Centre of Norma Cluster with Milky Way stars in the foreground. Giant galaxies ESO 137-8 and ESO 137-6 are visible to the left.
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Constellation(s)Norma, Triangulum Australe
Right ascension16h 14m 22s1
Declination−60° 52′ 20″1
Parent structureNorma Wall2
Richness class13
Bautz–Morgan classificationI 3
Redshift0.005741±0.0000104
Distance67.8 Mpc (221.1 Mly) h−1
0.705
4
Binding mass10151 M
X-ray flux10 mCrab1
Other designations
Abell 3627, ACO 36274

The Norma Cluster (ACO 3627 or Abell 3627) is a rich cluster of galaxies located near the center of the Great Attractor; it is about 68 Mpc (222 Mly) distant.56 Although it is both nearby and bright, it is difficult to observe because it is located in the Zone of Avoidance, a region near the plane of the Milky Way. Consequently, the cluster is severely obscured by interstellar dust at optical wavelengths. Its mass is estimated to be on the order of 1015 solar masses.1

ESO 137-001, an example of a jellyfish galaxy, is located in Abell 3627.7

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Woudt, P. A.; Kraan-Korteweg, R. C.; Lucey, J.; Fairall, A. P.; Moore, S. A. W. (2008-01-01). "The Norma cluster (ACO 3627) - I. A dynamical analysis of the most massive cluster in the Great Attractor". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 383 (2): 445–457. arXiv:0706.2227. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.383..445W. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.12571.x. ISSN 0035-8711.
  2. Abell, George O.; Corwin, Harold G. Jr.; Olowin, Ronald P. (May 1989). "A catalog of rich clusters of galaxies". Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 70 (May 1989): 1–138. Bibcode:1989ApJS...70....1A. doi:10.1086/191333. ISSN 0067-0049.
  3. "Norma Cluster". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  4. Kraan-Korteweg, Renee C. (2000). Galaxies behind the Milky Way and the Great Attractor. Lecture Notes in Physics. Vol. 556. p. 301. arXiv:astro-ph/0006199. Bibcode:2000LNP...556..301K. doi:10.1007/3-540-45371-7_8. ISBN 978-3-540-41064-5. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  5. "Abell 3627". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  6. "New Hubble image of spiral galaxy ESO 137-001". www.spacetelescope.org.
External links