NGC 3603
| Molecular cloud | |
|---|---|
| Giant molecular cloud | |
| H II region | |
NGC 3603 in visible and near infrared light
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| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 11h 15m 23s |
| Declination | −61° 15′ 00″ |
| Distance | 6,900 pc |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.1 |
| Apparent diameter | 12.0' |
| Constellation | Carina |
| Designations | Gum 38b |
NGC 3603 is a nebula situated in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way around 20,000 light-years away from the Solar System. It is a massive HII region containing a very compact open cluster (probably a super star cluster) HD 97950.
NGC 3603 was observed by John Herschel on the 14th of March 1834 during his visit to South Africa, who remarked that it was "a very remarkable object...perhaps a globular cluster". Herschel catalogued it as nebula 3334 in his Results of Astronomical Observations made at the Cape of Good Hope, published in 1847. In 1864 the Royal Society published his General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters, where he listed it as number 2354. It was subsequently incorporated into the New General Catalogue as by J. L. E. Dreyer as NGC 3603.
The central cluster was catalogued as the star HD 97950, but has long been recognised as nebulous or multiple. It was also noted for having an unusual emission spectrum and the spectral type was given as Oe in the Henry Draper Catalogue. This was later refined to WN5 + O as the emission was recognised as characteristic of a Wolf-Rayet star. Eventually, the cluster would be resolved and found to contain three of the most massive and most luminous stars known, as well as a number of luminous O class stars and many fainter stars.
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