- NGC 2419 The Intergalactic Wanderer
NGC 2419 is a globular cluster in the constellation Lynx. It gets its name "Intergalactic Wanderer" from its great distance from the Milky Way Galaxy, which led earlier astronomers to postlate that it was beyond the influence of our galaxy. It lies at a distance of around 300,000 LY from us, and an equal distance to the center of our galaxy. It orbits our galaxy in a highly elliptical path that takes it well beyond the borders of our galaxy and farther out than the Magellanic Clouds. One orbit of the Milky Way takes around three billion years. The cluster is physically one of the largest globular clusters (with a radius of around 260 LY), but its great distance makes it visually a small object (6 arc-min) in the sky. With a visual magnitide of 9.06, it is barely visible in binoculars or small telecopes.
NGC 2419 was discovered by William Herschel in December of 1788.
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