This is a relatively small globular cluster, ranking 112th in luminosity among the Milky Way globular cluster population. It is considered an Oosterhoff type I cluster (OoI), despite having a relatively low metallicity. Indeed, it has the lowest metallicity of any OoI cluster known. There are 19 RR Lyrae variable star candidates and as many as 23 blue stragglers. A high proportion of the latter are concentrated near the dense core of the cluster, which is consistent with the idea that blue stragglers form through stellar mergers.[9][10]
The cluster lies some 70.4 ± 7.5 kly (21.6 ± 2.3 kpc) from the Galactic Center,[6] and is relatively isolated from other globular clusters in the galaxy.[9] The position of this cluster makes it a candidate for association with the Sagittarius tidal stream, and thus it may have been captured by the Milky Way after separation from the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy.[6] A contour map of the cluster appears to show S-shaped tidal arms stretching to the north and south for several tidal radii. Such features are predicted for globular clusters that follow elliptical orbits and are near their apogalacticon.[11]
References
^Shapley, Harlow; Sawyer, Helen B. (August 1927), "A Classification of Globular Clusters", Harvard College Observatory Bulletin, 849 (849): 11–14, Bibcode:1927BHarO.849...11S.
^ abcSkrutskie, Michael F.; Cutri, Roc M.; Stiening, Rae; Weinberg, Martin D.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Carpenter, John M.; Beichman, Charles A.; Capps, Richard W.; Chester, Thomas; Elias, Jonathan H.; Huchra, John P.; Liebert, James W.; Lonsdale, Carol J.; Monet, David G.; Price, Stephan; Seitzer, Patrick; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Fullmer, Linda; Hurt, Robert L.; Light, Robert M.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Tam, Robert; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Wheelock, Sherry L. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN0004-6256. S2CID18913331.
^ abcdCarballo-Bello, Julio A.; et al. (December 2014), "A search for stellar tidal debris of defunct dwarf galaxies around globular clusters in the inner Galactic halo", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 445 (3): 2971–2993, arXiv:1409.7390, Bibcode:2014MNRAS.445.2971C, doi:10.1093/mnras/stu1949.
^Arellano Ferro, A.; et al. (October 2004), "CCD Photometry of the RR Lyrae Stars in NGC4147", Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, 40: 209–221 (2004), Bibcode:2004RMxAA..40..209A.
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