
NGC 2175 is a very young open cluster of stars in the equatorial constellation of Orion. It was discovered by Italian astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654 and independently discovered by German astronomer Karl Christian Bruhns on February 6, 1877. NGC 2175 is at a distance of about 5,290 light years away from Earth, and it is embedded in a diffuse nebula, NGC 2174.
The estimated age of this cluster is nine million years. The nebula surrounding it is Sharpless catalog Sh 2-252, and it is sometimes called the Monkey Head Nebula due to its appearance. In 1970, a smaller star cluster designated NGC 2175s was discovered in the vicinity.
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