Messier 72

Messier 72
Messier 72
M72 Hubble WikiSky.jpg
M72 from Hubble Space Telescope; 3.44′ view
Credit: NASA/STScI/WikiSky
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class IX
Constellation Aquarius
Right ascension 20h 53m 27.91s[1]
Declination -12° 32′ 13.4″[1]
Distance 53-62 kly[citation needed] (16-19 kpc)
Apparent magnitude (V) 9.3
Physical characteristics
Notable features Contains several blue giants
Other designations NGC 6981, GCl 118[1]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

Messier 72 (also known as M72 or NGC 6981) is a globular cluster in the Aquarius constellation discovered by Pierre Méchain on August 29, 1780. Charles Messier looked for it on the following October 4 and 5, and included it in his catalog. Both decided that it was a faint nebula rather than a cluster.

Using 10-inch (250 mm) telescopes, viewing the cluster is difficult resulting in only a view of a faint blurry picture, However using Kopernicks 20-inch (510 mm) telescope resolution is highly increased.

M72 is located at about 53,000 light-years away from Earth and lies in a considerable distance beyond the galactic center. Another source states[citation needed] that the cluster is 62,000 light-years away, with a diameter of 42 light-years. Generally considered a young cluster, the cluster has several blue giants, yet star clusters generally contain the oldest stars.

References

  1. ^ a b c "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for NGC 6981. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/Simbad. Retrieved 2006-11-16. 

External links

Coordinates: Sky map 20h 53m 27.91s, −12° 32′ 13.4″



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