Messier 62

Messier 62
Messier 62 by Hubble Space Telescope; 1.65′ view Credit: NASA/STScI/WikiSky
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class	IV
Constellation	Ophiuchus
Right ascension	17h 01m 12.60s[1]
Declination	-30° 06′ 44.5″[1]
Distance	22.5 kly[citation needed] (6.9 kpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)	+7.39[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)	15′.0
Physical characteristics
Radius	49 ly[2]
Other designations	NGC 6266, GCl 51[1]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

Messier 62 (also known as M62 or NGC 6266) is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered in 1771 by Charles Messier.

M62 is at a distance of about 22,500 light-years from Earth and measures some 100 light-years across. From studies conducted in the 1970s it is known that M62 contains the high number of 89 variable stars, many of them of the RR Lyrae type. It also contains several X-ray sources, thought to be close binary star systems, as well as millisecond pulsars in binary systems.

Globular Cluster Messier 62 with amateur telescope

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for NGC 6266. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/Simbad. Retrieved 2006-11-17. 
2. ^ distance × sin( diameter_angle / 2 ) = 49 ly. radius

Coordinates: 17^h 01^m 12.60^s, −30° 06′ 44.5″

External links

• Messier 62, SEDS Messier pages
• Messier 62, Galactic Globular Clusters Database page
• M62 on willig.net
• Messier 62 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images