Messier 56

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Messier 56

More Images [1]
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class X
Constellation Lyra
Right ascension 19h 16m 35.50s[1]
Declination +30° 11′ 04.2″[1]
Distance 32.9 kly[2] (10.1 kpc)
Apparent magnitude (V) +8.3
Apparent dimensions (V) 8′.8
Physical characteristics
Mass kg ( M{\odot})
Radius 42 ly[3]
Other designations M56, NGC 6779, GCl 110[1]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters
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Messier 56 (also known as M56 or NGC 6779) is a globular cluster in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779. M56 is at a distance of about 32,900 light-years from Earth and measures roughly 84 light-years across.

The brightest stars in M56 are of 13th magnitude while it contains only about a dozen known variable stars like V6 (RV Tauri star; period: 90 days) or V1 (Cepheid: 1.510 days); other variable stars are V2 (irregular) and V3 (semiregular).

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c SIMBAD Astronomical Database. Results for NGC 6779. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  2. ^ Valentin D. Ivanov et al., Near Infrared Photometry of Galactic Globular Clusters M56 and M15. Extending the Red Giant Branch vs. Metallicity Calibration Towards Metal Poor Systems
  3. ^ distance × sin( diameter_angle / 2 ) = 42 ly. radius


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