Messier 72

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Messier 72

Constellation of Aquarius, with M72 located to the right.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Aquarius
Right ascension 20h 53m 27.91s[1]
Declination -12° 32′ 13.4″[1]
Distance 53-62 kly[citation needed] (16-19 kpc)
Physical characteristics
Mass kg ( M{\odot})
Notable features Contains several blue giants
Other designations NGC 6981, GCl 118[1]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters
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Messier 72 (also known as M72 or NGC 6981) is a globular cluster in the Aquarius constellation discovered by Pierre Méchain in 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 not a cluster as is now believed. Using 10 inch telescopes, viewing the cluster is difficult resulting in only a view of a faint blurry picture, However using Kopernicks 20 inch 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 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.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c SIMBAD Astronomical Database. Results for NGC 6981. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.