Messier Index/M72

Messier 72 250px M72 from w:Hubble Space Telescope; 3.44′ view w:NASA/w:STScI/w:WikiSky w:J2000 Aquarius 20 53 27.91SIMBAD Astronomical Database Results for NGC 6981 http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/Simbad 2006-11-16 -12 32 13.4 53-62 kly 16-19 kpc Contains several blue giants NGC 6981, GCl 118 Messier 72 Messier 72 (also known as M72 or NGC 6981) is a w:globular cluster in the Aquarius constellation discovered by w:Pierre Méchain in w:August 29 w:1780. w:Charles Messier looked for it on the following w: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 (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 w:light-years away from w:Earth and lies in a considerable distance beyond the w: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. External links Messier 72, SEDS Messier pages Messier 72, Galactic Globular Clusters Database page Messier 72, LRGB CCD image based on two hours total exposure M-72 Information References