🔭 M26

Open cluster in Scutum

M26 is a open cluster in the constellation Scutum, with an apparent magnitude of about 8, roughly 5 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M26
Object type	Open cluster
Constellation	Scutum
NGC / IC	NGC 6694
Apparent magnitude	8
Distance (approx.)	5 thousand light-years

What a open cluster is

A loose, young family of a few dozen to a few thousand stars born together from the same gas cloud and drifting apart over time. The Pleiades are the most famous example.

Other Messier objects in Scutum: M11.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.