🔭 M5 — Rose Cluster

Globular cluster in Serpens

M5, Rose Cluster is a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens, with an apparent magnitude of about 5.6, roughly 24.5 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M5
Common name	Rose Cluster
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Serpens
NGC / IC	NGC 5904
Apparent magnitude	5.6
Distance (approx.)	24.5 thousand light-years

What a globular cluster is

A dense, spheroidal ball of hundreds of thousands of old stars orbiting a galaxy’s halo. Through a small telescope they look like fuzzy stars; in a large one they resolve into glittering swarms.

Other Messier objects in Serpens: M16.

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