🔭 M56

Globular cluster in Lyra

M56 is a globular cluster in the constellation Lyra, with an apparent magnitude of about 8.3, roughly 32.9 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M56
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Lyra
NGC / IC	NGC 6779
Apparent magnitude	8.3
Distance (approx.)	32.9 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 Lyra: M57.

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