🔭 M71 — Angelfish Cluster

Globular cluster in Sagitta

M71, Angelfish Cluster is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagitta, with an apparent magnitude of about 8.2, roughly 13 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M71
Common name	Angelfish Cluster
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Sagitta
NGC / IC	NGC 6838
Apparent magnitude	8.2
Distance (approx.)	13 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.

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