🔭 M72

Globular cluster in Aquarius

M72 is a globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius, with an apparent magnitude of about 9.3, roughly 54.57 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M72
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Aquarius
NGC / IC	NGC 6981
Apparent magnitude	9.3
Distance (approx.)	54.57 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 Aquarius: M2, M73.

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