🔭 M79

Globular cluster in Lepus

M79 is a globular cluster in the constellation Lepus, with an apparent magnitude of about 7.7, roughly 41 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M79
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Lepus
NGC / IC	NGC 1904
Apparent magnitude	7.7
Distance (approx.)	41 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.