🔭 M4 — Spider Globular Cluster

Globular cluster in Scorpius

M4, Spider Globular Cluster is a globular cluster in the constellation Scorpius, with an apparent magnitude of about 5.6, roughly 7.2 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M4
Common name	Spider Globular Cluster
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Scorpius
NGC / IC	NGC 6121
Apparent magnitude	5.6
Distance (approx.)	7.2 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 Scorpius: M6, M7, M80.

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