🔭 M53

Globular cluster in Coma Berenices

M53 is a globular cluster in the constellation Coma Berenices, with an apparent magnitude of about 7.6, roughly 58 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M53
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Coma Berenices
NGC / IC	NGC 5024
Apparent magnitude	7.6
Distance (approx.)	58 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 Coma Berenices: M64, M85, M88, M91, M98, M99, M100.

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