🔭 M55 — Specter Cluster

Globular cluster in Sagittarius

M55, Specter Cluster is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius, with an apparent magnitude of about 6.3, roughly 17.6 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M55
Common name	Specter Cluster
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Sagittarius
NGC / IC	NGC 6809
Apparent magnitude	6.3
Distance (approx.)	17.6 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 Sagittarius: M8, M17, M18, M20, M21, M22, M23, M24, M25, M28, M54, M69, M70, M75.

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