#messier 71

[quiltofstars]

The Angelfish Cluster, M71 // Doug Lockwood

[anothercloudynight]

Globular cluster, Messier 71 or NGC 6838

Northern constellation Sagitta

Distance:  13.050 light years

Jun 30 2023 -Montcada i Reixac

[chibinotan]

Sparse Cluster

[quiltofstars]

The Angelfish Cluster, M71 // AdAstraAnimadverto

[quiltofstars]

The Angelfish Cluster, M71 // Tom Wildoner

A globular cluster located about 13,000 light years away, M71 is a relatively "young" globular cluster at only about 9 billion years old. Its young age caused astronomers to believe for decades that this was a densely-packed open cluster like M11 rather than a loosely-packed globular cluster.

M71 was not observed by Messier, but instead by his collaborator and friend Pierre Méchain (1744-1804) in 1780, although the astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux (1718-1751) found it first in 1746.

[quiltofstars]

M71 // Riedl Rudolf

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M71 // Bert Moyaers

[brightestofcentaurus]

Messier 71

Messier 71 is a globular cluster located about 13,000 light years away towards the constellation Sagitta, the Arrow. It is about 27 light years across and its stars are about 9 to 10 billion years old, old enough that it has few elements other than hydrogen and helium.

Globular clusters are groups of stars held together by gravitational interactions. They often lie on the edge of major galaxies like our own. The Milky Way holds some 150 globular clusters, including Messier 71. Each cluster can host several hundred thousand stars.

Image and information from ESA.