Messier 54
Globular cluster in Sagittarius / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Messier 54 (also known as M54 or NGC 6715) is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius.[lower-alpha 1] It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1778 and then included in his catalog of comet-like objects.
Quick Facts Observation data (J2000 epoch), Class ...
Messier 54 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Class | III[1] |
Constellation | Sagittarius |
Right ascension | 18h 55m 03.33s[2] |
Declination | −30° 28′ 47.5″[2] |
Distance | 87.4 kly (26.8 kpc)[3] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.6[4] |
Apparent dimensions (V) | 12.0′ |
Physical characteristics | |
Radius | 153 ly[5] |
Estimated age | 13 Gyr[6] |
Notable features | Probably extragalactic |
Other designations | M54,[7] NGC 6715,[7] GCl 104,[7] C 1851-305[7] |
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters |
Close
It is easily found in the sky, being close to the star ζ Sagittarii. It is, however, not resolvable into individual stars even with larger amateur telescopes.
In July 2009, a team of astronomers reported that they had found evidence of an intermediate-mass black hole in the core of M54.[8]