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Globular cluster

Messier 2

Also M2 · NGC 7089

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A globular cluster: hundreds of thousands of very old stars in a tight ball, orbiting the Milky Way's centre.

Measured

Distance
38,130 light-years
Size
about 144 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Aquarius
Position (J2000)
RA 21h 33m 27s, Dec −0.82°

How far, from the Sun

38,100 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light38,100 years
  • Voyager 1's speed678 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h412 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • It sits in Aquarius, about 5 degrees north of Beta Aquarii.
  • It holds about 624,000 times the Sun's mass in stars (Baumgardt's globular cluster database).

Where this comes from

  • Baumgardt & Vasiliev 2021, MNRAS 505, 5957 (11.69 kpc; the distances in public/sky/galaxy/globulars.json)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.