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Open star cluster

Messier 39

Also M39 · NGC 7092

Open in Ouranos

A large, loose open cluster in Cygnus, quite close to us.

Measured

Distance
977 light-years
Constellation
Cygnus
Position (J2000)
RA 21h 31m 33s, Dec +48.25°

How far, from the Sun

977 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light977 years
  • Voyager 1's speed17.4 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h10.5 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 is a little larger than the full Moon on the sky and just visible to the naked eye in a dark sky.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR2 cluster parallax 3.3373 ± 0.0024 mas (Gaia Collaboration, Babusiaux et al. 2018, A&A 616, A10)
  • 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.