Andromeda
Log inJoin

Globular cluster

Messier 54

Also M54 · NGC 6715

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A massive globular cluster that belongs to another galaxy: it sits at the heart of the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, which the Milky Way is tearing apart.

Measured

Distance
85,710 light-years
Size
about 220 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Sagittarius
Position (J2000)
RA 18h 55m 03s, Dec −30.48°

How far, from the Sun

85,700 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light85,700 years
  • Voyager 1's speed1.52 billion years
  • Driving at 100 km/h925 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 holds about 1.59 million times the Sun's mass in stars (Baumgardt's globular cluster database).

How it was found

  • It is one of four globular clusters once thought to be the Milky Way's own that were found to belong to the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, discovered in 1994.

Where this comes from

  • Baumgardt & Vasiliev 2021, MNRAS 505, 5957 (26.28 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.