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Globular cluster

Messier 71

Also M71 · NGC 6838

Open in OuranosCompare its size

A sparse globular cluster in Sagitta, so loose that for many years it was taken for an open cluster, until the 1970s.

Measured

Distance
13,050 light-years
Size
about 28 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Sagitta
Position (J2000)
RA 19h 53m 46s, Dec +18.78°

How far, from the Sun

13,100 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light13,100 years
  • Voyager 1's speed232 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h141 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 metal-rich globular cluster, about 11 to 12 billion years old.
  • It holds about 37,800 times the Sun's mass in stars (Baumgardt's globular cluster database).

Where this comes from

  • Baumgardt & Vasiliev 2021, MNRAS 505, 5957 (4 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.