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Globular cluster

Messier 9

Also M9 · NGC 6333

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
27,070 light-years
Size
about 68 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Position (J2000)
RA 17h 19m 12s, Dec −18.52°

How far, from the Sun

27,100 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light27,100 years
  • Voyager 1's speed481 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h292 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 one of the globular clusters closest to the Milky Way's centre, dimmed by dust in front of it.

How it was found

  • Messier discovered it in 1764.

Where this comes from

  • Baumgardt & Vasiliev 2021, MNRAS 505, 5957 (8.3 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.