Messier 2
Explanation:
After the Crab Nebula,
this giant star cluster is the second entry in
18th century astronomer Charles Messier's famous list of
things that are not comets.
M2 is one of the largest globular star clusters now known to
roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy.
Though Messier originally described it as a nebula without stars, this
stunning
Hubble image resolves stars across the cluster's central 40
light-years.
Its population
of stars numbers close to 150,000, concentrated
within a total diameter of around 175 light-years.
About 55,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Aquarius,
this ancient denizen of the Milky Way, also
known as NGC 7089,
is 13 billion years old.
An extended
stellar debris stream, a signature of
past gravitational tidal disruption, was recently found to be
associated
with Messier 2.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
