File:M28_-_HST-U-V-IR.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Messier 28 is a dense, spherical collection of hundreds of thousands of stars held together by gravity, located about 18,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Astronomers study globular clusters like this one to better understand the early history of our galaxy and the properties of old stars.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Class
- IV
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Right ascension
- 18 24 32.89
- Declination
- –24 ° 52 ′ 11.4 ″
- Distance
- 18.26 ± 0.98 kly (5.6 ± 0.3 kpc )
- Apparent dimensions v
- 11′.2
- Mass
- 5.51 × 10 M ☉
- Radius
- 30 ly
- V hb
- 15.55 ± 0.10
- Metallicity
- [ Fe/H ] = –1.32 dex
- Estimated age
- 12.0 Gyr
- Notable features
- Contains first pulsar discovered in a globular
- Other designations
- GCl 94, M 28, NGC 6626
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Distance from Earth
- 17900
- Radius
- 30
- Image
- Messier 28 HST11615 02R814GB390asinh.png
Show 13 more facts
- Commons category
- Messier 28
- catalog code
- [KPS2012] MWSC 2908
- metallicity
- -1.21
- time of discovery or invention
- 1764-07-27
- Commons gallery
- Messier 28
- radial velocity
- 1.0
- apparent magnitude
- 5.424
- absolute magnitude
- -8.16
- spectral class
- IV
- right ascension
- 276.137042
- declination
- -24.869833
- right ascension component of proper motion
- 0.630
- declination component of proper motion
- -8.460
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Article
Messier 28 or M28, also known as NGC 6626, is a globular cluster of stars in the center-west of Sagittarius. It was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764. He briefly described it as a "nebula containing no star... round, seen with difficulty in 3 1⁄2-foot telescope; Diam 2′."
Location