Messier 56

Messier 56 (also known as M56 or NGC 6779) is a globular cluster in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779. It is angularly found about midway between Albireo (Beta (β) Cygni) and Sulafat (Gamma (γ) Lyrae). In a good night sky it is tricky to find with large (50–80 mm) binoculars, appearing as a slightly fuzzy star. The cluster can be resolved using a telescope with an aperture of 8 in (20 cm) or larger.

M56 is about 32,900 light-years away from Earth and measures roughly 84 light-years across, containing 230,000 solar masses (M☉). It is about 31–32 kly (9.5–9.8 kpc) from the Galactic Center and 4.8 kly (1.5 kpc) above the galactic plane. This cluster has an estimated age of 13.70 billion years and is following a retrograde orbit through the Milky Way. The properties of this cluster suggest that it may have been acquired during the merger of a dwarf galaxy, of which Omega Centauri forms the surviving nucleus. For Messier 56, the abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium, what astronomers term the metallicity, has a very low value of [Fe/H] = –2.00 dex which is 1⁄100 of the abundance in the Sun.