Sagittarius Star Cloud
Sign in to saveStar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius
Key facts
- Right ascension
- 18 17
- Declination
- −18° 29′
- Distance
- ~10 kly (3070 pc)
- Apparent dimensions v
- 2°x1°
- Radius
- ~300 ly
- Other designations
- Delle Caustiche, IC 4715
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
The Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (also known as Messier 24 and IC 4715) is a star cloud in the constellation of Sagittarius approximately 600 light years wide, which was catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764. It should not be confused with the nearby Large Sagittarius Star Cloud which lies about 10° to the south.
Messier described the cloud as "a large nebulosity in which there are many stars of different magnitudes" and gave its dimensions as being some 1.5° across. Some sources, improperly, identify M24 as the small open cluster NGC 6603. The location of the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud is near the Omega Nebula (also known as M17) and open cluster Messier 18, both north of M24.