M15 Constellation  Pegasus (Globular Cluster), AlBroxton

M15 Constellation Pegasus (Globular Cluster)

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Description

Messier 15 or M15 (also designated NGC 7078) is a globular cluster in the constellation Pegasus. It was discovered by Jean-Dominique Maraldi in 1746 and included in Charles Messier's catalogue of comet-like objects in 1764. At an estimated 13.2 billion years old, it is one of the oldest known globular cluster. M15 is about 33,600 light-years from Earth, and 175 light years in diameter. It has an absolute magnitude of -9.2, which translates to a total luminosity of 360,000 times that of the Sun. Messier 15 is one of the most densely packed globulars known in the Milky Way galaxy. Its core has undergone a contraction known as 'core collapse' and it has a central density cusp with an enormous number of stars surrounding what may be a central black hole. Home to over 100,000 stars, the cluster is notable for containing a large number of variable stars and pulsars, including one double neutron star system, M15 C. M15 also contains Pease 1, the first planetary nebula discovered within a globular cluster in 1928. Just three others have been found in globular clusters since then.

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Revisions

  • M15 Constellation  Pegasus (Globular Cluster), AlBroxton
    Original
  • M15 Constellation  Pegasus (Globular Cluster), AlBroxton
    B
  • M15 Constellation  Pegasus (Globular Cluster), AlBroxton
    C
  • Final
    M15 Constellation  Pegasus (Globular Cluster), AlBroxton
    D

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M15 Constellation  Pegasus (Globular Cluster), AlBroxton