Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Aquarius (Aqr)  ·  Contains:  M 2  ·  NGC 7089
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M2, Gary Imm
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M2

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M2, Gary Imm
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M2

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Description

M2 is a mag 6.6 globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius, seen in our southern sky in the fall.  M2 is one of the most concentrated globular clusters, with a Shapley–Sawyer classification of 2 (out of 12).

M2 is about 40,000 light years away and is 13 arc-minutes in diameter.  This corresponds to an actual diameter of about 150 light years.   It contains about 150,000 stars. The overall shape is more elliptical than most other clusters. In this true color image, the majority of the stars are blue (hotter) in color.

M2 was discovered by the French astronomer Jean-Dominique Maraldi in 1746 while observing a comet. Charles Messier rediscovered it in 1760, but thought it a nebula without any stars. William Herschel, in 1783, was the first to resolve individual stars in the cluster. Under dark skies, M2 is barely visible to the naked eye.

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M2, Gary Imm

In these public groups

Cloudy Nights
Globular Star Clusters