Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Ophiuchus (Oph)  ·  Contains:  M 9  ·  NGC 6333
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M9, Gary Imm
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M9

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M9, Gary Imm
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M9

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Description

This object is a mag 8.4 globular cluster located in the southern constellation of Ophiuchus at a declination of -19 degrees. It lies just over 25,000 light years from earth and contains more than 250,000 stars.  It spans 9 arc-minutes and is 70 light years in diameter.

M9 is one of the nearest globular clusters to the center of the Milky Way, at 5,000 light years from the galactic center. As a result, the cluster appears a bit flattened due to the gravitational influence of the Milky Way core pulling it slightly out of shape. This cluster lies at the edge of Barnard 64, a dark nebula, and the cluster’s light is somewhat obscured by interstellar dust. This is why the sky is noticeable darker towards the top of the image.

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