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M19, Gary Imm

M19

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M19, Gary Imm

M19

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Description

M19 is a globular cluster located 30,000 light years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus at a declination of -23 degrees.  It is a magnitude 5.6 cluster which spans 10 arc-minutes in our apparent view.  This corresponds to a diameter of 90 light years.

M19 lies fairly close to the Milky Way galactic center and is one of the most unusually shaped globular clusters, for two reasons. First of all, it is somewhat oblong in shape, with the long axis stretching in the vertical direction in this image. Secondly, dust obscures the left side of the cluster in this image. Both effects cause the cluster to take on a bit of a reverse pac-man shape. Some of this deformation is likely due to the gravitational impact of our galaxy's core. The cluster contains about 300,000 stars.

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