Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Lepus (Lep)  ·  Contains:  M 79  ·  NGC 1886  ·  NGC 1904
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M79, LRGB, 4 hr 10 min, riot1013
M79, LRGB, 4 hr 10 min
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M79, LRGB, 4 hr 10 min

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M79, LRGB, 4 hr 10 min, riot1013
M79, LRGB, 4 hr 10 min
Powered byPixInsight

M79, LRGB, 4 hr 10 min

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Description

Messier 79 (also known as M79 or NGC 1904) is a globular cluster in the southern constellation Lepus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and is about 42,000 light years away from Earth and 60,000 light years from the Galactic Center.

Like Messier 54 (the other extragalactic globular on Messier's list), it is thought that it is not native to the Milky Way galaxy at all, but instead to the putative Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, which is currently experiencing a very close encounter with our galaxy. This is, however, a contentious subject as astronomers are still debating the nature of the Canis Major dwarf galaxy itself.

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